Kenya is set to build a $5 billion nuclear power plant on a site in Tana River County over the next seven years with funding from private investors.
The Kenya Nuclear Electricity Board (KNEB) in a regulatory filing with the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) revealed that the plant with an initial capacity of 1,000 megawatt (Mw) plant would be constructed through a concessionaire.
The government looks to expand the plant’s capacity fourfold by 2035 under a build, operate and transfer (BOT) model.
The KNEB plan will be subjected to public scrutiny before the environmental watchdog can approve it and pave the way for the project to continue.
Kenya views nuclear power both as a long-term solution to high fuel costs — incurred during times of drought when diesel generators are used — and an effective way to cut carbon emissions from the power generating sector.
The KNEB said private funding for the nuclear plant would ease the burden on Kenya’s strained public coffers. The estimated cost of the nuclear plant is nearly half the government’s annual tax collections.
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