“Giant Power Banks” for Energy Storage to Be Built in Kazakhstan

Major international investors have already been attracted to the “green” energy sector

Kazakhstan is implementing projects to build energy storage systems with a total capacity of 1.6 GW, Kazinform reports citing the Ministry of Energy.

At a meeting of the Public Council under the Ministry of Energy chaired by Zhakyp KHAIRUSHEV, current issues of the 2025-2026 heating season and the introduction of artificial intelligence and digital technologies in the energy sector were discussed. The meeting was attended by Vice Minister of Energy Sungat YESIMKHANOV, members of the Public Council, as well as representatives of the ministry’s structural divisions.

A separate block of discussions focused on the development of the energy storage systems market and prospects for introducing pumped-storage power plants (PSPPs). With the active development of renewable energy sources in Kazakhstan, projects with energy storage systems (ESS) are being implemented. These will allow electricity generated by wind and solar power plants to be stored and used during peak consumption hours.

Major international investors have already entered the green energy sector, including TotalEnergies, Masdar, China Power, and China Energy, which are building wind farms with capacities of up to 1 GW each. Each wind farm also includes the construction of energy storage systems with a capacity of 300 MW. To date, the total volume of ESS projects under implementation amounts to 1.6 GW.

Kazakhstan also plans to build pumped-storage power plants (PSPPs) aimed at ensuring the flexibility of the energy system. Currently, two PSPP projects are being developed in the Almaty region. A PSPP works like an “energy battery”: during periods of electricity surplus, it pumps water into an upper reservoir, and during peak demand, it releases the water downward through turbines to generate electricity.

Photo: Alexander Pavsky / Kazinform.

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