Nuclear energy in Kazakhstan
From Kazakhstan Encyclopedia
Template:Use dmy dates As of 2015, Kazakhstan has no active nuclear power generation capacity.[1] The country's only nuclear power plant, the BN-350 sodium-cooled fast reactor located near Aktau in Mangystau Region, ceased generating in June 1999 after 26 years of operation, and was decommissioned in 2001.[1] However, the plant's primary purpose was desalinization, not electricity generation, so its power output was limited. The country's National Nuclear Center (NNC) also operates three research reactors at the former Semipalatinsk Test Site.[2]
In 2003, the Kazakh Minister of Energy and Mines announced plans for the construction of a new nuclear power plant by 2018. The two- or three-unit plant was to be established on the shores of Lake Balkhash in the Karaganda region of central Kazakhstan.[3] However, these plans were later amended – in January 2013, President Nursultan Nazarbayev gave the government one month to submit new proposals for the construction of a nuclear power plant.[4] In September 2013, the Director General of the NNC, Erlan Batyrbekov, recommended the construction of a nuclear power plant to ensure Kazakh energy security.[5] In May 2014, Russia and Kazakhstan signed a preliminary cooperation agreement regarding the construction of a new nuclear power plant with a generating capacity of between 300 and 1,200 MW.[6]
Kazakhstan's thermal neutron pool-type reactor WWR-K was commissioned in 1967. In order to decrease proliferation risks, Kazakhstan started the program to convert WWR-K to LEU. Kazakhstan’s Institute of Nuclear Physics developed and implemented comprehensive safety programs for the reactor. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also provided recommendation on how ensure further continuous safety improvements on WWR-K.[7]
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