Kenya’s nuclear plans are set to gather steam with the launch of a new five-year strategic plan.
The Nuclear Power and Energy Agency’s (NuPEA’s) 2023-27 Strategic plan to be launched on Monday outlines a new roadmap towards attaining the country’s dream of adding nuclear to the electricity generation mix in the country.
The country is banking on nuclear energy in its efforts to deliver clean, affordable, stable and sustainable sources of electricity.
The move is aimed at meeting the country’s burgeoning demand for power as the economy grows.
“The agency recognizes the critical role of energy in the implementation of Kenya’s development agenda. Kenya’s climate efficient energy development blueprint – the Least Cost Power Development Plan - recognizes critical characteristics of optimal energy sources, namely clean, affordable and sustainable options,” said Ezra Odhiambo, chairman of NuPEA board in its note on the report.
“These requirements are efficiently addressed by the inclusion of nuclear power in the country’s energy blueprint,” he adds.
The release of the new plan, whose launch will be presided over by Energy Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir, comes at a time when the country seeks to start construction of the first nuclear energy plant in 2027.
The plant, which will be located either in Kilifi or Kwale, will take about five years to complete.
The roadmap replaces the agency’s 2020-25 blueprint whose implementation has seen the country record key milestones in the journey towards utilisation of nuclear energy not only for electricity generation but also its application for peaceful purposes.
“This plan is built on major foundations attained from the implementation of the previous plan. It communicates NuPEA’s vision, mission, and strategies put forth to achieve its mandate,” Odhiambo says.
His sentiments were echoed by the agency’s CEO Justus Wabuyabo who notes that the new roadmap builds on the successful implementation of the current 2020-2025 strategic plan.
“The 2020-2025 Strategic Plan streamlined the execution of NuPEA’s mandate as outlined in the Energy Act, 2019 and other relevant legal and policy instruments that necessitated a review of the roadmap to incorporate the additional functions,” Wabuyabo states.
The elapsing plan, he notes, sought to provide strategic direction for the implementation of the agency’s activities for the stated period and to “provide an overall framework for efficient allocation and utilisation of resources”.
The new strategic plan, he says, is designed to align with the government’s new energy plans as well as Kenya Kwanza’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
During campaigns for the 2022 polls, President William Ruto sold to the electorate a radically new economic model targeted at lifting millions of people at the bottom of the pyramid.
These promises were encapsulated under BETA’s five pillars namely agriculture, affordable housing, digital superhighway, health and MSMEs.
“Electricity is a key enabler of Kenya Kwanza’s transformation agenda. Our plans therefore have to align with this grand objective of turning around the fortunes of our economy, reducing poverty, and enriching the livelihoods of our people,” Waboyabu adds, noting that the new plan provides guidelines for the agency to realize its stated mandate.
“This plan will be used as a tool to organise and quantify the progress of the agency in the achievement of its mission, vision and strategic objectives,” says the CEO.