Videos | Environment | Central Asia
Will Central Asia’s fix for its energy crisis merely trigger another?
Central Asia is trapped in an energy paradox. The region’s governments are banking big on the future — specifically, artificial intelligence and critical minerals mining. The problem? These industries demand huge amounts of energy. And right now, Central Asia is running out of it.
Decades of under-investment, amid a booming population, mean the region’s aging Soviet-era infrastructure is buckling under the pressure. Blackouts, rationing, and temporary restrictions are already a seasonal reality.
But with demand set to skyrocket, the region’s largest economies have a new plan to keep the lights on: they’re going nuclear.
