The IEA report shows that countries are not yet on track for this goal, requiring stronger action and cooperation to align with their stated ambitions. Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) calls for “affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all” by 2030.
Risk scenarios include theft of nuclear and other radioactive material for use in improvised devices and sabotage at nuclear installations or during transport of nuclear and radioactive material.
Proponents argue that because nuclear energy does not require burning fossil fuels, it does not directly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change — which has led some to say that it could make the energy transition more feasible.
After a feasibility study in 2019, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development identified Buyende as one of the eight potential sites in the country for the establishment of the 34.359 trillion Shillings power plant. Other sites are Nakasongola, Kassanda, Kiruhura, and Lamwo Districts among others.
Uganda is seeking to accelerate its efforts to reach universal access to clean energy. Today only 57% of Uganda’s population has access to some sort of clean energy or electricity.
According to Emmanuel Wamala, the Assistant Commissioner Nuclear Fuel and Radioactive Waste, the project will need an estimate of one square mile of land for the nuclear energy power plant and an additional 34square miles to be gazetted for emergency zone for safety of the population.
Speaking during a regional meeting on the optimization of radiation protection of patients in Computed Tomography organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Monday, Radiologists said it’s important for them to put in place regulations that ensure only those that really need clinical investigations using CT undergo it.
From the conference, it is clear that the world is likely to see more nuclear power plants constructed between now and 2050. But speakers and promoters of this technology as part of energy security say it is crucial that the public is consulted about the likely risks and benefits of nuclear energy.
While some have described Uganda’s nuclear/atomic energy ambitions as a huge gamble, Engineer Irene Batebe, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development said the project is on course and it is hoped that Uganda will have its first 2000-megawatt nuclear power plant running by the end of 2031.
According to the report, the second half of 2021 saw the beginning of the biggest energy crisis in modern history, exacerbated by the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 and unprecedented global commodity shock.
Scientists hope to use nuclear technology through irradiating cassava tissue to increase the diversity of varieties, including some with new traits. The method is about to yield positive results says Dr. Emmanuel Ogwok, a Senior Research Officer at the NaCRRI of the National Agricultural Research Organisation in Uganda and a lecturer at Lira University.
Mehmet Ceyhan, the Mission Team Leader said they reviewed 19 nuclear infrastructure issues to assess Uganda’s readiness towards construction and operation of the first nuclear power plant that includes legal and regulatory frameworks, management, nuclear security and safety. Others are procurement, site and supporting facilities, funding and financing, human resource development, electrical grid, emergency planning, radiation protection, nuclear fuel cycle, and radiative waste.
