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AfrElec NUCLEAR AfrElec
Uganda gets greenlight to
construct nuclear power plant
UGANDA UGANDA has announced that the International we are ready for all the support through training
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approved its plan so that the project becomes reality and the mis-
to build East Africa’s first nuclear power plant as sion of the agency is to help and enable member
the country aims to diversify the national energy countries to have a safe and secure plant,” Des
mix that is mainly hydroelectricity based. Cloizeaux said.
In December, IAEA experts at the govern- In his response to the report from IAEA,
ment of Uganda’s request concluded an eight-day Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni elabo-
mission to review the country’s infrastructure rated Africa’s interest in nuclear electricity and
development for a nuclear power programme. not nuclear weapons. “The reason Uganda is
The experts concluded that the country was going for nuclear energy is that the hydropower
committed to developing the required infra- sources are not sufficient,” he stated.
structure for nuclear power in a coordinated Ugandan Minister of State for Energy,
approach with all concerned stakeholders. In a Sidronius Opolot Okasai, said the country
statement by the Ugandan presidency, IAEA’s will develop nuclear power through the IAEA-
director in charge of Nuclear power in Africa, phased approach, which includes three phases:
Aline Des Cloizeax, said that Uganda has been understanding commitments, obligations and
recommended to start building and production resource requirements involved; building spe-
of nuclear power, according to Chinese state cialized nuclear institutions and preparatory
media outlet CGTN. work; and constructing and commissioning the
“In the first phase, we have concluded that plant.
Uganda is ready for the plant. We in the agency,
CrossBoundary sees hybrid surge
MOZAMBIQUE CROSSBOUNDARY Energy, which installs build-own-operate-transfer arrangement.
hybrid energy solutions, has said the recent Approved in April 2022, the 11.25 MWp solar
approval of a solar and battery system at the and 8.5 MW/MWh battery energy storage sys-
Balama Graphite Mine in Mozambique, which tem (BESS) project is scheduled to start operat-
is owned by Syrah Resources, demonstrates a ing before the end of March 2023.
shift among major miners in Africa towards It will cut the mine’s diesel consumption for
addressing sustainability issues while looking to power generation by about 35% and at peak day
cut costs. times it will supply 100% of the mine’s require-
“The escalation in energy prices due to the ments. CrossBoundary is also working on two
conflict between Russia and Ukraine is hurt- similar projects in Madagascar.
ing countries most heavily reliant on energy One of them, an 8MW solar, 12MW wind,
imports,” the company said in a May 5 press & 8.25MW BESS solution project at Rio Tinto’s
release. QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM) is, according
“In African markets, high consumption to CrossBoundary, the largest renewable pene-
industrial and commercial enterprises are feel- tration project for a mine in Africa.
ing the pinch. South Africa, for example, recently “At the moment, solar and wind are cheaper
put out a call for proposals to private produc- and cleaner electricity options for commercial
ers to supply an additional 2,600 megawatts of and industrial companies, particularly mining
renewable energy.” houses,” CrossBoundary president Pieter Jou-
As a result, CrossBoundary Energy says, it is bert said.
seeing increased demand for its hybrid power “The mining industry is looking to improve
systems designed specifically for the mining sec- cost structures to increase margins and ensure
tor. It claims its approach to the industrial renew- a strong balance sheet during these uncertain
able energy transition has brought to bear some times. Renewable energy solutions can typically
of the most significant mining hybrid projects in save up to 30% in electricity costs and generate
Africa launched in recent months. an attractive return on capital due to the low
In delivering the project at Balama, Cross- upfront capital costs.”
Boundary Energy is setting it up under a
Week 19 12•May•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P13
