Africa Looks to Nuclear Power to Light Up Continent
Hello, and welcome to As It Is from VOA LearningEnglish!
I’m Christopher Cruise in Washington.
Today, we report on plans to satisfy the growing needfor electricity in Africa by building nuclear powercenters. Many African countries now burn coal or usehydropower, or water power, to produce electricity. ButAfrican leaders say those methods do not createenough power for the continent’s growing population.They say nuclear energy is the only way to satisfyAfrica’s need for electricity.
“We expect to conclude the procurement of 9,600megawatts of nuclear energy.”
But activists say there are environmental and security issues with nuclearpower -- especially in Africa…
“There’s a lot of conflict and political tension in Africa. A lot of increasingterrorist activity, in, particularly north and central Africa -- crime syndicatesoperating.”
Today, we tell about the African nations that want to set up nuclear reactors, and the concerns that activists have about nuclear power. Those are oursubjects on As It Is.
African Countries Want Nuclear Power Centers
At least three African nations have expressed an interest in nuclear power.Kenya and Nigeria each want to start producing nuclear energy. And SouthAfrica wants to expand its nuclear energy operations. South Africa is the onlycountry south of the Sahara Desert with nuclear power centers.
Map showing African nations looking to build or expandnuclear power centers.
Until now, African nations have depended heavily oncoal and hydropower to produce electricity. But thoseproduction methods have caused problems -- includingdisplacing communities and damaging theenvironment.
The World Bank says fewer than 10 percent of Africanhomes are connected to electric power lines. This hurtsdevelopment on the world’s poorest continent.
The need for electricity has led a growing number ofAfrican nations to consider nuclear energy. For many years, somegovernments and activists have opposed plans to build nuclear reactors inAfrica. But in recent years, more and more people have expressed support fornuclear power. The building of nuclear reactors is becoming increasinglypopular in both developing and developed countries, including the UnitedStates.
Kelvin Kemm is a South African nuclear physicist. He is also the head of agroup called Nuclear Africa. He says Africa cannot continue to depend onwater and coal to make electricity.
“Africa’s very largely fueled with hydropower. And in Africa it’s possible to havedroughts that last a couple of years. Therefore it’s very risky to build aneconomy on hydropower. Many are not fortunate enough to have coal andgas, and therefore nuclear is an ideal solution for Africa.”
The Koeberg Nuclear Power Station is about 30kilometers north of Cape Town. It is owned and operatedby South Africa's power company Eksom.
South Africa is the only African nation that hassuccessfully developed nuclear technology. Today, theKoeberg Nuclear Power Station produces about fivepercent of South Africa’s electricity.
President Jacob Zuma recently said he wants morenuclear power to reduce his nation’s dependence oncoal.
“We expect to conclude the procurement of 9,600megawatts of nuclear energy.”
Kenya, Nigeria Want Nuclear Power
Kenya and Nigeria say they want to build nuclear power centers to meet risingelectricity needs from their growing populations.
Kelvin Kemm says the power needs are so great that traditional methods ofproducing power cannot meet the demand the way nuclear power can.
“They need to double electricity consumption immediately, and then double itagain, and again, and again, and again for their people.”
Critics of nuclear energy say it is not always safe. They note the nucleardisasters at Fukushima in Japan, and Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union. But those concerns may not be heard over the rising demand for electricity.
Experts say it will be years before African nations can meet their energyneeds, either with nuclear power or other sources.
Activists: Nuclear Centers Bring Risks
Experts say more than 600 million people in Africa are not connected toelectrical power lines. They think nuclear power will solve the problems of thegrowing continent. But some activists are worried about the cost,environmental damage and possible security issues.
Dominique Gilbert lives near the Pelindaba Nuclear Research Center in SouthAfrica. From the 1960s to the 1980s, government researchers developednuclear bombs there.
Ms. Gilbert helped launch a group called the Coalition Against NuclearEnergy/South Africa. She is worried that the government is moving too quicklyon its plans for more nuclear power without telling people about the risks.
“Unfortunately, there hasn’t been that much information spread around thegeneral public about the dangers of nuclear, and certainly the costs of nuclear.So it’s not just health. But we believe it will bankrupt this country. It’s, it’s totallyand utterly unaffordable.”
Dominique Gilbert says South Africa has done little to study the effects ofnuclear energy on communities near nuclear power centers. And she saysthe government has failed to educate people about the possible dangers ofnuclear power.
Activists around the world have been worried about the risk of radiationexposure for many years. But some experts believe nuclear fuel creates fewerhealth risks than the burning of coal. South Africa burns a great deal of coal toproduce electricity.
People walk with a coffin as they protest the usage ofcoal, during a climate change conference in Durban,South Africa, December 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Schalk vanZuydam)
We heard from Kelvin Kemm earlier in the program. He is a nuclear physicist and head of the group NuclearAfrica. He says people have been given misleadinginformation about the safety of nuclear power.
“Of all the energy sources that there are, nuclear hasshown itself to be the safest. And it’s quite amazinghow much of a public misconception there is about this. That there’s been absolute scare tactics developed.”
But perhaps the biggest concern about a nuclear-powered African continent is a lack of security in many African nations.Activists are worried that nuclear reactors are likely targets of attack.Dominique Gilbert is especially worried about the possible theft of nuclearmaterials for weapons.
“There’s a lot of conflict and political tension in Africa, a lot of increasingterrorist activity in particularly north and central Africa, crime syndicatesoperating.”
Knox Msebenzi is the Managing Director of the Nuclear Industry Association ofSouth Africa. He admits there are risks of building nuclear reactors in Africa. But he believes those risks can be controlled.
And that’s our program for today. It was based on stories from reporters AnitaPowell and Peter Cox in Johannesburg.
I’m Christopher Cruise reporting from VOA Learning English headquarters inWashington.
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