Kenya Nuclear Electrification Board (Kneb) chief executive Collins Juma
(left), chairperson Teresia Mbaika (right) and Cofek secretary-general
Stephen Mutoro during a forum on nuclear electricity for Kenya in
Nairobi on December 5, 2017.
Kenya plans to set up its first nuclear power plant by 2027, with construction expected to start within seven years.
Kenya plans to set up its first nuclear power plant by 2027, with construction expected to start within seven years.
The
Kenya Nuclear Electricity Board (Kneb) chief executive officer Collins
Juma said Tuesday that the prefeasibility study and siting work have
already been done.
He said they expect to have the actual site(s) within the next two years.
“The
journey to have a nuclear plant started in 2009 and already we have
done prefeasibility study and we have been doing the siting work for the
last five years but we are hopeful that by 2024 construction works
should begin, which will make us the second country in Africa after
South Africa to set up a nuclear power plant,” said Mr Juma.
He
was speaking during a meeting involving Kneb, the Consumer Federation
of Kenya (Cofek), engineering students in the country and the public at
Laico Regency in Nairobi on Tuesday.
Capital-intensive
Mr
Juma, however, said the programme is capital-intensive, with building a
single nuclear power plant capable of producing 1,000MW costing between
Ksh500 billion and Ksh600 billion ($5-$6 billion).
He added that a model for constructing and running the power plant had not been arrived at.
He,
however, stated that the board has signed a memorandum of understanding
with four countries to help Kenya in capacity building as the process
is capital intensive and requires highly skilled personnel.
“The programme will create jobs locally both directly and
indirectly with human resource planning showing that over 5,000 workers,
majority of whom will be drawn from the local labour pool, will be
involved in design, siting, bidding and the construction of the nuclear
power plant,” said the Kneb boss.
He noted that as the
world gradually shifts to cleaner fuels for electricity, Kenya is among
countries intending to pursue a nuclear power programme.
He
said there are 438 nuclear power reactors in operation worldwide with a
total installed capacity of 374,301MW and a further 71 under
construction.
Environment friendly
“We need
more power at affordable prices. Nuclear power is environmentally
friendly, affordable, reliable and sustainable,” he said.
The Kneb boss said nuclear energy has been identified as a source to fill the deficit Kenya is projected to have by 2030.
He
said Kenya will require an estimated 16,000 megawatts of electricity by
2030 by then, yet the country is only able to generate 2,300 megawatts
from various other energy sources
“Under the 5,000
megawatts plus initiative, coal and gas will be tapped alongside
geothermal and wind to raise the country’s electricity to 7,000MW.
"There will still be a deficit even if all domestic energy resources were fully exploited," he said.
“Based
on this, nuclear energy has been identified as a stable, efficient and
reliable source of electricity to spur industrial development and
stimulate economic growth,” he said.
Safety and security
For his
part, Joseph Maina, Radiation Protection Board acting chief officer,
allayed fears concerning the safety, security and disposal of waste from
nuclear energy.
Mr Maina said Kenya has a nuclear
safeguard where nuclear material must be accounted for atom by atom to
make sure no diversion for unintended purposes.
“Kenya
has made great strides in enhancing legal framework and approach through
necessary regulatory structures to ensure nuclear systems, security and
safeguards including the management of radioactive wastes and spent
fuel is adhered to,” said Mr Maina.
Cofek
secretary-general Stephen Mutoro hailed the programme but urged the
board to involve consumers while the process is ongoing to make them
fully understand the plan.
“The subject has been
misunderstood because of lack of enough information reaching the public
but with more stakeholder engagement this will change,” said Mr Mutoro.
-Reported by Collins Omollo.
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