Kazakhstan in the energy balance until 2035 plans to build a nuclear power plant with a capacity of 2.4 GW
By this time, electricity consumption in the country will amount to about 153 billion kWh, Energy Minister Bolat Akchulakov said.
The authorities of Kazakhstan in the energy balance of the country until 2035 planned the construction of a nuclear power plant (NPP) with a capacity of 2.4 GW. This was announced by the Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan Bolat Akchulakov at the collegium of the department.
"The country's energy balance provides for a nuclear power plant with an installed capacity of 2.4 GW as a new source of basic generation," Mr. Akchulakov said. According to him, the energy balance is calculated until 2035.
"According to the developed energy balance, by 2035, electricity consumption will be about 153 billion kWh. At the same time, the generation by energy sources currently operating today will decrease for a number of objective reasons and amount to about 89 billion kWh. The existing energy sources will not be able to cover the forecast needs of the population and the economy in electrical energy," the head of the Ministry of Energy explained. He noted that in this regard, by 2035, it is required to ensure the commissioning of new generating capacities with a total capacity of 17.5 GW.
On February 8, at an expanded government meeting, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced the need to build a nuclear power plant in the country in order to maintain leadership in the region and invest in the economy.
For the first time, the issue of Russia’s construction of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan was raised in 2019 at a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the President of Kazakhstan. The Russian leader offered Tokayev to build a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan according to a Russian project. At the end of December 2021, the head of the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan, Magzum Mirzagaliev, said that the authorities of the republic are considering two geographical points for the potential construction of a nuclear power plant - the village of Ulken in the Alma-Ata region and the city of Kurchatov in the East Kazakhstan region. At the same time, he stressed that the final decision on the choice of the site has not yet been made.