Source: ortcom.kz

The international movement “Expo & Women” plans to launch a competition for social video about ecology. This was announced by the Chairman of the Presidium of the organization Saltanat Rakhimbekova during the press conference in Central Communications Service under the President of Kazakhstam.

“In Italy, we have organized a film festival and met with leading Italian directors. We agreed to hold a competition for social video about ecology, innovation and ‘green’ technologies. Directors from around the world will take part in the action,” said the speaker.

As it became known, “Expo & Women” is planning a fashion festival, which will bring together designers at the site of “EXPO-2017”. According to the words of Saltanat Rakhimbekova, the event could become one of the directions of development of event tourism in Kazakhstan.

Source: KAZINFORM

The U.S. will continue supporting the efforts on liquidation of the consequences of the Aral Sea desiccation. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said it delivering a speech at Nazarbayev University today.

“We have joined the plan on changing and improving the situation with climate change and the program on liquidation of the consequences of the Aral Sea desiccation. We will also partake in the program on maintaining the river basins in Central Asia,” noted he.

According to John Kerry, private companies and universities can be attracted to cooperation in ecology and development of ‘green’ technologies.

“We can work jointly with private organizations, universities, such as yours [Nazarbayev University -editor], to let them develop new technologies and support the vision of President Nursultan Nazarbayev,” added he.

Source: KAZINFORM

The Expo Milano 2015 figuratively passed the baton at the closing ceremony yesterday to the representatives from Kazakhstan. As is known, Astana is going to host the international exhibition in 2017 whose theme will be “Future Energy.”

NC Astana EXPO-2017 CEO Akhmetzhan Yessimov and EXPO-2017 Commissioner, First Vice FM Rapil Zhoshybayev participated in handover ceremony. The Bureau of International Exhibition passed them its flag. EXPO-2017 will be held in Astana during the period from June 10, 2017 through September 10, 2017.

“It is a very serious and responsible step for Kazakhstan. The preparation for EXPO will become a national project for the next two years,” Zhoshybayev said and added he was confident in successful organization of the event.

The Commission of the Bureau of International Exhibition noted the best national pavilions in “architecture” and “revelation of the theme” categories. Among the winners are Germany, Kazakhstan (revelation of the theme), France, China (architecture).

Throughout the EXPO 2015 the Kazakh pavilion enjoyed high attendance receiving 5,000 people daily.

On October 23, Kazakhstan’s pavilion honored its millionth visitor - 57-year-old Daniele Bergo from Italy.

The theme of the Kazakh pavilion which covered the area of more than 3,000 sq m was “Kazakhstan - Land of Opportunities”.
150 volunteers from Kazakhstan served the pavilion.

Kazakhstan has been participating in EXPO since 2005

Source: KAZINFORM

“Guest houses: Green Family Village” project will be implemented in Akmola region, this has been announced at today’s briefing in Central Communications Service by chairman of the board of the international women’s organization “Expo & Women” Gauhar Zhenisbek.

According to her words, a corresponding agreement was reached with Italian businessmen as part of women’s business forum which was held on the sidelines of Milan Expo 2015.

“Guest houses: Green Family Village” is the development of standards of eco-houses with the study of the Italian experience with the creation of demo-areas in Arnasai village, Akmola region. To do this in the near future the organization will invite specialists from Italy. This project will contribute to the overall development of agro-tourism in Kazakhstan,” she said.

According to Chairman of the Presidium of “Expo & Women” Saltanat Rakhimbekova the project will be implemented in relation to the existing guest houses located in the region.

“Expo & Women” together with the National Commission for Women Affairs, Family and Demographic Policy under the President of Kazakhstan aims to support Expo exhibition in Kazakhstan.

Source: KAZINFORM

Kazakhstan’s national pavilion at the EXPO Milano 2015 is among top-three ones, having won in “Best Revelation of the Theme and Content” nomination, the press service of the JSC NC Astana EXPO-2017 informs.

The theme of the EXPO Milano 2015 was “Feeding the Planet. Energy for Future”. According to the jury, the content of the Kazakh pavilion could in the best way reveal the theme of the exhibition and familiarize the guests with agriculture, geography, traditions and peculiarities of the country’s national cuisine.

Throughout the EXPO 2015 the Kazakh pavilion enjoyed high attendance receiving 5,000 people daily.

On October 23, Kazakhstan’s pavilion honored its millionth visitor - 57-year-old Daniele Bergo from Italy.

