Kyrgyzstan plans to build a NPP together with Rosatom and is choosing a site for its deployment, said Daniyar Amangeldiev, the First Deputy Chairman of the Kyrgyzstan Cabinet of Ministers. However, the site selection will have to take into account the need to prepare infrastructure adapted to the terrain and seismic activity of the country.
“We are now working very closely with Rosatom in this direction, studying the areas where it can be placed, studying the infrastructure, that is, what power the station should be, how safe it will be first of all,” Amangeldiev said in an interview with TASS.
He noted that Kyrgyzstan has good hydropower potential for generating electricity, but is also interested in nuclear power which offers a more constant supply.
Rosatom is ready to build a low-power NPP in Kyrgyzstan, said Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev. This could be a plant with a capacity of 110-440 MWe based on RITM-200N reactors.
Kyrgyzstan currently imports electricity from Russia and Turkmenistan. In 2024, electricity production at its hydroelectric station amounted to approximately 12.77 TWh, while its thermal power station produced 1.76 TWh. However, electricity consumption in 2024 increased to 18.3 TWh – shortage is about 3.6 TWh, which is covered by imports.
In November 2022, Rusatom Energy Projects and Kyrgyzstan’s Energy Ministry signed terms of reference during Atomexpo 2022 for a preliminary feasibility study to build a low-power NPP and expressed an interest in developing cooperation in the construction of an RITM-200N reactor.
The document envisaged joint work on assessing the feasibility and effectiveness of introducing nuclear energy into Kyrgyzstan’s energy mix, as well as assessing the key parameters of the project. These included the timeframe, the cost of electricity, the technical aspects of connecting to the power grid, as well as the social and macroeconomic effects of the project.
In 2024, Dmitry Konstantinov, general director of Rosatom’s representative office in Kyrgyzstan, noted: “The most suitable location for this project is the northern Chui oblast [region], where seismicity is the lowest. But we have not been able to name a specific site so far. A detailed study is needed. There are places in Kyrgyzstan where a nuclear power plant can be built, but not many.”
