Stanley Opara

Global nuclear giant, Rosatom and other stakeholders have maintained that Nigeria and other African countries need nuclear to boost their energy mix.

Speaking during a panel discussion at the 2018 African Energy Indaba, the Rosatom Regional Vice-President for sub-Saharan Africa, Viktor Polikarpov, highlighted the importance of a balanced energy mix.

Polikarpov said, “In order to stimulate the economy, you need reliable and affordable power. The current lack of electricity is a major hurdle for African nations when it comes to achieving their full economic potential.”

He highlighted that every African nation, which is concerned about its energy future, naturally tries to utilise its natural resources at hand first such as coal, gas, solar, hydro and geothermal energy.

This, he noted, was completely justifiable as the need for power should be tapped as soon as possible, adding that when identifying the ideal energy mix for Africa, numerous factors needed to be taken into account.

“For this, one must consider the so-called energy trilemma. Every well-balanced and sustainable energy mix should ideally meet the following requirements: cost efficiency, security of supply and environmental protection. Out of all sources of electricity, only nuclear is currently capable of ticking all three boxes,” Polikarpov said.

He added, “Nuclear power is a cost-effective and reliable source of power that is always available. A modern nuclear power plant is able to supply uninterrupted power for 60-80 years at a predictable and affordable price.”

The Africa Energy Indaba Conference is an energy conference for Africa providing an annual programme that shapes energy policy for the African continent. Delegates drawn from all continents, represent an unrivalled combination of industry experts, project developers, financiers, energy users, government officials and manufacturers.

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