All the global nuclear salesmen are targeting Kenya

Suitors line up to walk Kenya down controversial path to nuclear energy Standard media UK By Paul Wafula , March 7th 2017
Kenya is on a delicate journey that will see it switch on its first nuclear power plant by 2027. The country plans to put up four nuclear plants in the long term, each generating 1,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity. Initial estimates show it will cost between Sh400 billion and Sh500 billion to put up one nuclear reactor. This means one plant will cost slightly more than building the 609-kilometre Mombasa to Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). By the time the plan is complete, the country will have spent about Sh2 trillion – just under the national Budget for a year – to reap the benefits of an additional 4,000MW of energy plugged into the national grid.

Besides the financing headache, the second test for the 10-year dream being championed by the Kenya Nuclear Energy Board (KNEB) is coming up with a location to for the reactors. The board estimates site selection will cost the country Sh1.5 billion in a three-year process. Though the potential sites have remained a closely guarded secret, the power plant will be built next to any of the four biggest water bodies in the country – that is, the Indian Ocean, Lake Victoria, River Tana and Lake Turkana.

…………..These plans have excited sellers of nuclear reactors who are now courting the country, with some dangling ‘free training’. The potential suppliers include South Korea, whose companies are constructing nuclear power plants in the United Arab Emirates. Kenya has also been window shopping in China, and with Rosatom in Russia and Westinghouse in the United States. The country’s plans appear modelled on the UAE’s, which awarded a South Korean consortium to build four plants at a cost of Sh2 trillion.

…………Kenya has already signed a memorandum of understanding with China, South Korea, Russia and Ghana. KNEB said the deal with China would help Kenya “obtain expertise through training and skills development, technical support in areas such as site selection for Kenya’s nuclear power plants, and feasibility studies”. China has been offering ‘free’ training and feasibility studies for big infrastructure projects in Africa as a strategy to get into the boardrooms where key decisions are made. This is the same approach it used to land the SGR deal.

………..The country has also signed nuclear power co-operation agreements with Slovakia and South Korea.

…………He added that the Sh500 billion cost per plant for UAE may be cheaper because South Koreans were trying to get into the market. France is also lining up for a piece of the action, with the country offering Kenya technical, engineering and financial support to develop reactors.

…………MAKING THE CASE Juma has defended the cost of the project on the grounds that in the long run, nuclear energy is a cheaper and more stable source of power, with sustainable base loads. The board is looking at having flexible financing options, including public-private partnership where a private developer will finance the plant, construct and operate it for some time to recoup investments and make a profit, before handing it over to the State.

……The agency is looking at plants that will have a lifespan of up to 80 years.

………….it will have a difficult task of convincing local communities that the country is ready to deal with the radiological effects of nuclear.

……The other headache that must be tackled is the development of national strategies for radioactive waste management, emergency preparedness and the nuclear fuel cycle.

……energy experts from Italy and Germany last year, advised Kenya to drop plans to build nuclear reactors and instead harness its vast renewable energy resources, including geothermal, solar and wind, for power generation. They cited massive costs for a nuclear plant, long construction periods of about 10 years and expensive decommissioning at the end of plants’ lifespan, especially disposing of hazardous radioactive waste.

…….https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2001231716/suitors-line-up-to-walk-kenya-down-controversial-path-to-nuclear-energy