Nigeria to build nuclear plants

[Richard Akindele]

Abuja - Nigeria plans to build nuclear power plants to meet a major part of the West African country's electricity demand by 2015, says a government minister.

Information minister Frank Nweke said a meeting of the cabinet chaired by President Olusegun Obasanjo set a target for the country to generate 40 000 megawatts of electricity within the next decade, with a significant part coming from nuclear energy.

Nweke said: "To achieve this objective ... we must exploit other sources, particularly nuclear power as a major component, not just an option."

Nigeria ran two nuclear research centres, one in the northern town of Zaria and another outside the capital, Abuja, set up under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear regulatory body. It had no nuclear power plant.

Nigeria was Africa's leading oil and gas producer and the world's eight-biggest oil exporter, but remained a low electricity generator and consumer.

The country ran on less than half of national capacity of 6 000 megawatts of electricity, with power cuts frequent and the electricity infrastructure ran down by years of corruption and mismanagement.

Nweke said Nigeria couldn't rely on its natural gas, coal and hydroelectric resources alone to meet its energy requirements and wanted nuclear power to supplement them.

Nweke said Nigeria had no ambition to acquire nuclear weapons and would comply with all international requirements for safe use of nuclear energy.

[Richard Akindele]

What is it with Nigeria and the obsession with nuclear technology?

Yes nuclear tech will supply electricity very cheaply, but how do you dummies propose to dispose of the nuclear waste afterwards?

Just because you've heard about Iran's nuclear tech ambitions, you copy cats also want to rush in and do the same without first researching the full ramifications. Typical Nigerian knee-jerk reaction. Unbelievable! Too much money, not enough creative brains.

Let me put it to you like this, if power generation is your concern, stay away from nuclear power. Nuclear technology has too many negative environmental effects. Rather, consider clean alternatives, such as solar energy.

Nigeria gets year-round sunshine. If you're really interested in moving your science forward, then commence research on solar energy. Major cities around the world are now leaning toward clean renewable energy. Germany by far leads the way on this charge. Nigeria needs to follow suit.

Resources:

http://www.pvresources.com/en/top50pv.php
http://www.solarbuzz.com/News/NewsEUPR293.htm
http://www.irecusa.org/articles/static/ ... 30621.html
http://www.cooperativecommunityenergy.c ... topol.html
http://www.solarsebastopol.com/

[Richard Akindele]

A few facts about power generation...

- [b]Solar power[/b] panels are virtually maintenance free.
- Safety standards make [b]Nucluear power[/b] reactors expensive.

- [b]Solar energy[/b] generators produce zero residues.
- [b]Nuclear reactors[/b] produce risky radioactive Uranium.

- [b]Solar energy[/b] only relies on energy from the sun. Plentiful, perpetual, and free.
- [b]Nuclear energy[/b] relies on Uranium. Once we've dug up and used all the world's Uranium, we can no longer generate nuclear energy.

- [b]Solar energy[/b] poses no threats of accidents.
- [b]Nuclear reactors[/b] can overheat and blow up, or catch on fire. Radioactive fallout could pollute the land/air/waters, leading to higher rates of cancer, and genetic diseases.

- [b]Solar energy[/b] does not need raw materials.
- [b]Nuclear generators[/b] need Uranium, to be imported if not available locally. If available locally, it still has to be mined before use.

- [b]Solar energy[/b] can be implemented on a [b]small[/b] or on a [b]large[/b] scale.
- [b]Nuclear energy[/b] basically only has large scale implementation. Which gives the government one more way to control your lives.