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(IGA) at the IAEA summit in Vienna that will develop nuclear technology for energy, medical and other peaceful purposes.
The agreement “lays the foundation for spe- cific co-operation between Russia and Uganda,” Rosatom said.
Uganda has extensive uranium deposits and is about to become an oil producer. President Yoweri Museveni has said the uranium should be used to boost power generation.
Russia has existing deals with Egypt, where it is building up to four 1,000-MW reactors at a cost of $29bn, and Nigeria, where it is developing a far smaller research reactor.
Moscow has also sealed agreements with a long list of African states, including Ethiopia, DRCongo,Rwanda,Sudan,GhanaandZambia.
On other hand, Russian diplomacy failed in South Africa, where a deal to build up to 9,600 MW at a cost of $75bn collapsed over cost wor- ries as President Jacob Zuma left power amid corruption claims.
A good fit?
Questions remain over how good a market Africa is for Russian nuclear technology, and indeed whether atomic energy is a viable, affordable and sustainable option for the future energy needs of Africa’s developing economies.
Russia’s strategy is to offer a package of long- term loans, in Egypt’s case for up to 85% of the costs, as well as fuel and technology supply agreements.
The 1,000-MW VVER reactors that Rosatom is building in Egypt, as well as in Bangladesh, Hungary and at home in Russia, would, if built in say Nigeria or DR Congo, dominate the local grid to a dangerous extent. This would create too much reliance on a single energy source.
Rosatom claims that the cheaper generat- ing costs would compensate for such worries, although it aims to offer tailor-made technology to any single countries.
“Despite the shortcomings of the grid infra- structure in Africa, the latest generation of tried and tested ‘large’ [reactors] are still the clear winners in most regions in terms of the cost of electricity,” Rosatom said in August.
It added that it sought to provide a “custom- ised solution” for each country.
Rosatom has also suggested using modu- lar nuclear technology of the type used on the recently launched Akademik Lomonosov, a floating nuclear power plant that that Russia will use in the Arctic Sea.
“It’s maybe one small step for sustainable development in the Arctic, but it’s a giant leap for the decarbonisation of remote off-grid areas, and a watershed in the development of small modularnuclearpowerplantsintheworld,”said Rosatom’s Likhachev said last month.
Put simply, such a floating plant with around 80MW of capacity could be installed off the coast of Africa or Asia to supply power to a local grid.
Taking Africa seriously
Russia is now taking Africa increasingly seri- ously, and the Russia-Africa Summit in October will see many African leaders eager to cultivate and strengthen ties with the Kremlin.
Russia is not alone in engaging with Africa. In June, Japan launched a major investment initiative targeted at renewable technology and sustainability. Meanwhile, the US through its Power Africa Initiative is also a major facilitator of private investment in green energy.
Of course, China is also a major, and con- troversial, investor African energy, creating an alternative to Western investment whilst also creating fears about raising African govern- ments’ debt levels.
Yet only Russia is actively marketing its nuclear expertise to Africa, forming a key plank of a wide strategy that includes electioneering services, arms and the re-activation of long-held ties dates back to the USSR.™
A key event will be the upcoming Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi at the end of October, which a number of African leaders will attend
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