Background

Central Asian countries have abundant energy resources but unevenly distributed. Some countries are rich with fossil fuels while others with hydro resources. One thing that all these countries have in common is substantial renewable energy potential that can play significant role in decarbonization of the region. However, power system operators are often reluctant to integrate renewable energy generation plants at large scale since the intermittency of renewable requires additional reserve capacity. Additional reserve capacity implies additional cost to run the power system. The proposed session will explain how the reserve requirement can be substantially reduced through: (i) efficient system planning (case study Kazakhstan); (ii) trading of reserve capacities (case study Central Asia); and, (iii) benefits of the expansion of the regional power trade (case study Central Asian Power System).