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With an estimated budget of 500 billion Kenyan shillings (US$3.9 billion), the plant is expected to generate 1,000 megawatts of power and is part of Kenya’s long-term strategy to reduce its reliance on hydroelectric and fossil fuel energy sources
An area has been set aside in Kenya’s southern county of Kilifi for the construction of the country’s first nuclear facility. The project on the coast of the Indian Ocean is expected to be fully operational by 2034.
But it has faced fierce opposition. On Friday (Oct. 11), a group of activists and environmentalists took to the streets. The protesters maintain that the project has a lot of negative effects. Their apprehensions are there will be malformed children born out of this place, fish will die, and our forest Arabuko Sokoke, which is known to harbor birds from abroad, will be lost.
With an estimated budget of 500 billion Kenyan shillings (US$3.9 billion), the plant is expected to generate 1,000 megawatts of power and is part of Kenya’s long-term strategy to reduce its reliance on hydroelectric and fossil fuel energy sources.
But protesters maintain that why generate power from nuclear sources, while the country has renewables that can last a lifetime for generations to come.
Kenya’s Nuclear Power and Energy Agency has repeatedly dismissed claims by residents and environmentalists that the proposed nuclear power plant will cause any harm to the residents in the area despite opposition from local communities and environmental groups.
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Concerns have also been raised about the transparency of the decision-making process, with allegations that residents have not been adequately informed or involved.
