SCOTTISH experts are to help oil-rich Kazakhstan go green, it has emerged.

The Central Asian nation, which borders Russia and China, is the largest oil exporter in the region and expected to produce 85 million tonnes of the black stuff this year.

However, its economy suffered a downturn last year after oil prices and demand fell and authorities are now looking to harness the country’s renewable energy potential.

Efforts to develop solar, wind, hydropower and biogas projects have begun and energy minister Kanat Bozumbayev said the government “has recognised the need for transition to a green economy”.

Now Abertay University in Dundee is to partner with a Kazakh institution in a deal that, if successful, could help the country emulate Scotland’s eco-success.

The university has agreed a research and teaching partnership with the Eurasian Technological University (ETU) to overcome skills and knowledge gaps.

According to Dr Kairzhan Abdykhalykov, vice rector on strategic development at ETU, a lack of training and expertise is hampering efforts to invest and diversify in sustainable power generation.

He said: “Renewable energy is one of the main priorities in Kazakhstan and by territory we are a very large country, so the potential for using solar energy is very high but we don’t have a pipeline of renewable energy specialists.

“There is demand from local and internationally-focused companies for such expertise and that’s why we are now looking to collaborate with Abertay and share knowledge to explore these areas.”

The news comes as the latest figures show Scotland’s wind turbines generated more than double the electricity used throughout the country on Monday. Data from WeatherEnergy found turbines sent 86,467 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity to the National Grid against an electricity consumption of 41,866MWh for homes, business and industry combined.

Output was high enough to power more than seven million homes — almost three times the number of Scottish households.

WWF Scotland director Sam Gardner said the figures “are part of a pattern of increasingly green power production made possible thanks to many years of political support”.

The Kazakhstan Renewables Framework was this week given $110 million to support its country’s development in a move that will, according to Bozumbayev, help deliver on its “green economy transition strategy”.

The Abertay partnership follows previous work on the country’s potential by academics Abertay’s Dr Anastasia Koulouri and Dr Nikolai Mouraviev of Dundee Business School.

Mouraviev said work will include “the impediments to renewable energy in the country given the high dependency on oil”.