ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 5. LUKOIL has started construction of a solar power plant in the Almaty region of Kazakhstan, TurkicWorld reports.

According to the company, the solar power plant will be located next to the LUKOIL lubricants plant (a 100 percent subsidiary of LUKOIL) and will provide energy supply to the production facilities of the plant with environmentally friendly solar energy.

The design capacity of the power plant is 4.95 MW. Construction of the first stage of 2 MW is planned to be completed in 2024.

"LUKOIL focuses on energy efficiency and reducing the carbon footprint in the production of hydrocarbons, and is actively developing solar, wind and hydropower," the company said.

To note, in December 2023, LUKOIL, together with 50 of the world's largest energy companies, joined the Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC).​

Meanwhile, electric energy generation in Kazakhstan is carried out by 222 power plants, of which 146 are renewable energy facilities with a total capacity of 2.8 GW.

Today, there are 220 power plants operating in the country, including 144 renewable energy ones, with a total capacity of 2.8 GW. In general, as of January 1, 2024, the total available capacity was 20.4 GW, and the maximum consumption in the current autumn-winter period was 16.6 GW.