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Nigeria to get electricity from nuclear power

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By Okunloye Abiodun

Nigeria will explore the possibility of nuclear energy to generate electricity.

Delivering remarks at the recently wrapped up International Ministerial Conference that was organized to discuss Nuclear Power in the 21st Century, which was held in Washington, District of Columbia, Muhammadu Buhari, the president of Nigeria, has stated that his country will explore the possibility of using nuclear power to generate electricity. In addition to this, the president reaffirmed the unwavering dedication of his administration to the diversification of their energy sources by acquiring nuclear power.

So far, according to the president, the Federal Government of Nigeria has activated the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission, NAEC, as the national focal agency charged with developing the framework and technical pathway to discover, exploit, and leverage atomic energy for peaceable applications for the socio-economic development of the country. He added that the country had also set up the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority as a government agency in its own right to oversee nuclear power development, deployment, and use while keeping people and the environment safe.

Nigeria has a severe energy supply shortage that is impending the nation.

Adeleke Mamora, who is the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation that spoke on behalf of the president, stated that just like the majority of other countries on the continent, Nigeria, which has a population of over 200 million people, had a severe energy supply shortfall that is impending the nation. As a result, it was imperative for the government to take a critical look at various other sources of energy that were more inexpensive, environmentally friendly, and sustainable.

In light of this, he revealed that Nigeria had decided to fully explore and maximize nuclear energy resources for electricity generation as this would help the country achieve energy security by adopting a more balanced approach to its energy needs. Nigeria views the development of Small Modular Reactor, SMR, technology as a potential game-changer in the nuclear industry and anticipates increasing its engagement with both the IAEA and other global partners in the months and years to come to explore the prospect of deploying SMRs in the country.

Most countries lack access to reliable and sustainable base-load energy.

Several nations in Africa have sincere goals of industrialization and expansion, but they face significant challenges in doing so because they do not have access to reliable and sustainable base-load energy. Even with all of the progressive policies that African countries have formulated, the achievement of real growth and progress has remained a mystery due to energy insufficiency. The possibility of energy generation through the use of nuclear power is currently providing African countries with a preferable alternative for meeting their energy needs.

Therefore, in this context, Nigeria is currently in the process of holding an engaging discussion with a number of different countries and distributors across the world for the nuclear power project that the country wants to embark on. According to Buhari, the two potential locations for Nigeria’s nuclear power plant have been identified and mapped out, and the necessary processes and procedures are currently being carried out as part of Nigeria’s Integrated Nuclear Power Programme in collaboration with the IAEA.

Nigeria assured energy agencies of full assistance and cooperation.

Moreover, in addition to expressing his gratitude on behalf of Nigeria to the Director General, Grossi and the whole staff of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as well as the management of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), and others of its partners, for the provisions that were made for the conference, the President of Nigeria assured the whole team of Nigeria’s full assistance and cooperation towards the achievement of the conference’s goals and objectives.


Related Link

NAEC: Website


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