Kenya needs a whooping Sh36.233 billion in the next four years to scale up the development of nuclear energy, Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA) says recurrent expenditure will gobble up to Ksh8.379 billion in the 2023-2027 strategic plan.
- The money will be spent on six key areas namely nuclear power programme development, public education and stakeholder engagement, research development and innovation, capacity building and knowledge management, research reactor programme and institutional capacity.
- The projected revenue requirement for nuclear power programme development, Public Education and Stakeholder engagement, and Energy Research Development and Innovation is Ksh6,246 million, Ksh2,970 million and Ksh1,021 million respectively for the next five years.
- The Energy capacity building and knowledge management, Research reactor Programme, and Institutional Capacity will require Sh475 million, Sh11,163 million and Sh2,248.6 million in that order.
“The execution of this Strategic Plan will require a significant outlay of both human and financial resources. The Board commits to ensure that the resource requirements of all planned activities in the Strategic Plan are identified and costed fully,” said Ezra Odhiambo, NuPEA Chairman.
“The Board shall mobilize adequate resources from the Government and other Partners and ensure the prioritization in allocation of resources to different programs and projects in accordance with the Strategic Plan.”
During the previous plan, the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA) says challenges such as budgetary constrain, inadequate staff, social acceptance and the Covid-19 pandemic delayed implementation of some of the strategies it proposed.
Nevertheless, during the previous plan (2020-2025), NuPEA managed to secure 65 acres of land at Konza Technopolis for construction of the nuclear research reactor and other nuclear research centre (NRC) facilities.
The Agency also says it established and operationalized the regional office in Mombasa. The regional office is key in bolstering the organization’s presence in the coastal region and engagement of the local community at the identified Nuclear Power Plant site, fostering essential stakeholder engagement and public education at the county level.
Currently, NuPEA has 96 employees against an approved staff establishment of 147. In the proposed plan, NuPEA plans to recruit staff and launch capacity building programmes.
Some countries embarking on a nuclear power programme, including Kenya, are pursuing the development of their first research reactor, which can serve as a stepping stone towards their future nuclear power programme. Kenya plans to commission its first research reactor between 2030 and 2034.
According to an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) review mission, Kenya has made significant progress in the development of the national nuclear infrastructure for the country’s new research reactor programme.
An IAEA team of experts concluded a nine-day mission to review the preparations for a research reactor programme in Kenya from 11 to 19 December 2023.
Mission team members reviewed the status of the country’s nuclear infrastructure development in accordance with the Phase 1 criteria and conditions of the IAEA’s Milestones Approach for research reactors.
“Kenya has demonstrated a sustained and very professional approach to the development of its research reactor programme,” said Andrey Sitnikov, who led the IAEA review mission and is the Technical Lead of the IAEA Research Reactor Section. “We noted that before making the final decision, Kenya did a great job of developing and preparing laws and regulatory documents, actively involving interested stakeholders in the programme, and developing human resources of both the future operator and the regulator.”
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