SMART CITIES
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As of this year , Kazakhstan has moved to a system of procuring electricity from renewable energy sources at international auctions . The initiative is aimed at bringing down the cost of electricity from renewable sources throughout the country . It is hoped that this shift from fixed rate purchase to auctions will reduce costs as well as attracting foreign investment , forming the latest step in Kazakhstan ’ s gradual , but ambitious , direction toward meeting 50 % of its energy needs by 2050 from renewable sources .
This begs an obvious question : why would the second-largest producer of oil in the former Soviet Union after Russia , with an economy more than 60 % dependent on oil sales , be interested in renewable energy ? One of several reasons is the growing domestic demand for energy . Kazakhstan ’ s economic growth has ramped up its traditionally fossil fuel-based energy consumption over the past decade , with the International Energy
SEPTEMBER 2018