The project envisages the construction of a nuclear power plant near the village of Ülken in the Almaty Region in southeastern Kazakhstan. The facility will be located on the shores of Lake Balkhash, an endorheic semi-freshwater reservoir and the world’s second-largest perennial salt lake after the Caspian Sea. The launch of the NPP is expected to reduce the energy deficit in southern Kazakhstan, which reached 3.1 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2023. Currently, the energy deficit is being offset by the flow of electricity from the northern regions of the country, which is also receiving supplies from Russia: according to customs statistics, electricity imports from Russia to Kazakhstan totaled 4.8 TWh in 2023, with an overall value of $236 million.
Coal-fired power plants remain the key source of electricity for Kazakhstan. According to Ember, they accounted for 57% of the domestic power output in 2023, with power plants using gas and fuel oil at 29% and 2%, respectively, and renewable energy sources at 12%. At the same time, the pace of bringing thermal power plants into operation has been noticeably slower than the construction rate of renewable energy facilities in recent years. For instance, a total of 2.9 gigawatts (GW) of hydroelectric power plants, wind turbines, solar panels and biomass units were launched in Kazakhstan between 2014 and 2023, whereas the aggregate capacity of newly-launched coal- and gas-fired power plants reached almost 2 GW.
The nationwide referendum is one of the stages in the NPP construction project. Following the studies for selecting the location of the NPP, which went to the Zhambyl District of the Almaty Region, public debates were held in a number of regions to gauge public opinion on the idea of building a nuclear power plant. The next stage was a nationwide referendum, after which the Government will have to select the technology supplier. Earlier, Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry published a short list which included China’s CNNC with an HPR-1000 reactor, South Korea’s KHNP with an APR-1400 reactor, France’s EDF with an EPR-1200 reactor and Rosatom with VVER-1200 and VVER-1000 reactors. After the supplier is selected and engineering surveys are conducted, design documentation will be prepared and submitted to public hearings.
If the remaining stages are successful, the construction of the NPP is expected to be completed in the mid-2030s. Technically, the new NPP will not be the first in Kazakhstan’s history. In 1973, the Shevchenko NPP equipped with a BN-350 fast neutron reactor was launched in the west of the country, which made it possible to convert spent nuclear fuel into fuel for NPPs. The reactor was decommissioned in 1999.
