Mongolia's energy efforts acknowledged

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ “Foreign specialists agree that Mongolia is a paradise of solar energy. But only 2-3 percent of our energy production comes from renewable energy sources; many explanations can be mentioned in this regard such as economic difficulty and content tendencies based on Mongolia’s coal resources. However, Mongolia has set a major goal to increase renewable energy generation to 30 percent by 2030”, said P.Gankhuu, Minister for Energy at the 7th Assembly of International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) which took place in Abu Dhabi, UAE on January 14-15. The Minister delivered a report on the prospects, current state and future trends of Mongolia’s energy sector and directions for cooperation with international organizations. “Mongolia has rich resources of solar, wind and hydro power”, the Minister said, expressing the country’s readiness to join and cooperate with international alliances and projects in order to economically circulate and export the resources using high technology. Mongolia is operating a 50MW wind farm since 2013, and has inaugurated a 10MW solar power plant this year. “We want to cooperate with IRENA and Abu Dhabi Fund for Development on introducing geothermal heat pump and other renewable power for heating of urban area. We are interested in learning for other countries’ experience in this area”, Minister P.Gankhuu said. In response, Adnan Z.Amin, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency appreciated Mongolia’s active participation and contribution, expressing his willingness to cooperate with Mongolia.