On April 21, within the framework of the Russian International Energy Forum, the conference “Russia-Kazakhstan Cooperation: A Common Energy Strategy in the Context of the Challenges of the Post-Coronavirus Era” was held.

The event was organized by the Russian-Kazakhstani Business Council and the Energy Innovation Association of Innovative Enterprises in the Energy Sector. The broadcast is available here.

The participants of the meeting analyzed cooperation in the field of transition to “energy 4.0” and came to the conclusion that a lot can be achieved by joint efforts in this matter.

The moderator of the international conference was Mikhail Smirnov, Chairman of the Russian-Kazakh Business Council, President of the Association of Innovative Enterprises in the Energy Industry “EnergoInnovatsiya”.

Energy is the number 1 area of   economic interaction between Russia and Kazakhstan, the moderator noted. We are talking about both renewable and traditional energy.

“This year has shown a lot. If earlier we said that we perceived renewable energy as a trend, as something to strive for, today this is no longer a general wish, but a strict requirement. In 2020, 80% of the world’s generation is renewable energy, 260 gigawatts. Another component is ecology and at the same time the “green course”, — said Mikhail Smirnov.

Today, the world’s key companies have already followed the path of the so-called “green technologies”: ESG (environmental — ecology, social — social development, governance — corporate governance), as well as sustainable development and green energy. Soon, if the company cannot prove the environmentally friendly component of its products, then all markets will be closed for it, the head of the Russian-Kazakhstani Business Council noted.

Vice-President of the RF CCI Vladimir Padalko greeted all the conference participants on behalf of the Chamber and noted the timeliness and relevance of the chosen topic.

“The green trend is dictated to us from the outside, very soon, when it is introduced, a financial instrument will also be used, such that it will be simply unprofitable to work according to traditional principles. Here Russia and Kazakhstan need to come to a decision by joint efforts. At the same time, it is important to understand that traditional timber, oil and gas, given to us by God, cannot be forgotten. We need to learn how to write in the environmental component, “said Vladimir Padalko, Vice President of the RF CCI.

Ayan Erenov, Chairman of the Board of the Foreign Trade Chamber of Kazakhstan and co-chairman of the RKBC, emphasized that the energy sector is indeed one of the key in issues of interaction between Russia and Kazakhstan.

“The Foreign Trade Chamber is actively working on cooperation between the two countries. In terms of exports, last year we supported more than 160 transactions of Kazakhstani enterprises and helped them to conclude transactions worth more than 90 million US dollars. In terms of imports, our chamber holds over 20 events for Russian enterprises, “said the conference participant.

Mikhail Smirnov turned to the annual Address of the President of the Russian Federation, which was announced the day before.

“The environmental agenda has been supported three times. Putin has repeatedly stressed the importance of new technologies. Much today depends on the local authorities. The situation is the same in the West. Everything comes from the strategy of the cities themselves, management approaches. It is very important that in our cities — Kazakhstan and Russia — we could implement such projects that others would be equal to, “the moderator noted.

Sergey Voropanov, the mayor of Vologda, spoke about the energy component of the city’s strategy.

“Our strategic course is” EcoVologda “. It is a city of green economy and an ecological place to live with the principles of sustainable development. 2021 is declared the year of ecology in our city. Moreover, this is not just a slogan, it is purposeful development in all areas — infrastructure, eco-economy, social activities. For this we use project activities. One of them is devoted to energy efficiency and energy saving, the goal of which is to form an efficient system of energy consumption aimed at energy saving and increasing energy efficiency in the city. Another project on energy efficiency in the municipal sector. It aims to provide consumers with the necessary utilities with minimal costs for production, transport and distribution. Another promising direction is the development of conditions for the use of electric transport in our city “, — commented the conference participant.

The advantage of Vologda is that the issue is approached thoroughly, Mikhail Smirnov noted.

“This is a strategy, a course within the framework of global energy and generation with a sensible approach. Most importantly, public support is a plus for Vologda. This experience is very interesting for both Russian cities and the territories of Kazakhstan. Vologda is a home for ecology and energy efficiency developments, “commented the moderator of the meeting.

Zhanbolat Kakishev, head of the representative office in the Russian Federation of the National Welfare Fund of the Republic of Kazakhstan “Samruk-Kazana” spoke about the role of the fund in the development of the Kazakh energy sector. The speaker emphasized that there is a prospect for the development of renewable energy sources in the Republic of Kazakhstan. According to the concept for the transition of the Republic to a “green economy” by 2030, the share of renewable energy sources should be 10% in the total volume of electricity production. This corresponds to about 9 GW of installed capacity.

