Facility will be built next to first plant on shores of Lake Balkhash
Kazakhstan has approved construction of its second nuclear power station on a site alongside the one already chosen for its first nuclear plant near Lake Balkhash, in the southwest of the country, about 400 km north of the former capital Almaty.
The news was confirmed in a brief resolution signed at the end of January by prime minister Oljas Bektenov. The resolution was published online, but gave no further details of plans for the second plant.
Kazakhstan plans to build its first nuclear power station, called Balkhash, on the shores of Lake Balkhash. The facility is expected to deploy two Russian Generation III+ WER-1200 pressurised water reactor units.
Press reports in Kazakhstan said the second station is expected to use technology from the China National Nuclear Corporation. In time, a third station is also expected to be built in Kazakhastan using the same Chinese technology.
In January, the country’s president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Kazakhastan must build nuclear power stations to meet growing electricity demand and fix the “historical absurdity” of being a large uranium producer and yet having no nuclear power capacity.
Kazakhstan holds around 40% of the global supply of uranium and is the world’s largest producer.
The country aims for nuclear power to represent around 5% of its energy mix by 2035.
Tokayev said in his state of the nation address in September that 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.
The US is also looking to build up its presence in the country. Washington announced recently that it would establish a small modular reactor (SMR) classroom simulator at Kazakhstan’s Institute of Nuclear Physics in Almaty to accelerate deployment of US SMRs in the country.
Kazakhstan is advancing its nuclear power programme to diversify its energy mix and reduce reliance on coal, which make up roughly 50% of the total energy supply, with substantial use in the industrial and residential sectors.
