- Officials in Zimbabwe have said the country will work with the International Atomic Energy Agency and, likely with investment from Russia, to develop a nuclear power program.
- Russia already has agreements to build nuclear power plants with Egypt, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso, in addition to South Africa.
Officials in Zimbabwe have said the country will work with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and likely with investment from Russia to develop a nuclear power program. Zimbabwe is joining other African nations exploring nuclear power as a way to help solve chronic problems with electricity supply. Power demand continues to increase on the continent due to growing populations and economic expansion.
Edgar Moyo, minister of Zimbabwe’s Energy and Power Development, said his country plans to increase its power generation capacity to at least 4 GW by 2035, up from the current 2.6 GW, although government data shows actual daily power generation is about half of capacity.
Moyo said his country will collaborate with Russia on construction of small nuclear reactors. Moyo in late December told journalists at a meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe, that the IAEA “have indicated their willingness to take us through paces until we get there.”
Russia already has agreements to build nuclear power plants with Egypt, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso, in addition to South Africa. Russian nuclear energy state-owned company Rosatom and the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Zimbabwe in 2021 signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on nuclear energy. Economists and geopolitical analysts have said Russia wants to take a lead role in Africa’s energy future to expand its influence on the continent.
“A reliable nuclear energy infrastructure could supply electricity to millions of people in rural or underserved areas,” said Irina Tsukerman, an adviser and foreign policy expert with Scarab Rising, a US-based geopolitical research group.
He noted, “Many African countries still face significant gaps in electricity access, and nuclear power can help bridge that gap, particularly in countries with a growing urban population. Nuclear energy can provide a stable supply for expanding economies, ensuring industries and households have reliable power without frequent outages or blackouts, which are common in many parts of Africa.”
Tsukerman said nuclear power would benefit Africa because it would provide “reliable energy production” as well as “large amounts of energy from relatively small amounts of fuel. For countries with limited land or resources, nuclear power can provide a reliable source of electricity without requiring vast areas of land, unlike solar or wind energy, which depend on large installations.”