Universal Energy opens 100MW of wind in Kazakhstan’s Kostanay for 38.6bn tenge, with its government-approved 1GW Turan wind-plus-storage project next

Shanghai-based Universal Energy formally opened two wind farms in Kazakhstan’s Kostanay region on October 14. Together they add 100MW of capacity and cost 38.6 billion tenge. The Prime Minister’s press service says the pair can generate up to 380 million kWh a year; the company’s own estimate is 400 million kWh. The developer’s next step in the region is far larger. Universal Energy says it won the 1,000MW Turan wind-plus-storage project at a 2025 auction, and on October 1 the government approved an agreement on that project with the Energy Ministry, with commissioning targeted before the end of 2029.

The two farms belong to separate project companies, Mars Wind and Jupiter Wind, at 50MW each, in the Maikol rural district of Kostanay district. They run 16 Chinese-made turbines rated at 6.25MW apiece. Regional governor Kumar Aksakalov attended the opening.

Opened, but paperwork still under way

Universal Energy announced on June 25 that both farms had reached full-capacity grid connection the day before. The regional administration gives a more detailed picture: technical start-up took place in June, commissioning tests are continuing, and the documents needed to put the plant into formal operation are due in November–December. Tamerlan Razbekov, deputy general director of Universal Energy Kazakhstan, told the local paper Nasha Gazeta that the plant will reach its design output in December.

For equipment and service suppliers, that means the site is still finishing commissioning, and the timing of operations and spare-parts contracts will depend on how the year-end handover goes.

Who buys the power, and for how long

All output goes to the Settlement and Financial Center for Renewable Energy Support under a 20-year supply term. That is the standard structure of Kazakhstan’s renewable auctions: the winner signs a 20-year contract with the single buyer, which sits under the Energy Ministry. In an interview last year Razbekov said this secured 20-year demand is the main draw for investors.

A region that cannot cover its own demand

Kostanay uses more electricity than it produces. Regional figures put consumption at about 0.45GW against local generation of about 0.12GW, roughly a quarter, with the rest bought from other regions. The goal is to lift local generation to 1.2GW. At the opening Aksakalov said the shortage is already making new industrial projects harder to launch, and that grids and substations have to be built alongside new generation.

Another wind farm of similar size is planned near the village of Zhdanovka in Kostanay district, with completion expected in 2027.

Where the 1GW project stands

The project is being developed by Turan Wind Energy. Universal Energy states on its website that it won this wind and storage project in April 2025; Kursiv reports the auction was held on April 15, 2025. According to Kursiv and Forbes.kz, Turan Wind Energy’s beneficiaries include both Kazakh shareholders and Chinese partners linked to Universal Energy.

According to the Prime Minister’s press service, the government on October 1 approved an agreement between the Energy Ministry and Turan Wind Energy for a 1,000MW wind farm with a 300MW energy storage system. Investment is put at about 380 billion tenge, construction is to start in spring 2027 and commissioning is due before the end of 2029, creating 750 jobs. On financing, Forbes.kz and Kursiv reported in March that the company had applied for a loan from the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, with documents then being gathered for the bank’s due-diligence stage.

Our rough estimate, assuming the same 6.25MW turbines: 1,000MW would need about 160 turbines, ten times the number at the farms just opened. In installed capacity it is roughly eight times the region’s current local generation of 0.12GW. That compares capacity only, not actual output.

Questions worth asking before talks with Universal Energy or on the Turan project:

1. Which project company signs the offtake contract, and how will the tariff change over 20 years?
2. Who builds and pays for transmission lines and substations, and is the grid connection capacity approved?
3. Have the technology and supplier for the 300MW storage system been chosen?
4. At what stage is the Development Bank loan review?

The cover illustration is AI-generated and does not depict the events in this article.

Sources:
Universal Energy (June 25, 2026), https://www.universalenergy.com/en/news/546
Universal Energy (July 17, 2026), https://www.universalenergy.com/ru/news/552
Office of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan (October 19, 2026), https://primeminister.kz/ru/news/zavody-vokzaly-i-socialnaya-infrastruktura-kakie-obekty-otkrylis-v-regionah-na-proshedshey-nedele-32008
Office of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan (October 1, 2026), https://primeminister.kz/ru/news/v-kostanayskoy-oblasti-postroyat-krupneyshuyu-v-regione-vetrovuyu-elektrostanciyu-na-summu-380-mlrd-tenge-31941
Kostanay News, https://kstnews.kz/kumar-aksakalov-posetil-klyuchevye-obekty-kostanajskogo-rajona/
Qostanay Tany, https://kostanaytany.kz/qostanaj-oblysynda-eki-zhel-elektr-stanciyasy-iske-qosyldy/
Nasha Gazeta (October 15, 2026), https://ng.kz/news/chistaya-energiya-kostanaya-v-regione-zapustili-novuyu-vetroelektrostantsiyu-v-100-mvt
Nasha Gazeta (November 15, 2025), https://ng.kz/news/article-57819
Qostanay.TV, https://qostanay.tv/ekonomika/16-ogromnyh-vetrogeneratorov-zapustili-pod-kostanaem
Elemnews, https://elemnews.kz/kazahstan/v-kostanajskoj-oblasti-otkry-li-e-kopark-i-dve-vetroe-lektrostanczii
Kursiv (March 13, 2026), https://kz.kursiv.media/2026-03-13/zhnb-kompaniya-eks-glavy-naczbanka-poprosila-kredit-u-brk-na-moshhnuyu-vetrovuyu-elektrostancziyu/
Forbes.kz (March 16, 2026), https://forbes.kz/articles/kompaniya-oraza-zhandosova-planiruet-postroit-ves-na-1-gvt-v-kostanayskoy-oblasti