Solar collector training in Lenger, Kazakhstan

From 10 to 14 november 2009, WECF, together with its Kazakh partner UGAM, organized a training on solar collectors in Lenger, Kazakhstan. Around 30 participants received not only theoretical but also practical knowledge on solar water heating systems.

04.02.2010 | Regina Drexel



Solar Collector Training in Lenger, Kazakhstan

From 10 to 14 november 2009, WECF, together with its Kazakh partner organisation UGAM, organized a training on solar collectors in Lenger, Kazakhstan. Around 30 participants got theoretical and practical knowledge about solar water heating systems.

Like all Central Asian Countries, Kazakhstan has a lot of sunshine and high solar radiation. That means a very high potential of solar energy. While it is the technically and economically most advanced country of Central Asia with the best potential for developping solar industry in the region, the knowledge in Kazakhstan about solar energy is very little spread, and people rarely use solar energy.

The Kazakh WECF partner organisations Jabagly-Manas and UGAM recently started to work on solar collectors in their project villages. Two of their staff even went to Germany in August for a short internship at the solar company Solar Partner Sued.

The WECF training took place from november 10-14. The participants from different parts of Kazakhstan were very mixed: people from the villages as well as craftsmen and scientists and, in the last day, politicians. During the training, a complete solar heating system was installed at the demonstration center of the organisation UGAM. Participants built and installed the solar collector together with Gerhard Weiße from Solar Partner Sued. The material had been partly imported from Germany, partly it was bought on the local market.


installing solar collectors

Besides demonstrating the opportunities for solar collectors on the Kazakh market, the training aimed on showing simple and practical ways for construction of small-scale solar water heaters with local materials. For example, old radiators that are out of use, and are available on local markets, can be turned into small solar collectors. Such collectors were constructed among others by the participants during the training, for use at their private homes and guesthouses in South Kazakhstan region.
The training was completed by an open seminar on the last day. Based on the practical example of the newly installed solar heating system at the center and the solar collectors constructed during the training, possibilities of using solar energy on different levels were demonstrated to politicians from South Kazakh and Djambul region. German and European legislative and policy examples for promoting solar energy were discussed and compared to the situation in Kazakhstan.

The training was supported by the International Climate initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Nuclear Safety and by the ELA programme, which is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
WECF and its partners are working further on this issue and are developing  a manual on the construction of solar collectors. In 2010, a few of our Central Asian partners are planning to visit Solar Partner Sued for internships. At least one more training on solar collectors in Central Asia is planned in 2010.



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