Chairman of the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC), Erapamo Osaisai, disclosed, that Nigeria can generate more than 1,200MW from each of the four proposed nuclear power plants.
Osaisai made this statement while speaking with State House correspondents after he submitted a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the development of nuclear power in Nigeria to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
He said that the IAEA conducted an integrated nuclear infrastructure review mission in the country in June and that the nation’s nuclear power energy programme was on course to diversify power sources beyond gas and hydro bases, according to Premium Times.
He said: “Our planned nuclear power plants are huge machines. And what we are planning is…[that] each of the power plants will be generating power in excess of 1,200 megawatts. Nigeria is a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
We are a member of the IAEA and our responsibility as a country is to utilise nuclear power in the safest way possible.
And what Nigeria is doing, as we can tell, is diversifying our energy generation base beyond gas and hydro to include other sources for which nuclear is also being considered.”
The chairman highlighted that the UN nuclear regulators have made recommendations that could help Nigeria develop its nuclear power projects.
“They (IAEA officials) have made a final report in, which there are specific recommendations, suggestions and also identifying good practices in the implementation of our own nuclear power programme in the country,” Osaisai said.
It’s quite a serious task and responsibility for a country to implement a nuclear power programme and what we do at the NAEC is to take leadership in building the pertinent nuclear power infrastructure,” he added.
Additionally, Osaisai revealed that NAEC has a nuclear power road map “which is being approved by government and that is what we are implementing.”
