In Kazakhstan, APS Energia selected Saft for the provision of its battery solution for optimisation of a wind farm during winter harsh conditions.

Saft provided its Uptimax battery solution to provide essential backup power or electronic monitoring, mechanical braking, pitch control and grease supply systems at the Badamsha wind farm.

The wind farm is located in the remote and exposed steppe of the Aktobe region of western Kazakhstan.

The project is Saft’s first contract with APS Energia.

APS Energia selected the solution owing to its reliability in harsh winter conditions and its maintenance-free capability.

The solution provide claims the battery tolerate a wide temperature range of -40 to +70 °C and typically provide a long service life of more than 20 years.

In 2021, the Badamsha wind farm will generate 396GWh of energy and avoid the emissions of 344,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere – equivalent to the emissions from 74,000 cars.

The site is contributing to environmental sustainability and is an important step in Kazakhstan’s goal of meeting 50% of its demand from renewables by 2050.

Alexey Kredin, chief executive of APS Energia Kazakhstan, said: “Saft’s long track record of providing industrial nickel battery solutions in cold climates gave us confidence that our backup power system will provide reliable performance to support continuity of generation for the wind farm.”