Latest news with #AlmasadamSatkaliyev
IOL News
3 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Kazakhstan and Russia Break Ground on Landmark Nuclear Power Project – Lessons for South Africa's Energy Future
/ Image: Yandex In the quiet village of Ulken, on the shores of Lake Balkhash in Kazakhstan's Almaty Region, a drilling rig bites into the earth. It marks the start of a project set to redefine the country's energy landscape for decades to come — and one that should spark serious reflection in South Africa. On 8 August 2025, Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, and the Kazakh Agency for Atomic Energy began the first stage of their high-capacity nuclear power plant (NPP) project. The initial focus is on precision: 50 boreholes, each up to 120 metres deep, will be drilled to gather seismic, hydrological and geological data. This painstaking work ensures the site meets the highest safety and reliability standards before any construction begins. The plant will use Generation III+ VVER-1200 pressurised water reactors — advanced technology already in operation or under construction in Russia, Belarus, Turkey, Bangladesh, Egypt and China. Each unit will generate 1,200 megawatts of electricity with a service life of 60 years, extendable to 80. For Kazakhstan, it promises long-term energy security, a significant cut in carbon emissions, and entry into the high-tech industrial sector. Image: Yandex The Kazakh government has been clear about the benefits: new schools, kindergartens, modern infrastructure, and jobs in a sector that can keep skilled engineers in the country. Almasadam Satkaliyev, Chair of the Atomic Energy Agency, described it as 'the first step towards a new high-tech sector in the national economy.' South Africa, meanwhile, has struggled to move beyond one ageing nuclear facility. Koeberg remains our sole operational plant, limping towards a life-extension while energy security falters. The political toxicity surrounding a nuclear deal with Russia during the Zuma years left the sector in limbo. That deadlock shifted slightly this week when Environment Minister Dion George granted Eskom partial environmental approval to build a new nuclear power station at Duynefontein, adjacent to Koeberg. This follows an eight-year legal battle and is only one step in a longer process, but it signals that nuclear expansion may be re-entering the national agenda. Image: Yandex Kazakhstan's approach offers a clear lesson. The country has not shied away from its nuclear past, which includes the Semipalatinsk test site and the BN-350 reactor in Aktau. Instead, it is building public trust through transparency and rigorous safety measures. The current survey phase — the most regulation-bound stage — ensures construction will only proceed once hard geological evidence confirms the site's suitability under both national and International Atomic Energy Agency standards. For South Africa, nuclear energy remains a viable route to energy sovereignty. While Western-backed 'green' finance often locks developing nations into dependency on imported technology and donor approval, projects like Ulken show there are alternatives that combine local industry, long-term planning, and multipolar cooperation. If Kazakhstan can move from agreement to full-scale geological and seismic surveys within a year, South Africa can shift from political stalemate to a tangible nuclear build programme. In a rapidly changing world, the question is whether we will power our future on our own terms or under someone else's direction. ****Gillian Greer Schutte is an award-winning South African filmmaker, writer, and critical race theorist whose work bridges media, politics, and social justice. An honorary lecturer at Wits University's Graduate School of Public and Development Management, she has produced globally used hypermedia and film case studies in collaboration with the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Widely published in academic journals and international newspapers, her work interrogates poverty, geopolitics, extractive mining, and neoliberal economics across the Global South, with documentaries and hybrid films that challenge dominant narratives and amplify marginalised voices.
The Diplomat
4 days ago
- Business
- The Diplomat
Survey Work Begins in Kazakhstan for Russia-Built Nuclear Power Plant
A groundbreaking ceremony marked the formal start of the project, which could take a decade to complete and require investment of $15 billion. Work has officially begun in the village of Ulken, in Almaty Region on the shore of Lake Balkhash, on Kazakhstan's first nuclear power plant. It will be at least a decade before the plant is completed, and officials say the total investment in the project will be around $14-15 billion. While Russia was selected to take the lead on constructing Kazakhstan's first nuclear power plant, China is slated to take the lead on two additional power plants. On Friday, Kazakh government officials — including the head of Kazakhstan's Atomic Energy Agency, Almasadam Satkaliyev, and Marat Sultangaziyev, akim of Almaty Region — and Alexey Likhachev, director general of Russia's Rosatom, marked the launch of the project with a groundbreaking ceremony which involved drilling for a soil sample. In his remarks, as reported by Kazinform, Satkaliyev stated that the ceremonial start of the project marks the beginning of engineering and survey work. A Rosatom press release stated that initial work will focus on determining an optimal site and preparing designs. 'The launch of engineering surveys in Ulken marks the beginning of the journey toward the first high-capacity nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan's modern history,' Likhachev said. In October 2024, Kazakhstan held a referendum on the question of whether the country should pursue the construction of a nuclear power plant. The nuclear question in Kazakhstan is particularly fraught. On the one hand, nuclear power is attractive and within reach. Kazakhstan is believed to possess 12 percent of global uranium reserves and, as of 2022, produced 43 percent of the world's uranium. But Kazakhstan was the site of 456 nuclear tests carried out by the Soviet Union between 1949 and 1989 at the Semipalatinsk facility. All issues nuclear are especially sensitive. Although the referendum passed with over 70 percent in favor, the information campaigns and debates ahead of the vote were constricted. As I remarked in September 2024 ahead of the referendum: Given Kazakhstan's constrained political environment, the ultimate vote may not adequately reflect the complexity of public opinion on the issue. Referendums in Kazakhstan don't fail: Constitutional referendums in 1995 and 2022 passed easily, and a 1995 referendum on extending Nazarbayev's first post-independence term passed with 96 percent in favor. As has happened before various referendums and elections, activists in opposition to the proposals have found themselves under pressure. Activists