Security fears after nuclear standoff

In Kazakhstan, the issue of developing new nuclear power plants to meet energy needs is the subject of public debate and confrontation. Gas reserves are not sufficient and Uzbekistan favours trade with China. Ties with Moscow and the prospect of a public referendum among the population.

Moscow () – A lively public debate on the project to build a new nuclear power plant was held in Almaty, the southern capital of Kazakhstan. Speakers explained the need to proceed in order to obtain a stable source of electricity; however, many voices were raised in the audience, opposed to it, concerned about the ecological safety, economic viability and the many possible consequences of the new plant’s activities.

As promised by the government, the issue is being publicly discussed in several places (about 20 so far), including in the Almatygenplan building on Abaj Prospekt in Almaty from 9 a.m. on August 26, in an auditorium packed with mostly elderly people and under police control. Representatives of the Social Council of the metropolis sat in the front rows, called upon to support the speakers sent by the Ministry of Energy, the Institute of Atomic Energy and the Institute of Nuclear Physics. In the central sector sat environmentalists and other citizens concerned with the issue, displaying banners with the inscriptions “The people of Kazakhstan against the referendum on the AES,” the nuclear power plant, and “Anyone who supports the AES is an enemy of the people.”

Gulmira Mursalovaja, deputy director of the Ministry’s Department of Atomic Energy, tried to explain the need for the initiative using images, comparing it with existing reactors around the world and pointing out the cost of uranium mining in the country, which is necessary for nuclear fuel. The director of the National Atomic Center, Erlan Batyrbekov, spoke of Kazakhstan’s serious energy shortage, which can be addressed in three ways: hydroelectric, coal or atomic power, which is the most suitable. Physicist Sakhabek Sakhiev said that there is no need to fear nuclear energy, and that his laboratory has been operating an experimental reactor that produces medical radioisotopes for more than half a century.

Speakers in the audience also demanded that both risks and benefits be explained, with some asking why gas-fired power plants cannot be built. The president explained that there is not enough gas in Kazakhstan, and there is very little hope of getting it from Uzbekistan, as the Uzbeks sell almost exclusively to the Chinese. Some accused those responsible for the debate of “merely advertising for the sake of the country.” [Vladimir] Putin and the other nuclear corporations,” given that the project would be financed mainly by Moscow. Many believe that the power plants already under construction are sufficient, fuelled by gas produced in western Kazakhstan, which “comes from Russia anyway.”

The government says that the funding will be diversified, with companies from France, South Korea and China participating in the project in addition to Russia. For some, nuclear power plants “are the domain of more economically powerful and technologically advanced countries” and that it would be more appropriate to modernise existing plants, several of which are now on the verge of permanent closure. However, many of those present expressed their distrust of the Astana government: “Since we go to school, they tell us that we will get through it, they make proclamations and demonstrations, but we are always at the same point,” said young Berikbol, who says: “I want to build my own future!”

Finally, the head of the Kazakhstan Nuclear Power Plants company, Timur Zantikin, explained that the project costs range from eight to 11.5 billion dollars, without giving details, mentioning that the Akkuju plant, recently built in Turkey with the Russian company Rosatom, cost 25 billion dollars. The tariffs depend on many factors: the Turkish plant produces at 12.25 cents per kWh, while in the United States the tariff is three cents and in China it is six cents. After the discussions, probably in the autumn, a referendum is planned to be held in all regions, but the date is still pending, with the aim of holding it in a “constructive” atmosphere, according to President Kasym-Zomart Tokaev.