On October 6, Kazakhstan will hold a referendum on the construction of a nuclear power plant, an initiative the government of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is strongly in favor of despite Kazakhstan’s deep nuclear scars.
From 1949 to 1989, the Soviet Union conducted some 456 nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan’s northeastern Abai Region.
Amid an extensive address delivered on September 2 opening the new parliament session, Tokayev announced the referendum date, and the next day the necessary presidential decree was issued. In his speech, Tokayev said, “Given the growing global energy deficit, we are in dire need of reliable and environmentally friendly energy sources.”
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), as of 2021, 48.8 percent of Kazakhstan’s total energy supply (TES) is provided by coal, followed by oil at 24.9 percent and natural gas as 24.7 percent. Hydropower accounts for only 1.2 percent and just 0.4 percent comes from other renewables like solar and wind.
As per the IEA, “TES includes all the energy produced in or imported to a country, minus that which is exported or stored… Some of these energy sources are used directly while most are transformed into fuels or electricity for final consumption.”
In Kazakhstan, for example, coal-fired power plants provide most electricity.
In his speech, Tokayev stated that “in my opinion, it i…
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