The Ministry of Energy of Kyrgyzstan and Rosatom Energy Projects have signed the terms of reference for a preliminary study for the construction of a low-power nuclear power plant.
The terms of reference says the parties are interested in developing a RITM-200N – small modular reactor – plant in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Signed at the ATOMEXPO-2022 International Forum, the document also looks at assessing how to get the best results from the introduction of nuclear into the energy balance of Kyrgyzstan.
The terms of reference also cover assessing how the project would be implemented in terms of the timing, the cost of electricity, technical aspects of connecting to the power grid, as well as the social and macroeconomic effects of the project, Rosatom said.
Electricity generation in Kyrgyzstan is mainly from hydro (over 90%). The country has no nuclear power, but in January 2022 signed a memorandum of cooperation with Rosatom on the construction of small nuclear power plants based on the RITM-200N. The country has a history of uranium mining, but no uranium mining is carried out there today.
Also on the sidelines of the event, in Sochi in Russia, Myanmar’s Ministry of Energy and Rosatom Energy Projects signed a memorandum of understanding on a joint pre-feasibility study on nuclear power plants construction in Myanmar based on Russian small modular reactors technologies.