Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic – The representatives of the Ministry of Energy of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Green Energy Fund under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic, and the experts of the European Union (EU) funded SECCA project gathered at the jointly organised Roundtable “Development of Small Hydropower in Kyrgyzstan: First Steps Taken” on 4 February 2025.

Kyrgyzstan has prioritised small hydropower development as a key component of its national energy strategy, aiming to reduce reliance on fossil fuel imports and address electricity shortages.

The SECCA project provides technical assistance to Kyrgyzstan with a pre-feasibility study and knowledge-sharing, including by conducting a comprehensive model pre-feasibility study for the Karakol-1 Hydropower Plant (HPP) project in Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul region. This Project had been proposed for the study by the Green Energy Fund. At the Roundtable, the SECCA experts presented the results of this study, as well as shared the experience of Georgia, one of the Energy Community Contracting Parties, on the development of hydropower.

The pre-feasibility study for this project confirms its technical, financial, and environmental viability. With the involvement of the expert team consisting of national and international experts, several design options were analysed to determine the most feasible solution. Two primary design options considered:

• Option 1 reuses elements of the former SHPP layout with a derivation channel system – it is deemed cost-effective and technically feasible
• Option 2 proposes a new pressurized pipeline system – it has been found to be unbankable due to higher costs and risks.

Based on this analysis, Option 1, with an installed capacity of 2.1 MW and annual generation of 11.8 GWh, is recommended for its financial sustainability.

Background information:

Starting from May 2023, the SECCA project has been providing technical support to the Ministry of Energy and the Green Energy Fund of the Kyrgyz Republic in development of  renewable energy sources (RES). The necessary steps to be taken from RES policy development to project implementation were first introduced in one of the sessions of the Conference held within the First EU–Kyrgyzstan Sustainable Energy Days campaign; while practical aspects of small-scale RES development with a focus on small hydropower, through state-owned specialized Funds were presented in October 2023, at the technical workshop held in Bishkek. In November 2023, with the SECCA project’s support, the Kyrgyz Green Energy Fund signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Georgian Energy Development Fund (GEDF). In December 2023, SECCA and the Green Energy Fund agreed to develop a model pre-feasibility study for a SHPP. In February 2024, the Karakol-1 SHPP was pre-selected for the pre-feasibility study. In July 2024, the kick-off meeting was held in Bishkek to agree on the first step to conduct the study, which was then followed by the visit of the experts of the Green Energy Fund and the SECCA project to the Karakol-1 SHPP.