Turkmenistan could technically become an energy source for the entire Central Asian region, but this time with solar energy rather than only gas, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) official told Daryo.
"We are working with the Turkmenistan government on a new concept through technical assistance and other support that has not been tried anywhere in Asia," he said.
The idea is to introduce solar-power-generated steam in a gas-fired power station and allow the turbine to use both solar and gas-powered steam based on availability to generate electricity
Under high solar radiation conditions, like in Turkmenistan, concentrated solar power may be able to generate electricity at costs below 5 - 6 cents per kWh.
Technical experts are considering a design to operate primarily at night, with more than 9 to 10 hours of storage.
It should be noted that about 300 days a year in Turkmenistan are sunny, and the duration of sunny days reaches 2,500 - 3,000 hours.
The country also has one of the largest sand deserts in the world, the Karakum (Turkmen for 'black sands'), which contains silicon, the main chemical element for building solar equipment.
Credits: Eziz Boyarov, Ashgabat
Comments (0)