ArmWind, a local joint venture between Italian oil group Eni and General Electric has been awarded a 48MW wind project in an online reverse auction in Kazakhstan.
The project, close to the village of Badamsha in the region of Aktobe, is an extension to the 48MW Badamsha 1 wind project that is currently under construction, which was Eni’s first large-scale investment in wind technology.
Eni claims the newly awarded wind project in the country’s Northern Zone is an “important milestone” in its “overall strategy for decarbonisation.”
European oil and gas companies are stepping up their investments in renewable energy projects, but in most cases they represent only a tiny fraction of their overall spending.
Only few companies – such as Denmark’s Orsted – are fully transforming from an oil and gas firm into a renewables company.
Eni plans to reach a renewable generation capacity of 1.6GW by 2022, and has earmarked to spend €1.4bn in its 'energy solutions' unit by then.
Eni has been present in Kazakhstan since 1992. The Italian firm is joint operator of the Karachaganak field and is an equity partner in various projects in the Northern Caspian Sea, including the giant Kashagan field.
