Important Note: This website contains historical data from the INSP project. As of 2004 the site is no longer maintained and certain sections do not work correctly.

INSP Logo
Chornobyl Initiatives Reports and Publications Photo Library Nuclear Reactor Profiles and Accomplishments About our Program Web site sections
- Current Activity Report
- Activity Report Archive
- Current Chornobyl Report
- Program Reports
- Brochures/Fliers
- INSP Resource Center


Previous File Soviet-Designed Nuclear Power Plant Profiles Next File

Kazakhstan Flag KAZAKHSTAN

Aktau Nuclear Power Plant

Country Profile Synopsis

Size: 1,049,150 square miles (nearly four times the size of Texas)
Population1: 16.8 million (1999 est.)
Gross Domestic Product1: $52.9 billion (1998)
   (purchasing power parity)
Gross Domestic Product per Capita: $3,100 (1998)

Electricity Production1: 49.3 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity Consumption per Capita: 2,900 kWh (1998)
Total Installed Generating Capacity (1998)2: 19,100 MW
   Thermal-Fired Plants: 16,750 MW (88%)
   Nuclear Plants: 135 MW (<1%)
   Hydroelectric Plants: 2,230 MW (12%)

1 CIA Fact Book.
2 Energy Information Administration, 1999. www.eia.doe.gov.

Kazakhstan Map

Kazakhstan's Nuclear Power Program

Kazakhstan's only nuclear power plant is a liquid-metal-cooled fast breeder reactor of the BN?350 design located at Aktau on the Caspian Sea. The plant formerly provided heat to operate a desalination plant and 135 MW of electricity for industrial and public consumption, but is now shut down. In 1999, this accounted for less than one percent of the total amount of electricity generated in the country, but was a major source of electricity for the city of Aktau.

Kazakhstan's Key Nuclear Organizations

  • Kazakhstan Atomic Energy Committee - Kazakhstan's nuclear regulatory authority.
  • Ministry of Science and Technologies - agency responsible for nuclear power in Kazakhstan.

Aktau Nuclear Power Plant

Aktau Nuclear Power Plant

Plant Manager: Vladimir Karaulov
Utility: Kazakh State Atomic Power Engineering and Industry Corporation
Telephone No.: 7-8-32922-24800

Unit Reactor
Model
Net
Output
Initial
Start
Status
1 BN-350 135 MWe 7/1973 Shut Down*
*The plant has been shut down since 1999 but no work has been carried out to begin decommissioning activities.

Scope and Status of Activities

DOE reactor safety efforts in Kazakhstan are related to the country's only nuclear power plant at Aktau. Most of the energy produced by the Aktau plant's BN-350 reactor was used to operate a desalination plant. An additional 135 MW of electricity was distributed to the Kazakhstan grid.

In March 1999, Kazakhstan decided to shut down and decommission the plant. U.S. technical assistance is directed toward improving safety related to decommissioning work and transferring technology to support development of indigenous capabilities in nuclear safety analysis work.

Accomplishments

Management and Operational Safety

  • During 1999, the United States provided support to the Kazakhstan Nuclear Safety Center for performing initial decommissioning activities and obtaining Kazakhstani government agency approvals for the initial planning efforts. Officials of Kazakhstan, the United States, and the IAEA agreed that a formal decommissioning plan will be developed during 2000. Beginning in 2001, assistance will be provided for specific activities to ensure the irreversible shutdown of the plant, such as fuel removal and primary coolant decontamination.

Previous File | Contents | Foreword | Program Overview | Armenia | Bulgaria | Czech Republic | Hungary | Kazakhstan | Lithuania | Russia | Slovakia | Ukraine | Appendix A | Appendix B | Appendix C | Contacts | Next File


^top

----------
Please write to us at insp@pnl.gov
About this Web Site

https://insp.pnnl.gov:80/?reports/pocketbook/kazakhstan
The content was last modified on 08/27/2001 .

Security & Privacy