Since the 1990s, Kazakhstan’s government made several attempts to introduce nuclear power to its energy mix, but each effort failed, primarily because of robust public opposition. Unlike previous attempts, this time the government appears to be firm in pushing for a nuclear power plant.
A national referendum on October 6 will ask citizens: “Do you agree with constructing a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan?”
Kazakhstan’s energy needs, geopolitics, the Soviet nuclear legacy, and tensions in government-civil society relations feed a heated debate on the country’s nuclear future. Whether and how Kazakhstan builds a nuclear power plant will impact the country’s future beyond the narrow issue of nuclear energy. It will demonstrate how Kazakhstan will deal with its energy security challenges, manage its complicated geopolitical situation and relationship with Russia, and whether the government will live up to its promise of being a “listening state.”
Arguments For and Against Nuclear Power: A Reality Check
The government’s main arguments in support of nuclear power include strengthening energy security, utilizing nuclear fuel production capabilities, stimulating the nuclear technology sector, as well as decarbonization and achieving green economy goals.
Kazakhstan already suffers from an energy deficit, and electricity consumption is projected to grow. In 2023, Kazakhstan imported 18 billion kilowatt/hours of electricity (14 percent of all its electricity needs), nearly five times more than the amount imported in 2022. Russia is the leading exporter of electricity to Kazakhstan. Existing thermal power plants, the majority of which have been in operation for more than 60 years, are worn out. The energy deficit is, indeed, a severe problem that needs to be addressed, and nuclear power can be a good addition to stable baseload electricity generation.
Yet, due to the long period required to construct a nuclear power plant (roughly a decade), nuclear power will not solve Kazakhstan’s immediate energy problems.
Supporters argue that adding nuclear power to the mix will have far-reaching benefits beyond covering energy needs. It will boost Kazakhstan’s nuclear technology development, including in such vital fields as the production of medical radioisotopes. Kazakhstan has a well-developed and growing nuclear industry. The country is the world’s largest uranium producer and has the world’s second-largest uranium reserves. Kazakhstan’s nuclear industry went from complete bankruptcy in the aftermath of the Soviet collapse to one of the world’s most developed.
Kazakhstan’s national nuclear company, Kazatomprom, is one of the major players in the international commercial nuclear market. The company can perform several stages of the nuclear fuel cycle, which is the process of producing nuclear fuel. It can produce nuclear fuel elements for different types of reactors. In this sense, adding nuclear power and stimulating further growth of Kazakhstan’s own nuclear sector makes sense. The only caveat is that Kazakhstan relies on Russia for uranium enrichment services, an important part of nuclear fuel production.