The PCK Secretariat informs that on 2.06.2023 on the initiative of the Union of Energy Engineers of the Republic of Kazakhstan and JSC "KNPP" a special seminar was held at the Almaty University of Energy and Communications named after. G.Daukeeva on the topic:
"What is the readiness of the regulatory legal framework of Kazakhstan for the construction of nuclear power plants?".
The workshop was attended by: M.Dulkairov - General Director of the ALE "Union of Energy Engineers of the Republic of Kazakhstan", members of the PCK at KazNAEN: T. Zhantikin - General Director of "KAES" JSC "Samruk-Kazyna", E.Batyrbekov - General Director of RSE "NNC RK", I.Tazhibayeva - General Director of "STC SNT" ME RK; B.Ibraev - Chairman of "VANEP" at the NSK; D.Dzhanseitov - Deputy General Director of RSE "INP" ME RK; P.Svoik - Public, political figure, independent expert, and other nuclear physics experts, who stated, as the Orda.kz correspondent reported, that "...neither coal, nor gas, nor renewable energy sources can replace basic generation in the country."
(The program of the seminar is Appendix 1.)
The moderator of the seminar, M.Dulkairov, in his opening remarks, recalled that Kazakhstan should come to carbon neutrality in the coming decades and noted that today the situation has developed in such a way that there is no alternative - only the construction of a nuclear power plant. To cover the shortage of basic capacity, the country needs to build a nuclear power plant with at least two units with a capacity of 1000 to 1400 MW. In addition, two thousand specialists are needed to work on it, experts noted.
“Construction of the nuclear power plant will have a multiplier effect in the development of the country. An increase in the scientific, technical and highly qualified personnel potential of the country is predicted. It will be necessary to create up to 8,000 new jobs during construction and up to 2,000 high-quality personnel for the period of operation. As is customary in the industry, one job during the construction of a nuclear power plant creates another ten in related sectors of the economy. It is planned to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 10 million tons per year with the development of local industry and the integrated use of the potential of our own fuel base,” said Timur Zhantikin, Director General of Kazakhstan Nuclear Power Plants. He noted that one nuclear power plant will provide reliable energy supply to consumers for more than 60 years.
I.Tazhibayeva spoke on the readiness of legal acts in the Republic of Kazakhstan during the construction of nuclear power plants, highlighting from the necessary conditions for the development of nuclear energy and nuclear technologies:
- compliance with the principles of nuclear, radiation and nuclear security;
- existence of a regulatory framework, an independent regulatory body;
- observance of international principles and agreements;
- competent specialists (training and retraining);
- use of accumulated experience and knowledge, the principle of continuity of generations.
“The regulatory framework exists, but it needs to be improved. For example, at present there is no general list of legal acts in the field of the use of atomic energy - an individual approach is applied for each facility using atomic energy. This is due to the fact that many of the documents were developed and approved in the Soviet Union or the Russian Federation, and their effect is extended to Kazakhstan specifically for a specific installation. CNPSC ME RK, as a regulatory body, agrees on the list and gives permission for the use of regulations separately for each installation/facility. For the NPP planned for construction, it is expedient to partially agree on the regulatory documents of potential suppliers of reactor technologies (vendors),” said Irina Tazhibayeva.
She noted that the regulatory framework will have to be expanded significantly. In her opinion, the IAEA documents must be included in the complete list of legal acts used in the construction of nuclear power plants. And for the successful implementation of the provisions of conventions and agreements, there are still not enough by-laws. The required list of legal acts must be developed and approved by a government decree, even at the stage of preparing an intergovernmental agreement on the construction of a nuclear power plant.
Other experts noted that the following elements of nuclear infrastructure have already been created in Kazakhstan:
- adopted an updated law on the use of atomic energy;
- A regulatory body has been established and is functioning – the Committee for Nuclear and Energy Supervision and Control; there are technical support organizations for the regulator;
- the country has become a party to the main international conventions and agreements in the field of the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes, has a fairly well developed legislative base;
- appointed a ministry (Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan) bearing full responsibility for the creation and maintenance of the entire nuclear infrastructure in the country at the required level;
- a possible region (district) for the construction of the future nuclear power plant was announced;
- made calculations and conducted an appropriate analysis of electricity needs until 2035.
For reference: the regulated areas of activity of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan include the peaceful use of atomic energy, ensuring nuclear, radiation and nuclear physical safety of nuclear facilities, radiation safety of the population.
The experts again discussed the opportunities, upcoming challenges and personnel issues in the context of NPP construction. In total, about 50 people took part in the workshop.
More details can be found on the website http://www.orda.kz
Photos are presented by: Оrda.kz