This is part of the country’s wider push to add 10,000MW of electricity KenGen managing director and CEO Peter Njenga / HANDOUT Kenya has embarked on study tours ahead of the planned construction of its first nuclear power plant. Kenya Electricity Generating Company, (KenGen) officials and other leaders have concluded a study tour of Ontario’s nuclear projects in Canada as the country moves to develop its own.
The week-long Canada–Kenya Nuclear Engagement Program brought the team into direct contact with one of the world’s most developed nuclear users. The tour aims at g iving KenGen and partner institutions exposure to the operational, regulatory, technical and human-capital foundations required for Phase 3 readiness under the International Atomic Energy Agency milestones framework.
KenGen managing director and CEO Peter Njenga said the tour was "highly successful", describing the move to nuclear as “the next big step” in Kenya’s push for industrial growth, energy security and round-the-clock clean power. “This trip is very strategic to us and it has helped us deepen our understanding on our role going forward,” said Njenga.
He said they had a first-hand experience to learn from an established nuclear market, understand the owner-operator model, and translate that knowledge into a long-term plan for Kenya’s energy system KenGen said the mission also provided an end to-end view of what it takes to build a durable national nuclear program: owner operator capability, regulatory discipline, workforce development, fuel-cycle understanding, public accountability, and long-term waste stewardship.
The power generator has been designated to serve as the owner-operator of Kenya’s first nuclear power plant in partnership with the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA). “This mission helped sharpen the practical roadmap for turning our national ambition into institutional readiness,” said Njenga, noting that Kenya’s nuclear vision is anchored in a broader national growth strategy.