campaigning against the nuclear power plant did, indeed, meet with pressure and in some cases detention. In June, Rosatom was selected by the Kazakh authorities to take the lead on the construction of the country's first nuclear power plant, beating out China's China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), France's Électricité de France (EDF), and South Korea's Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP). That announcement was paired with news that China would take the lead on constructing Kazakhstan's second nuclear power plant. In August, Kazakhstan's First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar said that CNNC would also build Kazakhstan's third nuclear power plant. There are few details about the latter two projects, with some reports suggesting sites such as Kurchatov, adjacent to the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in Kazakhstan's east, and Aktau, once home to a Soviet-era BN-350 fast neutron reactor, in the country's west. Sklyar suggested that locations could be identified before the end of the year. With regard to the Rosatom project, Sklyar said intergovernmental negotiations were ongoing and that once finalized, the agreement would be submitted to parliament for ratification. He also outlined the general plans: The Ulken plant is envisioned to include two units 'with a combined capacity of 2.4 GWe and is expected to be operational by 2035.' Nuclear power is of considerable interest across the region, which struggles with imbalanced energy resources, aging or poorly modernized infrastructure, and increasing demand for electricity. Oil and gas-rich Kazakhstan imports electricity from Tajikistan, as does Uzbekistan. Both also import gas from Russia, and both are collaborating with Rosatom on nuclear power plants. A 330-megawatt nuclear power plant, with six reactors, is to be built in Uzbekistan's Jizzakh Region. Agreements were signed in May 2024 between Rosatom and UzAtom. The first concrete is scheduled for pouring in March 2026. Neighboring Kyrgyzstan is also eyeing nuclear power to address its growing energy demands. In November 2022, Kyrgyzstan signed an agreement with Rosatom to conduct a feasibility study on the possibility of constructing a small-capacity nuclear power plant. In June 2024, Kyrgyzstan's authorities lifted a 2019 ban on uranium mining. Earlier this year, the results of the Rosatom feasibility study were submitted to Kyrgyzstan.
Time of India
24-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Russia sign pact to construct nuclear power plant in uranium rich Kazakhstan
Russia and its close partner in Central Asia Kazakhstan have reached an agreement and signed documents for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan. The agreement was signed by Alexey Likhachev, director general of the Russian atomic energy corporation Rosatom , and Almasadam Satkaliyev, chairman of Kazakhstan's Atomic Energy Agency, at the recently held St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. During the meeting the Indicative Road Map was approved, envisaging the stages of project preparation and implementation, including surveying, conclusion of an EPC contract and development of project documentation. In addition, Kazakhstan Nuclear Power Plants LLP (KNPP LLP) and Atomstroyexport JSC (Engineering Division of Rosatom) signed a framework agreement that defines the key principles of cooperation in implementing the project in Jambyl district of Almaty region. The project is implemented within the framework of interstate cooperation in the peaceful use of atomic energy and is aimed at achieving the strategic objectives to ensure energy security and decarbonization of Kazakhstan's economy . The parties emphasize the importance of setting about implementing the project, which is of a strategic nature for Kazakhstan, as soon as possible. Live Events 'We appreciate the trust the Kazakhstani party has placed in us to lead the international consortium that will build a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan. This country has been our reliable historical partner in the nuclear industry. We are convinced that Russian nuclear technologies, which have proven their reliability, safety and efficiency, will serve the people of Kazakhstan, strengthening its energy sovereignty,' said Alexey Likhachev. Kazakhstan had earlier selected Rosatom as the leader of an international consortium tasked with building a large-capacity nuclear power plant in the country.
Reuters
18-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Kazakhstan removes energy minister amid tensions with OPEC+, oil majors
March 18 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's energy minister will stand down from his role, the country's presidential office said on Tuesday, as the government struggles to convince U.S. and European oil companies to lower production that exceeds OPEC+ targets. Almasadam Satkaliyev will become the head of the country's newly created atomic energy agency, the presidential office said in a decree published on Tuesday. It remains unclear who will succeed Satkaliyev as the head of the energy ministry. Satkaliyev led the ministry since April 2023. OPEC has said Kazakhstan was the biggest contributor to a jump in February crude output by OPEC+. Last week, he travelled to the United States for talks with oil majors Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, Eni and Honeywell, all of which operate in Kazakhstan. Satkaliyev said discussions were aimed at reducing oil output to align the country's supply with OPEC+ targets. The ministry did not disclose the outcome of the talks. The Central Asian country produced 1.767 million barrels per day (bpd) in February, up from 1.570 million bpd in January. Its OPEC+ quota is 1.468 million bpd. The ministry has said the increase was due to the expansion of the Tengiz field, led by Chevron, and pledged to comply better with its quota. Kazakhstan does not have nuclear power plants but sits on large uranium reserves, which account for about 15% of the world's total and are second only to Australia's.
Reuters
10-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
CERAWEEK Kazakhstan in talks with oil majors to cut output, energy minister says
HOUSTON, March 10 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan is in discussions with oil majors to cut oil output to bring the country's supply back in line with OPEC+ targets, the country's energy minister Almasadam Satkaliyev said on Monday. "We are in phases of discussions with the majors, we are having an open dialogue", Satkaliyev said on the sidelines of the CERAWeek conference in Houston. Speaking at an online briefing last week, officials from Kazakhstan, which has frequently exceeded the OPEC+ production quotas, pledged to cut output in March, April and May to compensate for pumping above targets in previous months. The Reuters Power Up newsletter provides everything you need to know about the global energy industry. Sign up here.
