Kenya should emulate China’s success story in its nuclear electricity development

The Kenya Association of Manufacturers and other key stakeholders have endorsed the country’s ambitious project of developing nuclear electricity to enhance the country’s base load power supply. The Country aims to build a 1,000 MWe nuclear power plant at a projected cost of 3.5 billion USD using South Korean technology.

The government set the stage for exploring nuclear power as a less-expensive and reliable alternative to our thermal power stations. However, we are wasting a lot of time debating whether Kenya is ready to go nuclear or not. Just like in business, highly profitable ventures come with considerable amounts of risk and investments. Skeptics abound but if the government has a strategic and workable plan, it should go fourth and actualize it for the betterment of this country.

In September 2010, Energy Ministry Permanent Secretary Patrick Nyoike announced Kenya’s plans to invite bids for the Construction of a nuclear plant in the next few years so that the project is complete by the year 2022. This announcement elicited heated debates and expert opinion is divided sharply as to whether this is a good venture by the government.

The idea of nuclear power sends chills to many and the idea couldn’t have come at a worst time. The Fukushima incident in Japan still lingers in many people’s minds and is influencing their attitudes towards nuclear energy development.

Many of those opposed to this nuclear project have been quick to remind us of the three nuclear disasters; Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima. There are fears and rightly so, of the vast damages the radioactive waste can cause to humanity and the environment.

Nuclear industry is generally safe, however, there are unique challenges facing each country with nuclear power plants. Kenya being at the start of her nuclear programme should therefore be informed by the fundamental challenges faced by experienced countries and success stories in nuclear energy development.

China offers the best success story that Kenya can study and learn from in its nuclear energy production. China was not wealthy and highly developed when it established its first nuclear plant.

China’s plan to build a nuclear power plant dates back to 1970. After reading a report that China’s industrial centre, the City of Shanghai, might face power shortages, Premier Zhou Enlai said that “in order to ease the power crisis in Shanghai as well as East China, we should develop nuclear power as a long term plan”. Shanghai was in deep crisis with power deficit hindering economic growth and development.

As in Kenya, the preparations for China’s first nuclear plant were fraught with controversy. Safety was of utmost concern, especially after the accident at the Mile Island in the United States in 1979. The technology to use, and the site for the nuclear plant raised a lot of Challenges.

Nonetheless, in 1981, China finally approved the construction of its first nuclear power plant at Qishan with a Chinese-made pressurized water reactor with a capacity of 300 megawatts.  After its completions and a careful safety evaluation by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it was passed as “safe and of good quality” allaying many fears.

It began commercial operation in 1994 making China the seventh country to build and operate a nuclear power plant. By the end of 2007, the plant had generated a total of 31 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, earning about 9.6 billion Yuan in sales revenues and 1.8 billion Yuan in taxes.

After 14 years of operation, nuclear power has proved to be a clean source of energy for China. After tracking the area around the power plant for more than ten years, the provincial environmental authority has reported that the plant has caused no environmental changes.

Based on the success of the fist Qinshan power reactor, China started to build more reactors. Two domestically produced pressurized water reactors, each with a capacity of 650 megawatts, were placed in commercial operation in 2002 and 2004. As a clean energy, the Qinshan nuclear complex has enabled the region to cut pollution significantly and accelerated development in recent years making China the world’s fastest growing economy.

Just like in China in the late 1970s, the urgent need for power with a huge energy deficit of 3,000 megawatts experienced in the country makes nuclear energy an option that Kenya cannot ignore.The permanent secretary in the Ministry of energy reiterated that the government is determined to bridge this deficit through hydro-power; oil based thermal, geothermal, co-generation and wind energy generation.

Kenya produces around 1,400 megawatts of electricity and more than half of that comes from hydroelectric plants. But massive deforestation and other factors have led to decreasing rainfalls and the drying up of rivers and lakes, making hydroelectric power less of an option. If Kenya’s first nuclear plant is successful, it is expected to provide 90% of Kenya’s electricity needs making Kenya the world’s biggest consumer of nuclear energy.

For Kenya to industrialize under the Vision 2030 blueprint, it must remain steadfast and emulate China and implement its development plan without fear. No country worldwide has ever industrialized on wind, solar and other renewable forms of energy. The reason is quite simply that industry requires an assured base load power supply to function and grow.