Kyrgyzstan Energy Situation

Kyrgyzstan
Capital	Astana
Official language(s)	Kazak, Russian
Government
President
Prime Minister
Total area	2,725,000 km sq
Population	5.57 million
Population density (per sq. km)	27
GDP (current $US)	4.6 billion
GDP Per capita (current $US)	860
GNI per capita (current $US)	840
Currency
Time zone
Calling code

Geography and Climatic Conditions 

Kyrgyzstan, also known as the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country located in the heart of Central Asia. It is bordered by Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and China.

The Tien Shan mountain range cover roughly 95% of the country. Kyrgyzstan has a polar climate in the Tien Shan Mountains, a subtropical climate in the Southwest, and temperate climatic conditions in the Northern foothills. The average low  temperature is 4.8°C while the average high temperature is 17.0°C.   Shrub land, savannah, and grassland make up 56% of the land and cropland compromises 27%.  The land area covered by forest is 4.5% but is decreasing.

Socio-economic Development

Kyrgyzstan's population is 5.57 million and the population density is 27 people per square kilometer. Urban population compromises 35% while the rural population makes up 65%. The literacy rate (age 15+) is 98.7%

The GDP in 2010 was 4.6 billion US$ and the GDP per capital was US$ 860. GDP grew more than 6% in 2007-08, but declined after that.  National income sources share consist of 48% agriculture, 12.5% industry, and 39.5% services.

 

National Energy Situation

In contrast to neighboring countries, Kyrgyzstan has small amounts of fossil fuels, but enjoys large amounts of water resources and an abundant supply of hydro power. The bulk (90%) of Kyrgyzstan's generating capacity is hydro power and the country has for some time now considered the development of hydro power resources as the central foundation of its overall economic development.

Kyrgyzstan also has locally exploitable coal, oil, and natural gas.It was the first country in the Commonwealth of Independent States(CIS) to develop an independent regulatory agency for economic regulation of the energy sector. Primary energy shares in 2008 comprised of the following : Hydro 31.8%, coal 18.5%, gas 21.5%, oil 28.1%, renewable and waste 0.1%.  Approximately 95% of the population is connected to the grid. Losses in the distribution system range from 40-50% and reliabality is poor. Electricity losses are greater in residential areas than non-residential areas and bout 30% of the distribution systems need to be replaced. 

Potential for Renewable Energies

Low tariffs and abundant hydroelectric power resources have limited the development of renewable energy sources. Hydro-power is the only documented renewable energy source for electricity production on national level

There are, however, some potentials for solar energy and large scale and micro-hydro power plants. There are about 2,600 hours of sunshine per year and radiation is 1,500-1,900 kW/m² per year. In addition, a law on renewable energy was adopted in 2008. It includes biomass small scale projects, small hydropower programs, solar small scale projects and wind energy in the national program. Finally, some biogas plants have been established, but only by private initiatives.

Household Energy Situation 

Share of Fuel Types

Percentage of energy types used for cooking in urban areas

 

Percentage of energy types used for cooking in rural areas

(Solid biomass will become even more popular with the current outages

of power, eventual tariff increase, and world pricing trends.)
 

Share of Solid Fuels

 The percentage of the population using solid fuels (charcoal, coal, cropwaste, dung and wood) as cooking energy:

National: 37.4%        urban: 12.4%             rural: 56.4% 

Solid Fuel Use Impact on Health

• Total annual deaths attributable to solid fuel use: 1600 persons
• Percentage of national burden of diseases attributable to solid fuel use: 3.3%