Nukes, Please

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Kazakh voters have overwhelmingly approved the building of the country’s first nuclear power plant to replace its coal-fired power production in a landmark referendum over the weekend that was criticized for being a rubber stamp for the government’s plan, the Diplomat reported.

About 71 percent of voters approved the plant, backed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, in a referendum Sunday, according to results released by Kazakhstan’s Central Referendum Commission on Tuesday, the Astana Times reported.

Meanwhile, there were some irregularities reported during the vote such as “ballot stuffing” and the removal of independent observers, the Diplomat wrote.

The government wants to build a nuclear plant in the southeastern village of Ulken on the shores of Lake Balkhash, in an attempt to lessen the country’s reliance on highly polluting coal plants.

The government says that nuclear power can provide a net zero-carbon solution to Kazakhstan’s growing power deficit, especially since the country is one of the world’s biggest uranium producers.

However, the plan has faced public criticism due to fears over the potential dangers of nuclear power that stem from previous Soviet nuclear tests in the country, and suspicions that Russian contractors might be a part of the project, according to Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty.

Many Kazakhs want to reduce Russia’s influence over Kazakhstan.

Many also criticized the high cost of the project – estimated at around $12 billion – adding that gas-fired plants are less expensive and less risky.

When part of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan was the site of hundreds of Soviet nuclear weapons tests that made large parts of land uninhabitable and impacted the health of nearby residents, as well as the 1986 Chernobyl power plant disaster having made the public wary of nuclear power.

One of the four contractors whose reactors are being considered for the power plant project is Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear plant operator. The public is skeptical of Russian involvement because of its history and also sanctions on Russian energy.

Tokayev reiterated that there was no single company or country in mind as a potential contractor when he cast his vote in the referendum publicly in the capital Astana, reported Reuters.

Tokayev also said that holding this referendum is in line with his “Listening State” concept – listening to the people’s wants and needs.

Still, the country is authoritarian and anti-nuclear protesters have been impeded from demonstrating in cities across the country, with some activists detained or facing fines.

“The decision to build the nuclear power plant, and to build it with Rosatom, has already been made in (Tokayev’s office) and the people of Kazakhstan are being invited to polling stations as ‘notaries’ to authenticate this decision with their votes,” popular blogger Vadim Boreiko wrote.

Still, some locals hoped the project would bring jobs. “I support the power plant,” Dametken Shulgeyeva, who has lived in the small town of Ulken for more than 20 years, told Reuters. “This is our future.”

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