Kazakhstan Plans Hydropower Expansion Amid Environmental Concerns

Kazakhstan is moving to significantly increase its hydropower capacity, with new plants totaling 660 MW scheduled to become operational by 2030.

The country currently operates 43 hydropower facilities with a total installed capacity of 313 MW. The 26 MW Korinskaya HPP-2 was recently commissioned in the Zhetisu region. Over the past year, renewable energy facilities generated a total of 8.621 billion kWh of electricity, of which 1.196 billion kWh came from small and medium-sized hydropower plants.

To attract investment, the Ministry of Energy utilizes auctions for renewable energy projects, recently offering 500 MW of capacity for new hydropower plant construction. However, the site allocation process for these projects does not include environmental criteria, a point of concern for conservation organizations.

The construction of new hydropower plants leads to the fragmentation of free-flowing rivers–one of the planet’s most vulnerable ecosystem types. Dams disrupt the natural hydrological regime, obstruct fish migration routes, and alter riverbed characteristics. These changes are often critical for species adapted to life in flowing water environments.

The degradation of river ecosystems affects not only biodiversity but also water quality, the availability of fish spawning grounds, and aquatic food chains. In the long term, such impacts could lead to the disappearance of entire populations of aquatic organisms and the species that depend on them.

Environmental groups advocate for the integration of conservation criteria into the auction process. A mandatory preliminary environmental assessment for bidders in hydropower construction tenders could create a balance between energy development and the preservation of river ecosystems.