If Kyrgyzstan builds a nuclear power plant, then its capacity should be at least 300 megawatts, the Deputy Minister of Energy, Sabyrbek Sultanbekov, has announced at a round table discussion, Kyrgyzstan 24.kg online news agency reported on February 8.

According to him, Kyrgyzstan has concluded an agreement with Russia’s Rosatom.  The subject of the agreement is the study of the possibility of building a nuclear power plant in the republic.  Initially, it was about two stations with a capacity of 50 megawatts each.

“But now we think that such power does not solve anything.  It must be increased.  If we build a nuclear power plant, then its capacity should be at least 300 megawatts.  This is the upper threshold for small nuclear power plants.  We could build one after discussion with the people,” 24.kg cited Sabyrbek Sultanbekov as saying.

To tackle frequent energy shortages, Kyrgyzstan is looking into the possibility of building its first nuclear power plant with Russian help.

Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Energy signed a cooperation document with a subsidiary of Russian nuclear agency Rosatom in November 2022.  

The document reportedly concerns the preparation of a feasibility study on installing a small nuclear reactor in Kyrgyzstan. 

Eurasianet reported in January this year that “what backers of this idea have in mind is a plant powered by a compact nuclear reactor known as RITM-200N.” This type of reactor is reportedly used at present on three Project 22220-class icebreakers developed by the St. Petersburg-based Baltic Shipyard.

According to Russian media reports, installation of such a reactor in Kyrgyzstan could happen no earlier than 2028.  

One reason that a RITM-200N reactor is highly unlikely to appear in Kyrgyzstan before 2028 is that Rosatom, whose subsidiary builds the reactors, operates on the policy that it will not install technology abroad that it has not already implemented in Russia itself.  The first onshore installation of a RITM-200N-powered plant is happening at the Kyuchus gold deposit in Yakutia, and completion of that project is not expected for another five years, according to Eurasianet.