Kazakhstan Advances Nuclear Power Plant Project

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Kazakhstan's government has advanced plans for its first new nuclear power plant in more than 30 years by choosing the location and announcing plans to pick a supplier this year.

The government has picked Ulken, on the shores of Lake Balkhash - 300 miles north of Kazakhstan's commercial capital Almaty - as the most suitable location, according to documents released on the Minister of Justice's website. "The Balkhash site is very promising," Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev told journalists. "The relevant hearings were held there, but the exact site will be determined after engineering surveys. They are already being conducted. If potential vendors make a proposal to use another site, we will, of course, consider it. But the final decision will be made after the completion of engineering surveys." A referendum held last October showed that more than 71% of voters approved the construction of a nuclear power plant in the Almaty region. The country had three experimental reactors when the country was part of the former Soviet Union (USSR), but after it collapsed in 1991, the last one at Aktau was shut in 1999. The country has no operational nuclear power plants today.

Industrial Info is tracking plans to build a 1,000-1,400-megawatt (MW) plant, at an estimated cost of US$6.5 billion, with technologies from one of four potential bidders: Rosatom (Moscow, Russia), South Korea's Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Company Limited (KHNP), China's state-owned developer China National Nuclear Corporation (CNCC) (Beijing, China) and France's Electricité de France (EDF) (Paris, France). The technologies under consideration are Rostom's VVER-1200 and VVER-1000 reactors, KHNP's APR-1000 and APR-1400 reactors, CNNC's HPR-1000 and CNP-600+ reactors and EDF's ATMEA1 reactor. Earlier reports suggested that NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE:SMR) (Portland, Oregon) was in the running with up to four of its BWRX-300 small modular reactors (SMRs), but the company was not listed as one of the final bidders. A final visit by a government delegation was made to Rosatom in Russia in late January with some sources speculating that Rosatom is the leading contender. In a statement, Minister Satkaliyev said: "This visit was the final stage of a series of negotiations aimed at assessing proposals from tender participants. Earlier, from October to December 2024, similar visits took place to the Republic of Korea, the French Republic and the People's Republic of China. The final decision on the choice of a supplier or consortium for the implementation of the project has not yet been made. It will be made in 2025, taking into account the national interests of Kazakhstan, international norms and obligations."

Kazakhstan is rich in energy resources. With 15% of the world's uranium resources, it is also the largest producer. The country's government has determined that nuclear power will be central to its goal of diversifying its energy mix, reducing its CO2 emissions and reducing its overwhelming reliance on fossil fuels for electricity, which stands at almost 90%, with more than half of that from coal-fired plants.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).