Central Asian countries have abundant energy resources that are unevenly distributed. Some countries are rich with fossil fuels, while others have substantial hydro resources. One thing that all these countries have in common is substantial renewable energy potential that can play a significant role in decarbonizing the region. However, power system operators are often reluctant to integrate renewable energy into their power systems at large scale, due to the intermittency of renewable power generation, which would require additional reserve capacity. Additional reserve capacity implies additional cost to run a power system. The session explained how the reserve requirement can be substantially reduced through:
- efficient system planning (case study Kazakhstan);
- trading of reserve capacities (case study Central Asia); and,
- benefits of the expansion of the regional power trade (case study of the Central Asian Power System).