Russia has begun initial engineering surveys at site of first planned reactors
The construction of Kazakhstan’s first commercial nuclear power station will not be enough to ensure stable economic growth and the country must begin planning the construction of a second and even a third facility, president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in his state of the nation address on 8 September.
Tokayev emphasised the importance of developing nuclear energy to secure Kazakhstan’s energy future and ensure sustainable economic growth. He said the country’s transition to low-carbon energy sources is a tool for sustainable development and the nation’s long-term interests.
But he said more nuclear plants are needed beyond the one planned in collaboration with Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom in the Zhambyl District of Kazakhstan’s Almaty Region in the southeast of the Central Asian country.
That facility is expected to have two Generation III+ VVER-1200 pressurised water reactor units.
Rosatom said recently that initial engineering surveys had begun at the site.
Kazakhstan has said it wants nuclear to have a 5% share if its energy mix by 2035.
Tokayev noted in his address that Kazakhstan has reached a partnership agreement with China in the nuclear sector and is open to “working with global companies on a mutually beneficial basis to secure energy sovereignty”.
China National Nuclear Corporation, which has already secured a contract to build Kazakhstan’s second commercial nuclear power station, will lead the construction of a third facility, first deputy prime minister Roman Sklyar said recently, according to local press reports.
Plans to deploy large-scale nuclear power during the Soviet era were dropped due to the availability of other energy options, although the country operated a single BN-350 fast neutron reactor at the Caspian Sea site of Aktau between 1972 and 1999.
In October 2024, voters in Kazakhstan backed the construction of a nuclear power station in the country.
Kazakhstan's energy mix is heavily dominated by fossil fuels, with coal making up approximately 50% of its total energy supply and also accounting for about two-thirds of its electricity generation, followed by natural gas.
Renewables make up a small but increasing share of electricity generation, with hydropower, wind, and solar being the main contributors.
