Kenya has assigned the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) to operate the country’s first nuclear power plant, accelerating an ambitious plan to add up to 10 gigawatts of electricity and diversify the national grid beyond hydropower and geothermal sources.
- •The decision gives the state-owned power generator control over a programme expected to start with a 2-gigawatt facility and scale to as much as 6GW as the country moves to establish nuclear power as a core element of its long-term energy mix.
- •The move is anchored in a new partnership between KenGen and the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA), formalised through a memorandum of understanding that creates a joint working group to guide the country from early-stage planning into technical preparation and public-readiness efforts.
- •The country's pathway to nuclear power has not been smooth as planners moved the proposed site from the Indian Ocean coast to the shores of Lake Victoria, following months of technical reviews and growing unease among environmental groups over building such a facility near fragile marine ecosystems.
“This marks the beginning of Kenya’s nuclear-power era. This MoU will deepen public awareness, strengthen stakeholder engagement, enhance institutional capabilities, and prepare the ground for a reliable low-carbon baseload option,” said Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi.
KenGen is expected to bring decades of experience in siting and delivering large infrastructure projects as the government begins early land-related assessments for the first nuclear power plant.
Officials involved in the process say all siting and preparatory work will follow strict participation rules, including continuous disclosure and inclusive decision-making; an area that has drawn public scrutiny in past energy projects.
“Today’s agreement marks a bold step forward for Kenya’s energy security. Our mandate is to ensure Kenyans have factual, accessible, and timely information as we evaluate this globally proven and highly regulated technology,” said KenGen MD and CEO, Eng. Peter Njenga.
The focus on nuclear power also comes as the country grapples with a tightening electricity balance, where evening demand routinely pushes the grid to its limits. During a recent address abroad, President William Ruto acknowledged that operators are being forced into selective evening power cuts to keep the network stable.
Recent consumption data shows peak demand climbing past 2,300 megawatts, the highest in half a decade, leaving the system with virtually no reserve margin and heightening the risk of controlled interruptions during the busiest hours.
Continentally, nuclear ambitions are gathering pace: South Africa runs the continent’s lone commercial plant, Egypt is building a 4.8 GW facility, and Ghana, Uganda, Morocco, and Nigeria are actively planning or exploring reactors that are set to power their grids in the next decade.
