Njoki Kangethe
As Africa plans its energy future, it faces a big choice: one road is lined with solar panels, wind turbines, and community-based grids. The other is lit up by the promise of massive nuclear projects; projects tied to prestige, global influence, and cutting-edge technology. But every option comes with a price, and when the money runs short, it’s often people and the environment that pay.
This piece takes a closer look at that choice, comparing the costs, fairness issues, and lost opportunities between going nuclear and going renewable.
1. Money Talks: Price of Nuclear vs. Value in Renewables
Kenya’s nuclear plans give a glimpse of just how steep the price of nuclear can be: a single 1,000 MW plant is projected to cost between US $5–6 billion, or KSh 500–600 billion (Wikipedia, Nuclear power in Kenya) (2017 estimate). That’s equivalent to dozens of solar installations across the continent.
Solar is already much more affordable. For example, Senegal’s Diass Solar Power Station, with a capacity of ~23 MW, cost just $21.4 million. Zambia’s Ngonye plant (34 MW) cost $40 million. These smaller, modular projects can scale, stack, and be replicated, allowing multiple green hubs to flourish where one massive reactor might barely touch the grid.
Globally, renewables are beating nuclear on costs, too. Solar PV now often lands around US ¢3.9/kWh (3.9 US cents per kilowatt-hour), a dramatic drop from prices a decade ago, and far lower than nuclear’s levelized cost (IRENA, 2023). That means electricity that’s both clean and cheap, perfect for a continent chasing development.
2. The Big Win: Trillions Saved and Millions Employed
The numbers here are staggering. A report by Power Shift Africa predicts that a move to 100% renewables could save Africa between $3–5 trillion by 2050 while generating 2.2 million extra energy-sector jobs, compared to a business-as-usual scenario (Power Shift Africa report, 2025). Imagine a continent investing in its future rather than buying into expensive risks.
While renewables demand infrastructure investments, projected at $7.3 trillion by 2050, they deliver $8.3 trillion in fuel savings. The returns greatly exceed the cost (Africa Briefing, African Climate Wire, 2025).
Nuclear, on the other hand, tends to lean heavily on debt. Borrowing billions for long-term payback shifts the burden to future generations. Past examples, such as Ghana’s Bui dam or South Africa’s Eskom projects, reveal how large-scale financing can quickly turn from promising to unsustainable, or even exploitative.
3. Speed and Scale: Who Gets Power First?
Time matters. Solar installations, like Kenya’s mini-grid pilots, have launched fast, empowering households within a year and boosting local incomes. In contrast, a nuclear plant can take 5–10 years from planning to switch-on, even in the fastest industrial settings.
Africa needs electricity now, not later. Each delayed project means continued power blackouts, stalled economic chance, and stalled education. Renewables bridge that gap quickly, and affordably.
4. The Cost of Debt: Who Pays for Nuclear?
Meeting Africa’s energy access goals by 2030 requires around $25 billion annually, which is just 1% of global energy investment, but achieving full energy transition, including infrastructure and clean generation, will demand over $200 billion per year (IEA, 2022). Yet nuclear projects often demand massive sovereign debt, tying national budgets to future repayments.
If a nuclear plant is financed through foreign loans, with fuel costs, maintenance, and decommission timelines locked in, how much flexibility is left for school, health, or infrastructure budgets? That’s the real risk, not just of power, but of policy.
5. Power That Empowers: Justice in Energy
Renewables tend to exist where people live; mini-grids, rooftop solar, community-based installations. They’re democratic by design, putting power in local hands and creating jobs in villages and towns.
Nuclear projects, meanwhile, are centralized, elite, and rarely shaped around the everyday realities of the people they aim to serve. This isn’t about being ‘anti-nuclear,’ but about how development is done. Does it build equity? Does it strengthen local economies? Or does it leave communities dependent on outside control?
6. Climate Leadership and Sovereignty
Africa has contributed the least to the climate crisis, yet it faces some of its harshest impacts. The energy systems built today must be resilient, affordable, and rooted in human rights.
Renewables offer the continent a chance to move beyond outdated, polluting infrastructure, embracing clean technology while safeguarding sovereignty. Nuclear, especially when linked to foreign loans, risks repeating the extractive patterns of the past.
In Kenya’s coastal tourism towns, communities are already pushing back. The proposed nuclear site in Kilifi County has sparked protests, concerned about environmental damage to coral reefs, forests, and local economies (AP News, Kilifi protests, 2024).
Conclusion: Choose Power That Powers All
The choice is not between having power or going without; it’s between adopting sustainable, well-planned energy systems and pursuing high-risk, potentially unsustainable options. Nuclear might offer baseload power on paper, but real baseload depends on democracy, finances, and fairness.
Renewables offer a path that’s cheaper, cleaner, quicker, and more just. The transition is possible. The savings are real. The power belongs to communities, not just to grids.
So, this isn’t just a debate over technology. It’s a challenge: what kind of energy future do we want? One built on shared prosperity, or one burdened by debt and distant decisions?
References
• IEA (2022). Africa Energy Outlook 2022.
• IEA (2023). Financing Clean Energy in Africa.
• IEA (2024). World Energy Investment 2024.
• Wikipedia, Nuclear Power in Kenya: cost of 1,000 MW plant.
• IRENA (2023). Renewable energy cost comparisons.
• Power Shift Africa report (2025): $3–5 trillion savings, 2.2M jobs.
• Africa Briefing Magazine (2025): renewable path saves $4.44T.
• AP News (2024): protests in Kilifi, Kenya.
