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PotassiumThe white sand beaches of Ilifi County make it one of Kenya’s most popular tourist destinations. Hotels and beach bars are located along the 165-mile stretch of (265 km) CoastFishermen supply fresh seafood to restaurants in the area, while tourists spend their days boating, snorkeling around coral reefs or bird watching in the dense mangroves.
Soon, this idyllic stretch of coastline will house Kenya’s first nuclear power plant, as the country seeks to Like its East African neighbor Ugandaadvancing the atomic energy program.
The proposals have sparked fierce opposition in Kilifi, where more than a dozen conservation and rights groups meet regularly to discuss the proposed plant in a building near Mida Creek, a swampy estuary known for its birds and mangroves.
“not at all Nuclear! ” Phyllis Omido The award-winning Environmentalists leading the protests said at a conference that the Swahili slogan means “No to nuclear energy” and includes the acronym of the Kenya Anti-Nuclear Coalition, which said the plant would deepen Kenya’s debt The power station is expected to begin construction in 2027 and is scheduled to be operational in 2034.
“This is the worst economic decision we have ever made for the country,” said Omido, who launched his campaign last year.
In July 2023, lawyers Collins Sang and Cecilia Ndeti filed a case in the Environment Court on behalf of Kilifi residents to stop the construction of the nuclear power plant, saying the process was “rushed” and “illegal” and that public participation meetings were “secret.” They argued that the Nuclear and Energy Agency (Nupea) should not proceed with identifying any site for the nuclear power plant until laws and adequate safeguards are in place. Nupea said construction would not begin for many years while laws are being discussed and enough Public participation is ongoing. Hearings are continuing.
In November, the people of Kilifi filed a lawsuit; petition Parliament has called for an investigation. The petition, launched by the Center for Justice Governance and Environmental Action (CJGEA), a nonprofit founded by Omido in 2009, also claims that locals have limited knowledge of the proposed nuclear power plant and the criteria for selecting preferred sites. It expresses concerns about the risks to health, the environment and the tourism industry in the event of a nuclear leak, saying the country is taking a “high-risk adventure” without adequate laws and disaster response measures. The petition also raises concerns about safety and radioactive waste disposal, as the country is prone to floods and droughts. Senate pause Investigation until the lawsuit is heard.
“If we are really going to invest in nuclear energy, why can’t (the government) put it in a place where it won’t pose too much risk to our ecological assets?” Omido said. “Why don’t they choose an area where we won’t suffer huge losses as a country if there is a nuclear leak?”
Peter Musila, a marine scientist who monitors the effects of global warming on coral reefs, is concerned that the plant could threaten aquatic life. Coral cover in Watamu Marine National Reserve, a protected area off the coast of Kilifi, has improved over the past decade, but Musila worries that thermal pollution from the plant could reverse that progress. The plant’s cooling system would draw large amounts of water from the ocean and raise temperatures by several degrees, which could Killing fish and microorganisms, e.g. Planktonwhich is essential for a thriving aquatic ecosystem.
“It’s horrific,” said Musila, who works for a conservation group Kenya Rocha“This could cause serious damage.”
In Mida, those who make their living from land and sea, including tourism workers, fishermen and dozens of beekeeping groups and Butterfly Farmer People living around the Arabuko-Sokok Forest are concerned about their future. UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
Justin Kenga, 51, a tour operator in Watamu who has worked in the industry for decades, said: “In tourism we rely on the biodiversity around us – our tourists are very environmentally conscious – so anything that can change or damage our environment, it will destroy our livelihoods.”
An anonymous British property owner and real estate agent told The Guardian that Watamu beachfront owners are worried that building a nuclear power plant on their doorstep will not only lead to a decline in tourism, but also cause house prices to fall.
“This is a tourist town. People swim, dive and water ski in the sea. People are (of course) afraid to go into the sea which is a few miles from the nuclear power plant… If tourism dies, then people who own properties won’t be able to afford to maintain them. Eventually, people won’t want to buy houses here, they’ll go somewhere else.”
At the Nuclear Energy Agency’s offices in Nairobi, plans for a 2.9 billion pound (500 billion Kenyan shillings) 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant are underway. Kenyan leaders see nuclear power as a low-carbon way to improve energy security.
“Existing renewable energy resources are sufficient for our current level of development, but as we aspire to industrialize, we will need more baseload sources,” said Nupea CEO Justus Wabuyabo, referring to the minimum amount of electricity the country will need in the future.
about 90% Kenya’s electricity comes from renewable sources, but these sources are under pressure. Solar and wind power are not available 24/7, and hydropower is at risk of drought.
Using nuclear energy will make Kenya dependent on imported uranium for the production of nuclear fuel. Nearly half The global supply of enriched uranium ranks first in the world, and countries including the United States are scrambling to obtain it. Reduce their dependence On top.
But government officials believe nuclear energy could be a “game changer” and have become “indispensable” in addressing carbon emissions in the fight against the climate crisis, noting promise Nearly twenty countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States, plan to triple their nuclear forces.
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“This is a technology for the future,” Wabua said. “Our country should embrace it.”
But experts say the total cost of building a nuclear power station will be far higher than the £2.9bn construction cost and there are expected to be technical challenges.
Moussa WafraAn engineer who worked for a U.S. energy company and for many years in Kenya’s national grid said that without major and expensive upgrades to the transmission infrastructure, the introduction of nuclear energy would upset the country’s energy supply and demand balance and trigger blackouts.
“Nuclear power plants need a stable grid,” Wafula said. “We don’t have a stable grid and we don’t have the ability to transmit electricity from the coastal areas to the whole country. This can easily lead to power outages.”
“Once we (stabilise the grid) we can deal with the issues they raise, but until then it will be a disaster.”
Meanwhile, tensions are rising between anti-nuclear activists and the government. Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders Expressing concern In April, police used violence against people during a protest in Uyombo, the site of a potential nuclear power plant. Activists said their peaceful protests were met with excessive violence, beatings, arrests and intimidation.
Nupea did not comment for this story. A Nupea representative also told the Guardian that Uyombo would be designated as a weather station. The company did not say when it would announce the site for the plant.
“It’s not that a nuclear power plant cannot be built near a tourist attraction,” Wabua said. “We need to (make sure) the presence of the nuclear power plant does not have an adverse impact, and that’s what we’re focusing on.”
Nupea Release Impact Assessment Report Last year, it was recommended to implement policies to ensure environmental protection, including detailed plans for handling radioactive waste; measures to mitigate environmental hazards, such as National Environmental Management BureauThe report also proposes social and economic protection for affected communities, including clear guidelines for compensation for people who lose their livelihoods or are forced off their land during the construction of the nuclear power plant.
Nupeya said the nuclear power plant could create thousands of jobs for Kenyans and said it had partnered with Kilifi University to launch a nuclear training program to allow more residents to work at the plant. Wilfred Baya, Kilifi County Assistant Director of Energy, said the plant could also bring infrastructure development and more electricity to the region, which often suffers from power outages.
But unrest and resistance remain.
“The sea is where we make our living, so we know that if a factory is built there, fishing will not be allowed,” said Elisha Bombosho Mzee, head of Uyombo Beach Management.
“This is not only where I make a living, it feeds me and my family. Our fish also feeds the fishmongers, the market women and it supports the big hotels, so for us as a fishing community, we don’t need a nuclear power plant,” he said.
“That’s why we refused to build the factory,” Kenga said.
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