Mongolia’s potential in international cooperation in the Asian energy space

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The paper is concerned with the issues of interstate electric power interconnections to be created in the countries of Northeast Asia. The conditions are formulated, the problems are stated, and solutions for Mongolia's entry into the Asian energy space are proposed. The electricity consumption rates are growing, however, the Northeast Asia countries differ considerably in available energy resources to cope with this growth. Therefore, the need to build international electric power interconnections that take into account climatic features, seasonal peak load differences and other factors in order to rationally match power demand and supply is getting increasingly more obvious. Mongolia can take an active part in this process, as the country is rich in energy resources and interested in their development to meet their domestic needs and exchange with neighboring countries. The establishment of interstate power interconnections in the Northeast Asia countries represents a topical task whose solution will make it possible to meet the demand of this region for electricity on mutually beneficial terms. Mongolia has a good spatial position, energy resources and is interested in ensuring domestic energy balance. Therefore, the country can be an active participant in such an integration process.

Prospects and problems of intellectualization of electric power systems in Mongolia

“…In the group of centralized EPS there are five independent energy systems in operation ( Fig. 1) with the corresponding installed capacity, namely [1][2][3][4][5] Currently, 80% of power consumed in the country is produced by thermal power plants (TPP), and 20% is imported from Russia and China. On the average, 14.4% of power produced is consumed for auxiliary needs; power losses in the electric networks average 13.7%.…”

“…These indicators are 1.3-1.7 times higher than those for countries with developed networks. The main causes are as follows [1][2][3][4][5]:  Large extension of transmission lines versus relatively low voltage (e.g., one-circuit 700 km Muren-Telmen 110 kV transmission line);  Irregularity of daily power consumption (e.g., average annual factor of daily load curve irregularity makes 0.7);  Obsolete equipment and technologies used by power suppliers and consumers (for example, average period of boilers and turbine generators operation at TPP-4, the largest power plant within CEPS, is 150-200 thousand hrs);  Irrational allocation (concentration) of generating capacities (68% of capacities are located in Ulan-Bator and in its vicinity).…”

“…2). Depending on the high or low scenario, development of coal-based generation is proposed at the North-East of the country, construction of large farms of solar and photo-electric power plants is expected in the Gobi desert, and powerful wind mill farms are planned to be constructed predominantly at the East of Mongolia [1][2][3][4][5].…”

“…Principles and directions for development of the energy sector and electric power systems (EPS) in Mongolia are in the focus of many studies both within the fuel and energy complex of the country (including large-scale development of renewable energy sources), and within the concept of interconnection of standalone EPS and construction of Single EPS in the country, as well as considering participation of Mongolia in the inter-state cooperation of Northeast Asia countries on formation of Interstate Power Grid (IPG) [1][2][3][4][5].…”