Kenya has placed the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) at the helm of its maiden nuclear power project, a major step in a plan to inject up to 10 gigawatts of new capacity and broaden the country’s energy mix beyond hydropower and geothermal.
The state power producer will take charge of a programme expected to begin with a 2-gigawatt plant, eventually expanding to as much as 6GW as nuclear becomes a central pillar of Kenya’s long-term electricity strategy.
This shift is backed by a fresh partnership between KenGen and the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA), sealed through a memorandum of understanding that sets up a joint working team. The group will steer Kenya from preliminary planning to technical groundwork and nationwide public-education efforts.
The road to nuclear hasn’t been entirely smooth. After prolonged technical assessments and rising environmental unease about building near delicate marine ecosystems, planners scrapped the original Indian Ocean coastal site and moved the proposed location to the Lake Victoria basin.
“This signals the dawn of Kenya’s nuclear-power journey. The MoU will strengthen public engagement, sharpen institutional capability and lay the foundation for a dependable, low-carbon baseload source,” said Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi.
KenGen will now deploy its long history of handling complex infrastructure projects as the government begins early land-assessment work for the nuclear site.
Officials stress that the entire siting and preparatory process will be guided by strict public-participation rules, full disclosure and inclusive decision-making, a response to concerns raised in previous energy ventures.
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“Today’s pact is a decisive stride for Kenya’s energy security. Our role is to ensure Kenyans receive factual, accessible and timely updates as we evaluate this globally proven and tightly regulated technology,” said KenGen MD and CEO, Eng Peter Njenga.
Kenya’s renewed nuclear focus comes at a time when the national grid is running dangerously close to capacity most evenings. While speaking abroad recently, President William Ruto admitted that system operators are having to resort to targeted evening outages to keep the grid from buckling.
Peak consumption has now surpassed 2,300 megawatts, the highest level in five years, leaving virtually no reserve margin and increasing the likelihood of controlled interruptions during peak hours.
Across the continent, nuclear momentum is quickening. South Africa remains the only African nation with a commercial plant, Egypt is constructing a 4.8GW facility, and Ghana, Uganda, Morocco and Nigeria are all at various stages of planning or exploring reactors set to power their grids over the next decade.