Kazakhstan has begun to consider building a new nuclear power plant in order to alleviate the country’s electricity crisis. This is in response to the growing crypto mining sector. Power supply problems are driving miners away from Kazakhstan, who were looking for a home after China cracked down recently on this industry.
NPP Project Revised amid Short Supply Of Energy in Crypto Mining Sector of Kazakhstan
Authorities in Kazakhstan are now thinking of implementing a decade-old plan to construct a nuclear power plant (NPP) in order to solve the country’s pressing issues with a growing electricity deficit. With capped tariffs and a crypto-friendly attitude, the former Soviet republic attracted a throng of Chinese miners chased away by Beijing’s offensive against the crypto industry launched in May of this year. Some of these miners are leaving now that their hardware has idling.
Two locations are currently under consideration as potential sites for a nuclear station, Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Magzum Mirzagaliev revealed this week. They are Ulken, a village in the Alma-Ata Region and Kurchatov, a city in East Kazakhstan. Mirzagaliev was quoted in Russian by Tass.
Up to 2035, we are able to maintain the balance between production and demand. To provide electricity for our people and economy, we see the necessity of building a nuclear power station.
Kazakhstan, a world leader in the mining of uranium ore, has been considering building a nuclear power plant for more than ten years. Mirzagaliev said that construction will continue for another 10 years. The government in Nur-Sultan is now in talks with Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation, Rosatom, which has constructed NPPs in China, India, and Belarus. Officials noted that the nuclear power plant would also assist Kazakhstan in reaching its goals of carbon neutrality by 2060.
After the Chinese miners arrived, the country began experiencing power shortages. The deficit was 7% for the first quarter of 2011. The shortages were immediately blamed on the country’s energy-hungry information centers. Authorities estimated that just one crypto farm could consume as much electricity as 24,000 homes. Kazakhstan is a leading producer of fossil-fuels and had to import expensive electricity from Russia in order to make up the shortfall.
Kazakhstan is generally supportive of the cryptocurrency industry. Kazakhstan welcomed cryptocurrency miners, and it took measures to regulate this sector. Recent estimates show that crypto mining could bring in $1.5 billion to its economy over the next five-years, and more than $300 million as tax revenue. The January fee for registered mining businesses will be $0.0023 per kilowatthour of electricity.
Do you think a nuclear station will solve Kazakhstan’s problems with power supply and ensure enough electrical energy for its crypto mining industry? Leave your comments below.
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