It said that Fashola challenged Atomic Energy experts to do more in
the area of public enlightenment as many Nigerians had limited knowledge
about the use of nuclear technology for power.
FG to diversify electricity generation using Nuclear energy(AIT Online)
The Federal Government says it
will diversify the nation’s electricity generation using nuclear energy.
This is contained in a statement issued on Thursday by Mr Timothy Oyedeji, Director Press, Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, and sent to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
According to the statement, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, challenged experts to domesticate issues on Nuclear Energy in the industry.
The
statement reiterated federal government’s commitment in diversifying
its energy mix beyond traditional sources of gas, oil and Hydro to
include nuclear and other renewable sources like solar, biomass and
wind.
It stated that the minister said this when he received the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mr Yukiya Amano, in his office.
It
said that Fashola challenged Atomic Energy experts to do more in the
area of public enlightenment as many Nigerians had limited knowledge
about the use of nuclear technology for power.
"You
must begin to break down the seeming complex issues around nuclear
power into simple terms and language that our people can understand.
"We must try to demystify issues around nuclear power in Nigeria,” the statement quoted Fashola as saying.
It
stated that Nigeria cannot afford to be left behind in the acquisition
of appropriate nuclear technologies. The statement also said the
comprehensive nuclear law was with the parliament and would be enacted
soon. It assured that government would do all within its power to
strengthen the capacity of the regulatory regime.
According
to the statement, all procurement activities for the first nuclear
power plant with generation capacity of 1,200MW of power to the National
Grid by 2025 would be done as scheduled.
The
statement listed Geregu in Ajaokuta local government area of Kogi, and
Itu local government area of Akwa-Ibom as the two sites selected by the
Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC).
It added
that these projects would be financed through Public-Private
Participation (PPP) policy for infrastructural development in the
country with target to increase it to 4,800MW by the year 2035. It
stated that Amano expressed satisfaction with NAEC and its team of
experts for the research works and human capacity building efforts in
this specialised field.
It added that Amano urged
the NAEC to leave no stone unturned in letting Nigerians know that
nuclear energy was for peace purposes.
The statement also quoted the IAEA director-general as saying that "Nigeria’s
nuclear energy was for developmental purposes in areas such as
engineering, medicine, environmental protection, security, agriculture
and food security’’.
The statement said that Amano informed the minister that the IAEA regarded Nigeria as an important partner.
It stated that IAEA wanted to transfer nuclear technology that would not be adverse to Nigeria.
It stated that IAEA wanted to transfer nuclear technology that would not be adverse to Nigeria.
It
added that IAEA as a responsible international agency, wanted Nigeria
to use nuclear power for peace and development. It said that Dr Erepamo
Osaisai, the Director-General of NAEC, stated that Nigeria had made
remarkable progress in development and strengthening of activities in
diverse and specialised areas of nuclear energy.
The
statement listed energy planning, peaceful use of nuclear for
industrial, education, research works, medicine and power generation as
areas Nigeria had made progress in.
According to
the statement, the NAEC DG pledged that the commission will continue to
drive efforts in areas of technical know-how, manpower and capacity
building for overall development of nuclear technologies in Nigeria
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