Emuhaya MP Wilbur Ottichilo seeks to block Kenya's nuclear energy plans
What you need to know:
- Mr Ottichilo is arguing that the venture is too expensive and highly risky.
- He says due to inherent risks in nuclear energy production, countries such as Germany, India and Japan are shutting down their plants.
- The Kenya Nuclear Electricity Board says on its website that nuclear energy is the solution to power outages in Kenya.
- The board was established in 2010 and is a state corporation.
Emuhaya MP Wilbur Ottichilo has filed a motion in Parliament seeking to stop the government from investing in the development of nuclear energy.
Mr Ottichilo is arguing that the venture is too expensive and highly risky.
The MP wants funds going into establishing the Kenya Nuclear Electricity Board and constructing a plant to be used instead on developing renewable or green energy.
“The construction and maintenance of a nuclear plant is a highly technical, expensive and risky undertaking that potentially exposes a country to the threat of nuclear radiation and the challenge of disposal of radioactive nuclear waste,” Mr Ottichilo says.
He says due to inherent risks in nuclear energy production, developed countries such as Germany, India, Japan and South Africa are shutting down their plants.
RISKY SOURCE OF POWER
“Rather than develop a risky source of power, its better to invest in wind and solar energy, which are safe,” he said.
If MPs approve the motion, this would put pressure on the government to disband the nuclear energy board mandated to speed up the development of nuclear power in Kenya.
The board says on its website that nuclear energy is the solution to power outages in Kenya.
It states that the generation of nuclear power could put an end to power blackouts and rationing.
The board was established in 2010 and is a state corporation.
Power rationing, which Kenya Power likes to call load shedding, happens when the water levels in the dams from which hydroelectricity is generated are so low that the output of power is reduced.
TRAINING KENYANS
Although it is yet to commission its first nuclear power plant, it has organised for Kenyans to study nuclear power engineering at Kepco International Nuclear Graduate School in South Korea.
Earlier in 2014, the board reported that 45 students had been sponsored to study for master's degree courses at the Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology at the University of Nairobi.
It has also been carrying out technical studies to identify suitable sites for nuclear power plants.
The board was also reported to be preparing laws that would lead to the formation of an independent regulator to handle safeguards and compliance.
But Mr Ottichilo argues that given the risk and the fact that Kenya enjoys sunlight throughout the year and has plenty of places where wind power can be generated, nuclear energy should be the last option to be considered in power generation.
That way, he said, Kenya can avoid the sort of disasters that came from Chernobyl and, more recently, Fukushima in Japan.
