Switching-off conventional lighting system and turning-on LED lamps in Kazakhstan: A techno-economic assessment

Growth of the global population is directly associated with the increase in energy consumption. This pattern can be predominantly seen in emerging economies. However, coping with economic growth while pledging to combat global warming is not a dilemma in the Republic of Kazakhstan, which launched in 2012 a strategy plan determined to have a 50% of its total energy demand supplied by renewables in 2050. A significant amount of energy consumption is generally attributed to lighting systems since developing countries are still utilizing non-efficient illuminants, including incandescent, tungsten halogen, and high-intensity discharge light bulbs. This paper presents the potential impact brought by switching current energy-intensive lighting technologies used in most of the territory of Kazakhstan to LED technology, scrutinizing three subsectors: residential, commercial/industrial and outdoor illumination, and considering the incentives of DAMU fund (available to develop green businesses) as well as realistic financial parameters. The study depicts a large margin of profit for the investors and resulted in an NPV equal to 412 bln, 81 bln, and 29.9 bln KZT for residential, commercial/industrial and outdoor sectors, respectively. The largest B–C ratio is found for outdoor facilities (21.8), followed by the residential sector (15.4) and the commercial sector (8.4).