- green-spots
- energy
- Mongolia
- Salkhit wind farm, Mongolia
Problems
Mongolia is a landlocked country in Central Asia with vast natural resources and a growing demand for electricity. However, the country faces several challenges in its energy sector, such as aging infrastructure, high dependence on coal, and reliance on electricity imports from Russia and China. Mongolia's government adopted a policy to build the country's energy security, ensure sustainability, and create a basis for faster future renewables deployment. Mongolia urgently needs new generation capacity to replace aging, inefficient coal-fired power plants. One of the flagship projects of this strategy is the Salkhit wind farm, the country's first and largest wind power plant.
Solutions
Wind power project in Mongolia
Author: Regreener
The Salkhit Wind Farm is located in Salkhit mountain, approximately 70km southeast of Ulaanbatar, Mongolia. The purpose of this project is the generation of electricity from wind and the supply of this electricity to the Grid. Next to generating electricity, the goals for this project are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Mongolia, to create local employment opportunities during the assembly and for the operation of the wind farm, to help stimulate the implementation of wind power in Mongolia, and lastly to reduce other pollutants resulting from the power generation industry. The wind farm also has a positive impact on biodiversity. By reducing the water demand from power plants, it is estimated to save approximately 1.15 million tonnes of groundwater. The wind farm's impact on bird populations and migratory birds is minimal, as the normal migratory routes are 40-50 km from the site. No migratory birds were spotted in the area during the wind resource study period of 3-4 years. At the end of the operating period, funds are set aside for the decommissioning of the wind farm and restoration of the natural environment. In terms of socio-economic impact, the Salkhit wind farm provides local employment opportunities during the assembly, installation, and operation of wind turbines. As the first wind farm in Mongolia, it is stimulating the commercialization of grid-connected renewable energy technologies and markets. The wind farm is improving air quality and local livelihoods, promoting sustainable renewable energy industry development, and benefiting local communities in the long run.
Source: https://regreener.earth/projects/wind-power-project-in-mongolia
Gallery
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Timelines
2023
The government of Mongolia set targets to increase the share of generation capacity from renewable energy sources to 20% and 30% by 2030 and to build export-oriented power plants. The goal of these policies is that Mongolia will become an energy exporting country in the future by utilizing its rich renewable energy resources with efficient and environmentally-friendly technologies while establishing mutually beneficial cooperation with neighboring and regional countries.
2019
1.2 million tons of raw coal were consumed annually consumed by 220,000 ger district households, causing 80 percent of the air pollution in Ulaanbaatar. With the introduction of refined coal briquettes in the ger district of Ulaanbaatar, the air pollution has been reduced by half, as noted above. Moreover, a second refined coal briquette factory, located in the southern part of Ulaanbaatar, with the capacity to produce 600 000 tonnes of briquettes annually was commissioned and constructed,
2018
93% of all electricity was produced by thermal power plants, and coal-fired systems provided 98% of all district heat. Mongolia’s renewable energy resources, including wind, solar, geothermal, and hydro, are estimated to be able to provide as much as 2,600 GW of electricity, far exceeding Mongolia’s current generation capacity of about 1 GW.
2013
Mongolian first wind farm, Salkhit is located in Sergelen soum, Tuv aimag. And it started operation successfully. It cuts CO2 emissions by 180 thousand tons, reduces coal burning by 122 thousand tons, and saves 1.6 million tons of fresh water per year. Also, the Salkhit substation building became the biggest building built by Thermo Block in Mongolia. Thermo Block is an excellent heat insulating, high-energy efficient solution, lightweight, and environmentally friendly construction material.
2012
Mott MacDonald was instrumental in the financing of Salkhit, providing technical advisory services to the lenders to enable the project to reach financial close.