The last in a series of public meetings on the construction of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan was held in the country’s capital, Astana, ahead of a referendum expected to take place later this year.

Kazakhstan is the world’s largest producer of uranium and has long been considering adding nuclear capacity to its generation mix. Last September, in his state-of-the-nation address, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced that a referendum on the proposal would take place this year. The date for the referendum is yet to be set by presidential decree, but Tokayev confirmed in June that it will take place this autumn.

Kazakhstan’s nuclear energy law requires public discussions and local agreement on the construction of a nuclear power plant, and the event in Astana was the last in a series of such discussions which have been held in all regions of the country, the Ministry of Energy said.

The Astana event was moderated by the President of the Civil Alliance of Kazakhstan, Banu Nurgaziyeva, and the Chairman of the Public Council of Astana, Zulfukhar Gaipov, and attended by nuclear industry experts, representatives of government agencies and academia, as well as members of the public. Amongst other things, it focused on technological security, the socio-economic consequences of the project and Kazakhstan’s future energy security.

As well as being a major uranium producer, Kazakhstan is not without nuclear energy experience. A Russian-designed BN-350 sodium-cooled fast reactor operated near Aktau for 26 years until 1999, generating electricity and desalinating water, with an active nuclear R&D sector and several research reactors. Timur Zhantikin, Director of Kazakhstan Nuclear Power Plants JSC (KNPP) - which has been designated as the owner/operator of the future plant - told the meeting that around 600 Kazakh “specialists” are currently involved in nuclear power plant construction in Turkey while a Kazakh team has also participated in the construction of the BN-800 nuclear reactor in Russia.

Although a positive referendum result will be needed for the project to go ahead, Kazakhstan has been preparing for a possible nuclear power programme to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, diversify its energy mix and reduce CO2 emissions for some time. KNPP began preparing a feasibility study in 2018 to justify the need for nuclear power, the choice of the location for plant construction and to review the plant’s projected power output. Last year, an International Atomic Energy Agency led team carried out a four-day Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review mission to review the status of Kazakhstan’s nuclear infrastructure development in line with the agency’s phased Milestones Approach to support countries that are preparing to embark on a nuclear power programme.

Some details of Kazakhstan’s proposed nuclear programme have already been emerging, with the World Nuclear Spotlight event held in Almaty in April hearing that a site at Ulken, on the shores of Lake Balkhash, had been identified as the most suitable location, with Kurchatov as a backup region. The proposed first nuclear power plant would be a large reactor but there are also options for using small modular reactors to replace retiring coal plants in the years to come. The government’s target is for nuclear to produce a 5% share of the national generation mix by 2035.