Africa needs nuclear energy – Rosatom
Sub-Saharan Africa has a real need for, and rapidly growing interest in, nuclear power. This was the view expressed by Rusatom International Network regional VP: sub-Saharan Africa Viktor Polikarpov at the Nuclear Africa 2017 conference in Johannesburg on 29 March 2017.
"Africa's major hurdle to success is its ongoing energy
crisis," he highlighted. "Twenty-five of 54 nations have been
declared to be in an energy crisis by the World Bank. Over 620-million people
have no access to a reliable source of electricity in sub-Saharan Africa.”
Excluding South Africa, the region's total installed
electricity generation capacity is equivalent to that of Argentina. Including
South Africa, it is equivalent to that of Spain.
On the other hand, Africa is experiencing significant and
accelerating infrastructure development, industrialisation, economic growth and
urbanisation. It is also seeing increasing investment in education and science,
rising environmental consciousness and growing political stability.
Russia now has intergovernmental agreements on the peaceful
uses of nuclear power with Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia as well as South
Africa. Rosatom also has an agreement with Tanzania regarding the Mkuju River
uranium project.
Nuclear is not new to Africa. Sub-Saharan countries which
have research reactors are Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa. "Zambia is
planning a nuclear university," he reported. “Kenya is also making rapid
progress."
Under the agreement between Moscow and Lusaka, Rosatom will
establish a Centre for Nuclear Science and Technology in Zambia. This will
include a research reactor, a radioisotope production complex, a process
complex (including chemical, neutron and radiation technologies), a nuclear
medicine facility and an engineering complex.
The agreement with Nigeria covers both the construction (and
later decommissioning) of nuclear power plants and the setting up of a Centre
for Nuclear Science and Technology. Such centres are on offer for other African
(and non-African) countries as well. "We understand that it will take time
for Africa to become nuclear," he said. "But Africa can go nuclear
faster than generally assumed."
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please visit http://m.engineeringnews.co.za/article/africa-needs-nuclear-energy-rosatom-2017-03-30
Source: Creamer Media