Growing African interest in nuclear power signalled by conference this month in Uganda

Calculations by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) were that, in Africa, some 600-million people and 10-million small businesses lacked a dependable electricity supply. Nor did connection to a national grid guarantee a reliable supply of energy. The World Bank has reported that nearly 80% of the continent’s businesses suffer from power cuts. The continent has a huge need for reliable energy sources. Consequently, Nuclear Business Platform (NBP) MD Zaf Coelho points out, an increasing number of African countries are looking at nuclear power as a source of reliable baseload energy. Hence the second, 2023, iteration of the Africa NBP (AFNBP) conference, which will take place in Kampala, Uganda, from March 14 to March 17. It will be hosted by the Ugandan Ministry of Energy & Mineral Development, and its theme is the “Sustainable Economic Transformation of Africa Through Nuclear Power”.