Frequent power outages in recent years have led President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to propose a national referendum on the construction of a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Kazakhstan. He made the announcement on September 1 during an address to the nation. The President argued that the country’s recent electricity problems, such as those experienced in Almaty and various regions of Kazakhstan in January 2022, could be mitigated through the construction of an NPP.
Opinions on the wisdom of constructing an NPP are divided within the country. Some argue that Kazakhstan, despite its history with the harmful radioactive after-effects of Soviet-era nuclear testing at sites such as Semipalatinsk, has a compelling case for a self-owned nuclear generation, as it is the world’s leading producer of uranium. These voices are calling for ongoing public debates and comprehensive discussions on the issue.
Questions have also been raised about Kazakhstan’s competence as an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) member state and its adherence to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, 1970, should construction proceed. The country, however, looks set to press on with its proposed nuclear energy program, as evidenced by an Infrastructure Assessment Mission report in March 2023, which acknowledged the potential for nuclear power to abate Kazakhstan’s reliance on fossil fuels and reduce CO2 emissions.
Nevertheless, there are concerns about the legal framework surrounding the operation of the NPP. Many assert that improvements need to be made to the regulatory landscape, which currently lacks a comprehensive list of regulatory legal acts for atomic energy use, requiring individual approaches for each atomic energy project. Anticipated changes may need to go as far back as Kazakhstan’s Law on Atomic Energy of 2016.
The country may look towards international strategic documents such as the Global Energy-Ecological Strategy to tackle some of these regulatory issues. Proposed by former Kazakh President N.A. Nazarbayev, this international treaty aims to create a safe, global energy state for all. As the dialogue continues, the Ministry of Energy, state entities, parliament members, domain experts, and public activists will work together to flesh out the possible particulars of the project’s implementation.
All things considered, the construction of an NPP in Kazakhstan appears to be a matter of when rather than if. The proposed referendum aims to mitigate future public resentment and could serve as a launching pad towards achieving this nationwide objective.
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