CLIMATE RISKS AND THEIR IMPACT ON DEVELOPMENT OF RES IN RURAL REGIONS OF KAZAKHSTAN

The paper presents an overview of the climate risk impact on the development of the renewable energy facilities in the rural regions of Kazakhstan. Brief introduction in the current situation with climate changes forecasts and evaluation of the climate risks is presented in the article. Rural regions are the most sensitive areas to climate change. In addition to the actual farming, there is also an acute need to provide these areas with electrical energy. Another aspect is the necessity of considering the increasing occurrence of climate catastrophes and their impact on the facilities of power plants with renewable energy sources. Examples of such impact are also described in the article. The model of the development of the renewable energy sources in the specific region of Kazakhstan is provided. The climate risk factor has been introduced and considered in the model. Several ways of climate risk mitigation are considered in the paper: power grid backup; proper selection of the type of renewable energy sources (RES) based on climate risks; development of the energy storage facilities; regional grids interconnection and unit commitment. Nowadays a lot of renewable energy projects are realized worldwide. Kazakhstan adopted several programs of the renewable energy sources development as well, but climate risks have not been considered. We believe that without taking into account climate risks it is impossible to build sustainable long-term development of renewables, especially in the rural areas.