IAEA helps African countries develop their proposals, plans and projects

8th April 2016

By: Keith Campbell

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

Font size: - +

Last year, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sent Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) missions to three countries, all of them in Africa. They were Kenya, Morocco and Nigeria. This was highlighted at the recent Nuclear Africa 2016 conference by IAEA deputy director-general Mikhail Chudakov. “The IAEA is known as the world’s nuclear watchdog,” he noted. “Our mandate is much broader than that.” The agency’s functions include the promotion of peaceful nuclear energy as a means to help countries achieve development. The IAEA helps countries apply nuclear power safely.

INIR missions help determine how ready countries are for nuclear power. Such missions cover 19 infrastructure issues. “The IAEA is not a judge of whether a country is ready for nuclear power,” he clarified. “A country is ready for nuclear power when most [nuclear] operating countries feel they are ready.” But the IAEA’s reports help in this process.

In the case of Kenya (Africa’s ninth-largest economy) the IAEA reported last year that the INIR mission had found that the country had made “significant progress in preparing to make decisions related to the introduction of nuclear power”. The country is considering the potential of nuclear power to meet its future energy needs and has created the Kenya Nuclear Energy Board to make the necessary preparations.

Regarding Morocco, the INIR team stated that that country had “developed a considerable base of knowledge and experience in nuclear activities in its preparations to make an informed decision about introducing nuclear power”. The North African country is considering nuclear energy as a long-term alternative after 2030.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, received two missions last year. The IAEA reported in June that the country was “making notable progress in setting up the infrastructure needed to support the development of its nuclear power programme”. The Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission was created in 1976 and the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority was legally established in 1995 and started operating in 2001. Nigeria plans to have its first nuclear power plant (NPP), composed of four 1 200 MWe reactors, operational by 2035.

More generally, however, Chudakov pointed out that African countries have among the lowest levels of power connections of house-holds to electricity grids. This situation, he suggested, could be overcome in the future by the construction of small modular reactors, much smaller than the reactors used in today’s large NPPs (see Engineering News March 25, 2016). “These are more easily integrated into smaller grids,” he said. “They are expected to become commercially viable in the next decade.” Nuclear energy also provided opportunities for economic development through technology transfer. However, nuclear energy is “a long-term national commitment . . . [which] requires strong leadership”.

Nuclear power is currently used in 30 countries and provides 11% of global energy. The IAEA forecasts that the use of nuclear energy will grow between now and 2030. The low estimate is growth of 2% (over and above the construction necessary to replace the existing NPPs that will be decommissioned over the next 14 years). The high estimate is no less than 70%. He noted that, last year, worldwide, ten new nuclear units were put into operation.

“Involving stakeholders from the very begin-ning of the [nuclear acquisition] process can enhance public confidence,” he affirmed. “It’s about building trust.” Last month marked the fifth anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear accident (following the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami) and this month marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. As a consequence “there is no room for complacency”.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION