Kazakhstan’s state water management company, Kazvodkhoz, has launched a development program to build small hydroelectric power plants at existing reservoirs and irrigation canals across the country. The state-run enterprise has selected 32 prospective sites for the installation of power generation equipment. According to the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, the implementation of these plans will bring the total capacity of the company’s hydroelectric assets to 30 megawatts.
Engineers are preparing the design and estimate documentation for the first three small stations, which will be built at the Samarkand reservoir in the Karaganda region, the Kargaly reservoir in the Aktobe region, and the Karakol reservoir in the Abai region. Technical calculations are also underway for an additional 23 prospective facilities. The priority list for these assessments includes the Karatomarskoye and Verkhne-Tobolskoye reservoirs in the Kostanay region, as well as the Ayak-Kunchan canal in the Zhetysu region and the Great Keles canal in the Turkestan region.
The state operator is looking to private investment to fund part of the expansion. Kazvodkhoz has signed a memorandum of understanding with an investor to finance the construction of plants on transit sections of the Great Almaty Canal in the Enbekshikazakh district. Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, said the state enterprise has prior experience in operating such assets, as it already manages three active small plants (the Sergeyevka station in the North Kazakhstan region, the Intumak station in the Karaganda region, and the Dostyk station on the Khorgos River).
The initiative aligns with wider efforts in Central Asia to optimize existing water management networks for renewable energy generation. By integrating small-scale generation into agricultural canals and existing reservoirs, the country aims to bolster local grid stability and increase its share of clean energy without the need for large-scale inundation or extensive new civil works.
