Kenya’s government recently announced that construction of a nuclear power plant will start in 2027. The nation’s goal to switch to clean energy and boost energy production includes the 1,000MW facility, which has been in the works for some time.
Similar claims regarding the project’s impending launch have been made in the past.
Justus Wabuyabo, the acting CEO of the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency, told reporters that the organisation is now completing site inspections and finalising plans to open bids for the building of the facility.
According to Wabuyabo, the facility will be built in Kenya’s coastal region over the course of six to ten years, with the first unit starting operations at the earliest possible date of 2034.
A nuclear reactor is unneeded, according to several Kenyans who have criticised the proposal, because the nation is not equipped to handle radioactive waste.
“We have enough resources for hydro, geothermal, solar, and wind power. Worse, I do not think we have the capacity to ensure the safety of a nuclear power plant or clean-up when a disaster strikes,” one X, formerly Twitter, user said.
Currently, South Africa is the only nation in Africa to commercially produce nuclear power.
Other African nations, such as Rwanda and Egypt, which are constructing a $30 billion (Ksh 4.44 Trillion) nuclear power plant, have begun planning to utilise nuclear energy.
