Kenya plans to spend Sh80 million in the financial year starting July to continue searching for the exact site of the proposed nuclear power plant in Siaya County, as the government narrows down potential locations within the lakeside county.
Budget estimates tabled in the National Assembly show the allocation for ‘Nuclear Power Plant Siting’ will form part of broader plans to prepare for construction of the country’s first nuclear reactor.
Kenya plans to build a 1,000-3,000-megawatt nuclear power plant from March 2027 at an estimated cost of $5 billion (Sh646 billion) in Siaya, which was chosen partly due to its proximity to Lake Victoria because the plant would require large volumes of water for cooling operations.
The funds will support screening and technical assessment of potential sites identified within Siaya before Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA) settles on the preferred location for the multi-billion-shilling project. NuPEA says it has completed the first phase of regional analysis and identified possible locations for the proposed plant.
The agency, tasked with implementing the country’s nuclear power programme, is conducting further screening exercises on the shortlisted areas-which it has not disclosed– to determine which sites meet safety, environmental and engineering requirements.
‘The best candidate sites will then be subjected to a weighted analysis, and the best two will be designated as Proposed Site and Alternate site,’ NuPEA states in its documents.
Justus Wabuyabo, the agency’s chief executive, said site-specific feasibility studies and additional technical assessments will follow once the preferred location is identified.
‘Detailed engineering and scientific studies on the specific site will have to be carried out to confirm the suitability of the selected site,’ Mr Wabuyabo said in an earlier interview.
The Sh80 million allocation for 2026/27 is lower than the Sh104 million approved in the current 2025/26 financial year.
However, projected spending is expected to rise more than five times to Sh493 million in 2027/28 before climbing further to Sh2.88 billion in 2028/29.
The rising future allocations signal more intensive studies, feasibility assessments and possible land acquisition activities as the project advances.
The Treasury’s budget documents show the government is targeting 55 percent acquisition of the nuclear plant site by June 2027.
The target is expected to rise to 60 percent in 2027/28 and 65 percent in 2028/29, indicating plans for continued site preparation over the next three years.
The siting process involves analysing several factors to determine whether an area can safely host a nuclear power facility.
According to NuPEA, the government is checking whether potential sites are safe from earthquakes, have suitable ground conditions and minimal impact on wildlife.
Officials are also examining risks such as flooding, nearby pipelines, population levels, road access, the nature of the terrain and whether the site is close enough to areas with high demand for electricity.
NuPEA said detailed engineering and scientific studies will be conducted on the selected sites before a final decision is made.
The next stages after siting will involve preparation of bid invitation specifications, selection of a nuclear technology vendor and further studies by the successful contractor.
The project forms part of the Kenya National Electrification Strategy, which initially aims to achieve universal access to electricity by 2030.
Construction of the plant is expected to take at least five years, with the reactor initially projected to start operations in 2034.
The government has previously indicated the project could be financed through a build-operate-transfer arrangement or a special purpose vehicle involving the State, lenders and nuclear technology vendors.
Kenya is also increasing spending on workforce training and legal reforms linked to the nuclear power programme.
Funding for ‘Resource Development for Nuclear Programme’ will rise from Sh37.7 million in the current financial year to Sh55 million in 2026/27, the budget estimates show.
Allocations for ‘Nuclear Policy and Legislation’ will increase from Sh27.8 million to Sh42 million over the same period.
The plans have continued to attract opposition from environmental groups and renewable energy advocates.
Civil society organisations, including the Centre for Justice Governance and Environmental Action and the Kenya Anti-Nuclear Alliance, argue nuclear energy is unnecessary because Kenya already generates more than 90 percent of its electricity from renewable sources such as geothermal, hydro, wind and solar.
The groups have also warned about possible environmental and economic damage in the event of a nuclear accident near ecologically sensitive areas around Lake Victoria.
Mr Wabuyabo, however, argues that Kenya’s current renewable energy mix would not be sufficient to meet projected industrial power demand despite the country generating more than 90 percent of electricity from green sources.
He said Kenya would require up to 60,000 megawatts of electricity for full-scale industrialisation, adding that nuclear energy would provide stable baseload power less affected by weather changes.
‘Nuclear energy will undoubtedly provide, in the medium term, the 3,000 MW baseload that hydro and solar, which are prone to weather changes, simply cannot,’ Mr Wabuyabo wrote in the Business Daily on Monday.
Kenya is among several African countries pursuing nuclear energy projects to support industrialisation and rising electricity demand. They include Egypt, Morocco, Ghana, Uganda and Rwanda.