Kazakhstan Says no to Green Energy

Kazakhstan Says no to Green Energy PR Newswire ASTANA, Kazakhstan, October 8, 2012 ASTANA, Kazakhstan, October 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Oil-rich Kazakhstan has ruled out adopting alternative energy methods for now saying that it will continue to exploit its vast natural resources for economical reasons. Speaking to reporters after the VII KazEnergy Eurasian Forum, the chief of KAZENERGY Association, Timur Kulibayev said that the country was aiming to meet 10% of its energy demand through alternative energy. "It's very fashionable these days to talk about alternative energy," Kulibayev said adding that "We would look for alternative energy once its cost of production becomes lower and feasible." A news release issued by KAZENERGY said that Kazakhstan's 80% of power generation is generated by coal. The nation is home to one of the largest coal reserves the world. The second largest oil producer in the CIS after Russia is looking at immediate financial goals than long term environment goals. The landlocked nation's topography and terrain is perfect to become a major producer of wind and solar energy but Kulibayev said the country would wait for this sector becoming more financially affordable. It not only has gorges acting as wind tunnels but the southeast part of country also gets over 300 sunny days in a year. Kulibayev is at the forefront of the development of oil and energy sector of the central Asian nation since last over 15 years.