The theme of the Kazakh pavilion which covered the area of more than 3,000 sq m was “Kazakhstan - Land of Opportunities”.
150 volunteers from Kazakhstan served the pavilion.

Kazakhstan has been participating in EXPO since 2005.

Source: bashinform.ru

UFA, 29 October 2015. /Bashinform News Agency, Ksenia Kalinina/. In Moscow, during the Open Innovations Forum the largest solar power plant in Bashkortostan is put into operation. On October 29, the Hevel company (a joint venture of the Renova Group and OJSC Rusnano) launched in Buribay village of Khaybullino region of Bashkortostan the first stage of solar power plant (SPP) of 10 MW capacity. A command to run the plant via a teleconferencing from the Open Innovations Forum venue was given by the Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, director of development of high-tech assets of Renova Group Mikhail Lifshitz and RUSNANO CEO Anatoly Chubais. From the Buribay village a command to launch the plant was given by the Deputy Minister of Industry and Innovation Policy RB Ildar Shakhmaev, deputy director of the Hevel company Oleg Shutkin and the head of Khaybullino region Rail Ibragimov.

The gross capacity power of Buribaevo station after entering the second stage will be 20 MW. More than 70% of the components for the station were produced in the territory of Russia.

Buribaevo SPP is the first of seven stations that Hevel plans to build in Bashkortostan in the coming years. The total capacity of all future SPPs in the region will be 59 MW, the total investment is estimated at more than six billion rubles, the press service of RUSNANO informs.

Source: Inhabitat

Morocco is about to enter the world stage as a solar energy superpower with a massive new concentrated solar power (CSP) plant that’s currently in the works. The desert country is currently powered mostly by imported petroleum, but Morocco is planning to produce half its own energy with renewables by 2020. According to the Guardian, a key to that is the largest CSP plant in the world – currently under construction near the city of Ouarzazate. The first stage of the project, known as Noor 1, is set to go online next month and will produce about 160 megawatts of power through its 800 rows and 500,000 mirrors that follow the sun through the desert sky each day.

Noor 1 is the first of four such projects near Ouarzazate that will eventually produce about 580 megawatts, or enough to power about 1 million homes. Solar power is expected to provide about a third of the country’s energy by 2020, with the remainder of the 50 percent coming from wind and hydroelectricity. The total bill for the project sits at a hefty $9 billion.

Related: Africa’s largest wind farm in Morocco will power 1.5 million homes

But Moroccan environment minister Hakima el-Haite told the Guardian the country currently imports 94 percent of its energy through fossil fuels, which puts a heavy toll on the public purse. Earlier this year the country slashed fossil fuel subsidies in an effort to put more cash toward renewables. And he says the country is excited to be a world leader in solar energy. “We are very proud of this project,” he told the Guardian. “I think it is the most important solar plant in the world.”

The second and third phases, Noor 2 and 3, are scheduled to go online by 2017 with the capacity to store energy for as long as eight hours, compared to the three-hour capacity of Noor 1. That capability will mean around-the-clock power for the Sahara and areas surrounding it.

Source: Inhabitat

In sync with its reputation as one of the most progressive cities in the country, Boulder, Colorado has come up with a bold new vision for its local energy system. According to Al Jazeera America, the city plans to shed its current private energy provider, Xcel Energy and put in place its own, municipally-owned power utility. Supporters of the effort say such a publicly owned power provider would invest in more clean energy that would reduce carbon dioxide emissions while keeping power bills down for locals. They’re also hoping that a successful transition to a locally-owned model will stand as an example for other cities that want to follow suit.

The move is part of a greater movement towards “municipalization,” which the city embarked on in 2010, that saw it transfer private corporations to city ownership – and the council decided to end its 20-year agreement with Xcel, which is known for sourcing coal-fired energy. City officials not only wanted to cut their carbon emissions, and hesitate to enter into another two-decade relationship with a company they weren’t sure was going to keep up to speed with industry practices and renewable technologies.

Related: First net-zero neighborhood in the U.S. being built in Boulder

“Xcel was not able to do a franchise that was less than 20 years,” Sara Huntley, a Boulder city government spokeswoman told Al Jazeera America. “We were really looking for a 5- or 10-year franchise, mainly because the industry is in such a state of change right now.”

Xcel says it’s cut its emissions by 22 percent since 2005, but Boulder environmentalists say a city-owned utility could cut carbon emissions by as much as half. The decision as to whether the “municipalization” of Boulder’s energy will happen rests with Colorado’s Public Utilities Commission, which is set to rule on a motion filed by Xcel to dismiss Boulder’s application to create a public utility.