Economy

Ministry official says State committed to 4,000MW nuclear energy plan

nuc

French nuclear giant Areva’ subsidiary Eurodif uranium enrichment plant in the Tricastin nuclear power centre in Bollene, southern France. Kenya says it is training technicians as well as focusing on intensive research to ensure the nuclear energy project succeeds. PHOTO | FILE

Kenya plans to raise 4,000MW of power from nuclear energy by 2031 to sustain socio-economic development in the country, the Ministry of Energy has said.

This is in addition to existing plans for geothermal, coal, wind and other forms of power generation.

Speaking during the official opening of the third Conference on Energy and Nuclear Power in Africa at Leisure Lodge Resort in Kwale County, Energy Principal Secretary Joseph Njoroge said the government is training technicians as well as focusing on intensive research to ensure the project succeeds.

Mr Njoroge said there was no turning back on generation of power from nuclear energy, saying it was more reliable and affordable compared to other sources.

“Kenya has many students in South Korea and the United States. This is capacity building to acquire requisite skills to handle the technology. We are developing the human capital,” he told the conference.

The principal secretary said Sh300 million is assigned to the Kenya Nuclear Energy Board annually to facilitate training and carrying out feasibility studies for secure delivery of the plan.

To meet the much-needed energy quota for an industrialised country, Mr Njoroge said wind, hydro and geothermal power sources are not bankable in reliability terms.

“We need a dependable reliable and available on continuous said. Solar and wind are good sources and renewable. But they are only available at certain times,” he said.

The principal secretary said the initial cost may be higher, but eventually price of the power will be low.

“You will be surprised to learn we have uranium,” Mr Njoroge said, without giving details of how much uranium Kenya has and where it came from. There have been low levels of uranium oxide found in Kwale county and prospectors have in the past been licensed to look in Kajiado. Tanzania has large deposits near the Kenya border in the Kilimanjaro area.

“When we look at the cost per kilowatt hour, nuclear energy is cost effective,” the PS said. “We will be talking of 8 or 10 US cents (Sh7 to Sh9) per hour.”

The envisioned power would cater for at least 20 per cent of the country’s power needs when fully established.

Safety

The Ministry has also invested in the safety of the technology, which has generated heated debate, with critics saying that Kenya has no ability to handle nuclear wastes.

In addition to following stringent global nuclear regulations, Mr Njoroge said the country will wait a few years before the actual plant is established to ensure safety measures are met as outlined by the International Atomic Energy Agency, of which Kenya has been a member since 1965.

“Without being bold, man could have not landed on the moon. We must emulate what others have done in the past and the present to be where they are. Kenya would successfully implement the nuclear energy by borrowing safety from countries which have used the energy for decades. We will observe the rules.”

READ: Experts warn of Sh50bn burden in State energy plan

Ed McGinnis, deputy secretary of the International Framework for Nuclear Energy Corporation, said safety must be assured before any country is allowed to install the plant. He added that such conferences are useful in sharing information on the importance of the energy as well as safety.

Parliamentary Committee on Energy member Vincent Musau said the legislators would come up with a comprehensive energy policy to monitor the safety of the new source of power when the country is ready.

He said the project would be a long lasting solution to the perpetual blackout and rations.