The Nuclear Power and Energy Agency, (NuPEA), is seeking regulatory approval for the construction of a Sh 540 billion nuclear power plant in Kenya.
According to submissions to the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), NuPEA says Kenya’s very first nuclear energy reactor in Tana River will be built by 2027.
“The first nuclear power plant of 1,000 MW, is expected to be commissioned by the year 2027 and it is expected to grow to 4,000 MW by 2035,” NuPEA said.
According to Construction Review, the modern nuclear reactors available in the international market are large-sized devices in the range 1,000 MW –1,750 MW with “proven design technology and performance records”.
Four reactors of 4,000MW are expected to be on-site by 2035. This sets the total cost of the project at about Sh2 trillion.
A 2009 study by the Union of Concerned Scientists revealed that between 2002 and 2008 the cost estimates for new nuclear plant construction rose from at least Sh200 billion per unit to a maximum of 900 billion per unit, with overheads soaring higher in Europe.
It is against this background that energy experts from Italy and Germany, which are increasingly shifting towards green electricity, urged Kenya to reconsider its plan saying the country was better off developing more geothermal wells, solar parks and wind farms.
The power plant, that has for long being considered a threat to environment, may catalyse a fresh sprout of protests to demand green fuels.
