The coronavirus pandemic has affected a lot of aspects of life globally. Two of these have been the need to increase energy access, and control the climate’s deterioration by more sustainable sources. Nigeria, however, is looking to build nuclear energy generation.
While other countries are going for more sustainable energy sources, the giant of Africa is adopting a Nigerian – nuclear energy relationship. With the country’s electricity sector still dwindling despite being privatised in 2013, there have been numerous calls for adopting nuclear energy. The federal government also hinted at the idea of building a nuclear plant.
Although classified as a renewable energy source, nuclear energy does not emit as much carbon as fossil fuels. In fact, the entire process of energy production is called nuclear fission. Using uranium as a fuel, the atoms of uranium are split during the fission to produce heat that then generates electricity.
This source of energy, although not renewable, is classified as one of the most trustworthy energy sources. However, nuclear plants cannot easily be managed because nuclear reactors only stop working when they run out of radioactive fuel. For this reason, there must be a capable electricity grid network that can readily collect the energy produced to be distributed to consumers.
Nigeria’s electricity grid has been plagued with an absence of investments in electricity infrastructure. This has left the grid unable properly transmit even the below 5,000MW produced over the years. So to adopt nuclear energy, there would be a need for grid expansion and upgrade of infrastructure.
Although there may be the need for the country to adopt this energy source, it is less likely that it will, not when renewable energy (especially solar energy) sources are getting cheaper and are more environmentally friendly and are now more accessible. Eventually, there might not be the need for a Nigeria – nuclear energy relationship after all.