NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGIES TO SOLVE AFRICA’S NEEDS FOR CLEAN, ACCESSIBLE, PREDICTABLE ENERGY-ROSATOM
April 16, 2024…..Lusaka
Smarting from a successful ATOMEXPO XIII that gathered around 4,500 nuclear energy experts, government officials and media personnel from across the globe in March 2024 in Sochi, Russia, State Corporation, ROSATOM says nuclear technologies holds the answer to the world’s energy challenges, especially for Africa, FRANCIS LUNGU reports.
During one of the side briefings at the just ended ATOMEXPO XIII held under the theme “Empowering Clean Future”, ROSATOM First Deputy Director General – Director of the International Business Development Division, Kirill Borisovich Komarov stated that it is no longer in dispute that the world today needs nuclear energy that works with maximum efficiency as a source of clean, accessible and price-predictable electricity that is available 24/7 and does not depend on weather patterns for generation.
The need for nuclear energy is even more critical for Africa where out of its entire population of around 1.4 billion more than 600 million of it’s people still live without permanent access to electricity, says Mr Komarov.
The case in point is Zambia with a population of around 20 million citizens where from the end of the first quarter of 2024 the national electricity utility started eight (8) hours of power rationing (load shedding) across both domestic and commercial sectors because there has not been enough rainfall for hydro electricity generation.
In responding to a question by this author on how can the good news of nuclear energy be spread across the globe through sustainable media partnerships especially in Africa, the continent faced with huge energy challenges, Mr Komarov said: “This is how we [at ROSATOM] understand the world, in general, today the world needs nuclear energy as a source of clean and, most importantly, predictable in price electricity. Electricity that is available 24/7, that does not depend on the weather, whether the sun is shining or the wind is blowing, that works with maximum efficiency. I by no means [do not] want to diminish the merits of renewable energy. Over the past few years, we at Rosatom have built nine (9) wind farms with a total capacity of 1 GW. That is why we understand very well the difference between nuclear generation and wind generation.”
He said as much as both nuclear energy and other renewables are good sources, wind energy generation for instance, obviously, like any other type of renewable energy, will always need some base-load capacity that works all the time.
“And in this sense, I want to tell you that today the African continent is the territory that primarily needs nuclear technologies. The African continent is the territory where more than 600 million people still live without permanent access to electricity. And we see very well that firstly, electricity is needed, secondly, people are increasingly not indifferent to what kind of electricity it will be, how stable it will be, how clean it will be, how accessible it will be, how predictable. Therefore, we are confident that, as you say, where will good news come from, we are confident that sooner or later good news will come precisely from Africa, because Africa is in dire need of nuclear projects.”
Mr Komarov observed that as much as there could be some challenges in implementing nuclear projects in many African countries, Zambia inclusive, the huddles are not insurmountable.
“Yes, today in many African countries, such projects are not so easy to implement. Investments need to be found, people need to be trained, modern technologies need to be brought in, but from our experience, everything is possible. And I sincerely believe in the absolutely bright future of the African continent thanks to nuclear technologies,” said Mr Komarov.
