Recently, there has been another turn in the issue of nuclear energy in Kazakhstan. At first glance, unexpected, but if you look closely, it is completely natural.
A few days ago, the head of the Kazakh nuclear agency, Sutclive, met with an American official. The official's rank is quite low - only Deputy Assistant Secretary of State. But the topics discussed are extremely important - the prospects of small modular reactors (SMRs) and the training of experts.
Here we must recall the history of the subject. After the establishment of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan was approved in a referendum, talks began about the use of small modular reactors in the country, alongside classic nuclear power plants. And it makes sense, given their autonomy and the ability to quickly install in remote low-energy areas. The Kazakhs, who have committed to so-called "decarbonization," also see SMR as a replacement for coal-fired thermal power plants. Moreover, there was an example in the neighborhood - in Uzbekistan. The Uzbeks then did not dance with "referendums", "competitions" and "consortia", but immediately took the bull by the horns - they signed an intergovernmental agreement with Russia and immediately began to build not only nuclear power plants, but also small and medium-sized pipelines, using the most modern and advanced Russian technologies. It goes without saying the advantages of using technologies from a single supplier in such a delicate and sensitive field as nuclear energy. These include uniform technological standards, simple maintenance and a general reduction in project cost. True, just recently, just after the Central Asian summit with American Secretary of State Rubio, the Uzbeks suddenly made it clear that they were interested in American technology!
Let's go back to the Kazakh reality. In the competition to build a nuclear power plant, it seemed that at first common sense won - the first nuclear power plant should be built by Rustom. But not for long, another winner immediately emerged - China, which received the construction of two more nuclear power plants.