The 8th Mongolian National Renewable Energy Forum on 5 May was held under the auspices of the Prime Minister of Mongolia, organized by the Mongolian Wind Energy Association (MWEA) and the Mongolian Renewables Industries Association. GWEC was a co-organizer of the event, along with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI). The forum attracted more than 600 participants, which is a new record for an energy event in Mongolia. After the workshop, MWEA will introduce the Forum’s outcomes and recommendations to the Prime Minister of Mongolia, to Parliament Members, the Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Tourism and Environment, as well as to the Energy Regulatory Commission of Mongolia.
GWEC’s collaboration with MWEA started two years ago when the board urged us to start to look into the Mongolian market. In 2015, we jointly organized a wind-specific conference to serve the following purposes: a) to create a forum for key policy and political issues to be discussed; b) to create a networking opportunity for GWEC members with the government and local players; c) to expand our collaboration with the local association to strengthen their capacity and to help with future policy and events needs. The collaboration from two years ago proved to be successful, and our goals were met. Our efforts also helped to strengthen MWEA, as its team has now doubled and its increased influence has turned out to be valuable for both GWEC and the industry.
Regarding the development of wind farms, after the first 50 MW wind farm (Salkhit) was put into operation in 2013, two more projects (Tsetsii and Sainshand) are moving forward.
Current wind projects in Mongolia:
- Salkhit wind farm - 49.6 MW (commissioned in 2013)
- Tsetsii wind farm - 50 MW (construction work ongoing, planned to be finished by the end of 2017)
- Sainshand Salkhin wind farm LLC - 55 MW (financial close expected soon; planned completion by the end of 2018)
- Oyutolgoi wind farm – this 250 MW project is in early stage development. 102 MW will be for the Mongolia energy system and 148 MW will be exported to China.
With just the first three projects, the total wind capacity would reach 155MW, which represents around 13% of the total system capacity of about 1.1 GW. Given the state of the system, this 155MW of wind will approach the amount that the grid can handle. Mining operations in the south of the country will have huge electricity demand, which is now using electricity imported from China and diesel generators on site. But without the correct stimulus and grid build-out, the additional power requirements will not necessarily be met by wind or other RE (solar) sources.