Kazakhstan to benefit from nuclear power plant: Batyrbekov

Speaking about energy security of Kazakhstan Director General of the National Nuclear Center of Kazakhstan Erlan Batyrbekov said that Kazakhstan would benefit from a nuclear power plant, Tengrinews.kz reports.

"Construction of a nuclear power plant is a necessity for Kazakhstan. In the nearest 10 years the demand for electric power will exceed 1 gigawatt in East Kazakhstan Oblast alone and in 15 or 20 years it will exceed 2.8 gigawatt. It is impossible to cover such consumption with solar energy only. That is why Kazakhstan needs a large basic nuclear station. Compared to coal-fueled power plants a nuclear power plant would be beyond competition. Construction of a nuclear station is an escalated issue in Kazakhstan because it can define the countries strategic future and its becoming an industrial country relying on state of the art technologies," Batyrbekov said at the press-conference.

A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station that uses a nuclear reactor as its heat source. The heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity. According to the IAEA there were 439 nuclear power reactors in operation in 31 countries as of 16 January 2013.

Nuclear power plants are usually considered to be base load stations, since fuel is a small part of the cost of production.