Nigeria, a
country endowed with numerous natural energy resources is set to build
as many as four nuclear power plant causing at least $20 billion as
Africa biggest economy seek to boost electricity generation and end
blackouts.
With the current spate of investments in
the country, such as automobiles, steel production and other energy
intensive manufacturing firms the demand for energy will skyrocket
leading to increased supply gaps.
It is widely known that Nigeria is
generating far less power than the needs of its 170 million population.
The country relies on power plants fuelled by gas for power generation
and a few hydro, but new gas driven plants are expected to come on
stream soon.
“A joint coordination committee is in
place and negotiations are ongoing for financing and contracting,”
Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
Franklin Erepamo Osaisai said at a conference in Kenya’s Kwale coastal
region on April 13 as reported by Bloomberg.
Osaisai said Rosatom would hold a
majority, controlling stake in Nigeria’s nuclear facility while the rest
would be owned by the country, with roles to be specified in contracts.
Rosatom and Nigerian officials met last month within the framework of a 2009 intergovernmental agreement to discuss cooperation.
Nuclear power is generated using Uranium,
which is a metal mined in various parts of the world. It worked in same
way as fossil fuel-burning stations, except that a chain reaction
inside a nuclear reactor makes the heat instead.
The reactor uses Uranium rods as fuel,
and the heat is generated by nuclear fission: neutrons smash into the
nucleus of the uranium atoms, which split roughly in half and release
energy in the form of heat.
Nuclear power produces around 11 percent
of the world’s energy needs, and produces huge amounts of energy from
small amounts of fuel, without polluting the environment like the one
from burning fossil fuels.
Nigeria is known to possess large
deposits of Uranium in several states such as Cross River, Adamawa,
Taraba, Plateau, Bauchi and Kano.
Despite the abundance of resources,
Nigeria has been unable to fully adapt its capabilities into the
national grid. Power supply in the country has gone bad after the
general election which was held last month in almost every area.
According to Analyst, a nuclear outlook
in Nigeria requires three key ingredients which is; the need to develop
some in house understanding of the technology through research. This has
commenced on a small scale through the Centre for Energy Research and
Development (CERD) at Obafemi Awolowo University, and a nuclear unit in
University of Ibadan, Ahmadu Bello University.
More recently, the Nigerian Atomic
Energy Commission was established to cater for the increasing drive for
developments in the nuclear sector.
A conducive political climate is
required to envisage a nuclear future. Nigeria has shown itself as a
growing stable polity by embracing democracy- highlighted by the just
concluded last month election which was described as the most peaceful
election since independence.
Public acceptability and safety is an
important issue in developing nuclear technology. Based on the current
trends in maintenance culture in the country, any attempt to develop
nuclear capabilities will meet some doubt.
The present political outlook is more
promising than ever to cater for an advanced technology like nuclear for
an advanced technology like nuclear power plants which have well
documented safety routines.
Africa’s sole nuclear power station is Koeberg in South Africa, which is owned by state-owned Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd.
JOSEPHINE OKOJIE
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