Online Reporter
Isdore Guvamombe
Reflections
Back in the village, in the land of milk, honey and dust — Guruve — Karitundundu, the ageless village autochthon says a dog that barks way after passersby are gone, is a liability.
I am not going to speak when it is too late. It does not work.
There is something this villager, the son of a peasant has to say before it is too late.
Over the past few months, this villager has been studying nuclear power supply out of interest, and I must confess that I found it a profound and a necessary investment for Zimbabwe’s future growth.
For a country that has set its ambition, and good ambition for that matter, to establishing itself as a regional hub for extraction and processing of critical raw material, uninterrupted power supply innately becomes critical.
For Zimbabwe, an increase in production capacity following the completion of the US$270 million lithium concentration plant at Sandawana Mine, the Bikita Mine and Arcadia lithium project, Zimplats’ nickel and copper plants, the modernisation of Trojan Mine, the construction of the Mapinga Industrial Park and the Dinson Iron and Steel Company (Africa’s largest steel mill) will need more electricity, making it vital for the country to think outside the box and consider nuclear power.
With climate change fast making hydro-electricity generation unreliable, thermal power stations running moribund and little everything else in the old power matrix expensive to maintain, Zimbabwe could probably save itself with a nuclear power station.
A spitting distance across the Limpopo, South Africa, has benefited immensely from the Koeberg nuclear power station, located 30km outside Cape Town.
It was built by built by the French consortium Framatome in the 1980s.
This plant operates two pressurised water reactors (Koeberg 1 and 2), which together constitute the only commercial nuclear power generation on the African continent.
It has a total capacity of 1 970MW and provides roughly 5 percent of South Africa’s electricity. Imagine Zimbabwe having an additional 1 970MW.
The South African government recently announced plans to expand its nuclear capacity, including the potential construction of 2 500MW of new nuclear plant to improve energy security.
Elsewhere, Türkiye is building its first commercial plant, the Akkuyu nuclear power plant.
The nuclear facility is under construction by Russia’s Rosatom in Mersin province on the Mediterranean coast.
This one is massive and has the potential to produce 4 800MW and is expected to supply 10 percent of Türkiye’s electricity once fully operational, with the first unit projected to come online this 2026.
Of interest to this villager is fact that the Türkiye project is a build, own and operate model and for us it can come that way or have an option of negotiating a build, operate and transfer.
So, Russia, either finances, owns and operates it, or it finances, build and operates the facility until it recovers its money.
Are we not friends with Russia? Leveraging on our friendship with President Vladmir Putin, it sounds workable for Zimbabwe, for, the Russian leader has in the past shown great kindness and love for Zimbabwe.
The Second Republic under the leadership of President Mnangagwa has worked very closely well with Russia and we could leverage on that good relationship to solve our power challenges.
Russia has shown willingness to work with Zimbabwe and has invested heavily in our health delivery service, providing air ambulances, training and technical back up.
Zimbabwe has enjoyed cordial cultural, socio-economic, bi-lateral and military relations with Russia since the time of the liberation struggle, and that relationship makes it easy to come out with tangible projects such as a commercial nuclear power plant.
Suppose Zimbabwe decides to negotiate with Rosatom, the Russian State atomic energy corporation, which has constructed or is currently constructing nuclear power plants in several countries, with a strong focus on exporting its VVER reactor technology, it will be easy to benefit. For example in Bangladesh, Rosatom is constructing the Rooppur nuclear Power Plant, which is the country’s first nuclear plant in that country.
In Russia itself, the company operates the Akademik Lomonosov, the world’s only floating nuclear power plant located in the Chukotka region.
In Egypt, Rosatom is engaged in building the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant.
In the Republic of Iran, Rosatom completed the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant.
And of interest if that Rosatom has signed agreements to construct nuclear power plants or has projects in various stages with several other nations, including Belarus, India, China, Turkey, and Nigeria.
Rosatom has also shown interest in expanding its nuclear footprint in Africa, signing agreements with countries and Zimbabwe could be a good beneficiary.
At this juncture it is critical to find out the advantages of a nuclear power.
It offers numerous advantages, primarily centred on their ability to provide a reliable, high-capacity, and low-carbon source of energy.
According to research and experts, key advantages include low-carbon emissions. Nuclear power is a major source of carbon-free electricity. Unlike fossil fuels, nuclear fission does not emit greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, or nitrogen oxides during operation, which helps combat climate change and air pollution.
Nuclear plants provide consistent, reliable “baseload” power, operating at a high average capacity factor (often over 90 percent). This stability ensures a constant electricity supply and is not dependent on weather conditions like wind or solar energy, making it a critical part of a stable energy grid.
A small amount of nuclear fuel produces a massive amount of energy. For instance, a single uranium fuel pellet, about the size of a gummy bear, can create as much energy as one tonne of coal or 17 000 cubic feet of natural gas.
Experts also say nuclear facilities require significantly less land than most other clean-air energy sources to produce the same amount of electricity.
Wind farms require around 360 times more land area, and solar photovoltaic plants require 75 times more space to generate the same power.
It has also been established that nuclear industry creates significant economic growth, supporting a large number of high-skilled, well-compensated jobs, including engineers, operators, and technicians.
By using uranium, a widely available raw material, nations can reduce their reliance on imported fossil fuels, enhancing energy independence and protecting consumers from the price volatility of global oil and gas markets.
The nuclear sector drives innovation in various fields, including materials science, robotics, and next-generation reactor designs. Nuclear technology also has vital applications beyond electricity generation, such as producing medical isotopes for cancer treatment and use in space exploration
Therefore, for Zimbabwe to achieve its outright industrialisation ambition, it is very critical to go the nuclear power route, and boost it electricity generation capacity, with the possibility of even exporting power to the region.
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