Mikhail Shapiro, CEO of Danfoss, spoke about breakthrough technologies in heat supply. Part of the company is in the work of energy efficiency. Even when installing a high efficiency gas piston engine, energy will be lost due to

inefficiency of buildings and structures, then what kind of breakthrough we are talking about. It is important to build a literacy chain from generation to the end consumer.

Igor Novad, Energy Consultant at Caterpillar Eurasia, Chairman of the Energy Innovation Technical Committee, spoke about generation for industrial production. “Consumption in this case is energy-saving equipment and organization of the enterprise’s activities. And one of the key goals today is to bring the source closer to the consumer. This is generation at the facility. Fuel utilization rates can be around or above 90%. In addition, waste in the form of fuel can also be used, this is co-generation with renewable energy sources. Caterpillar Eurasia has similar projects for cogeneration and disposal of landfill gas. These are not only energy, but also environmental initiatives, “the speaker noted.

Alexander Okunev, Deputy Vice President for Regional Development and Cooperation with the CIS, Skolkovo Foundation spoke about new technologies in the overall energy strategy of Russia and Kazakhstan and the CIS countries. He called the work of 16 thematic investment parks a successful example of interaction. “We are ready to share our scientific experience, there are a lot of companies in our database that need competent allies,” Oleksandr Oknev noted.

Oleg Bychkov, General Director of INGK LLC, representative of EnergoInnovatsiya, spoke about the cooperation between his company and enterprises in Kazakhstan. “For many years, representatives from different countries have been purchasing our equipment and selling it to Kazakhstan. We decided to directly participate in the tender, won the tender for the supply of a gas compressor station to Astana and part of the export gas to China. This project has been successfully implemented. In four months, the stations were built and adjusted, this is a record time. After some time, the volume of gas increased, the customer came to us again. It speaks about the level of trust“, Oleg Bychkov noted.

Timur Shalabayev, Executive Director of the Kazakhstan Solar Energy Association spoke about the development of renewable energy in Kazakhstan and the current situation. The speaker elaborated on the legislative framework for renewable energy in the Republic. “The key current regulations in this area are guaranteed purchase of all electricity produced and supplied to the grid; distribution of electricity from renewable energy sources through the financial settlement center (RFC) to conventional consumers; exemption from payment for the transmission of electrical energy; provision of investment preferences according to the business code; creation of a reserve fund at the RFC, as well as an agreement on the connection of renewable energy facilities to the networks. In 2021, changes were made to the legislative framework. Among them are the construction of flexible capacities, an increase in PPA contracts from 15 to 20 years, financial support from the RFC in the event of insolvency risks and a through tariff for renewable energy, “said the speaker.

Sergey Krivykh, representative of Solar Turbines, a member of EnergoInnovation, named successful examples of the company’s Solar Turbines technology application in the CIS.

“Units in Kazakhstan today are represented by 40 of our units. These are 24 compressor stations, 16 — generating stations. Over the past 2 years, another 15 units have been added. And this is a reliable operational experience of using gas turbines, “the speaker commented.

Ernar Kulzhanov, representative of Borusan, made a presentation on the topic “Efficient Generation in Kazakhstan”.

Ilya Likhov, General Director of Neosun Energy, presented the experience of implementing projects for distributed and isolated power systems in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan, and also raised the topic of energy storage.

Ilaeva Alfiya, Development Director of the Autonomous Cluster Fund “Park of Innovative Technologies” under the Tech Garden brand spoke about innovative solutions in the fuel and energy sector, and also emphasized the importance of the Russian-Kazakh partnership.

Kuanysh Baltabaev, Executive Director of the Kazakhstan Association of Regional Environmental Initiatives ECOJER, stressed the importance of joint harmonious (sustainable) development. It is about a common environmental agenda, the use of the best available technologies and the exchange of experience in the environmental field.

Vitaly Kuzin, Head of Green Bridge LLP, Vice President of the Kazakhstan Chamber of Environmental Auditors Association presented the environmental policy of Kazakhstan in the field of energy.

Anton Ivanov, commercial director of InkoEnergo, stressed the importance of the energy service contract as a tool to reduce operating costs.

Taras Shibaev, Ph.D., Chief Designer of UTW JSC, presented the concept of creating an automatic defect recognition system based on machine learning.

The participants of the international meeting noted the positive aspects of interaction, outlined plans for the future. Among them — increasing the transparency of mutual participation in tender procedures and public procurement, improving information exchange in the interests of economic interaction, unifying procedures for confirming the origin (localization) of products, strengthening interaction to develop an interconnected long-term development strategy for the fuel and energy complex of Russia and Kazakhstan. There is still a lot of work, the main thing is the interest of both states, Mikhail Smirnov noted.

We add that the experts agreed to return to the issues with specific proposals at the XVII Interregional Forum of Kazakhstan and Russia, which is scheduled to be held in person this year.

The text and photos were provided by the press service of EnergoInnovatsiya.