A.Odontuya

ULAANBAATAR (GoGo Mongolia/ANN) - Clean Energy Asia LLC commenced the construction of the Tsetsii wind farm in Sep 2016. Within one year, the company completed the installation of 25 wind turbines, the construction of Tsetsii substation and its 32 km long air transmission lines.

Clean Energy Asia LLC commenced the construction of the Tsetsii wind farm in Sep 2016. Within one year, the company completed the installation of 25 wind turbines, the construction of Tsetsii substation and its 32 km long air transmission lines.

The project has completed three months earlier than planned and nearly 500 employees have worked for the construction, of which 95% were Mongolians.

Located in Tsogttsetsii soum, Umnugobi province, the 50MV wind farm was financed by the debt of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Mongolia is the first country to sign a memorandum with Japan on the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Mongolia faces great challenges in meeting its growing demand for electricity, almost all of which is currently met by aging and polluting coal-fired plants. The wind farm will help supply Mongolia’s power demand with clean, eco-efficient electricity by harnessing Mongolia’s vast and inexhaustible wind resources. The project will help contribute to the sustainable economic development and the mitigation of climate change.

Mongolia has a power-supply capacity of 1130MW, consisting of 88% coal, 6% diesel, 6% renewable energy, and 2% hydropower sources (Department of Energy, Mongolia, 2015). While being the world’s eighth country most susceptible to climate change (Climate Risk Index. Source: GERMANWATCH “Global Climate Risk Index 2014”), electricity supply-demand balance along with its economic growth is an urgent issue for Mongolia; accordingly, Mongolia is a country that particularly requires safe and secure power sources such as renewable energy. The State Great Khural approved a national power policy in 2015 that sets Mongolia’s mid-to-long term target and plan for 2015-2030 in the energy sector. The policy aims to increase the power generation share of renewable energy to 20% by 2020 and to 30% by 2030, and it stipulates the promotion of investment in the energy industry in cooperation with international financial institutions and donor countries, utilizing the abundant wind and solar resources in the Gobi region.

The Tsetsii wind farm is estimated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 230,000 tons per year while saving 180,000 tons of coal and 1.2 million tons of water per year.

In these circumstances, this Tsogttsetsii wind farm project will help contribute to the increased adoption of renewable energy in Mongolia.