Kenya is pressing ahead with its ambitious plan to introduce nuclear power into the national electricity grid as the government races to meet rising energy demand and secure the country's long-term power supply.
The renewed push comes as the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) hosts experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Nairobi for a week-long meeting focused on planning Kenya's future energy mix.
The discussions come at a time when electricity consumption continues to grow, forcing policymakers to look beyond the country's current dependence on renewable sources such as geothermal, hydro, wind and solar power.
Officials say the country must begin making decisions now on what will power Kenya decades from today.
"The Integrated National Energy Plan (INEP) requires decisions to look beyond immediate needs and consider how different energy choices will perform over the long term," said Energy Principal Secretary Alex Wachira.
"This meeting therefore looks at how energy demand, climate change, water availability, land use, technology and cost interact so that the decisions we make today deliver a secure and sustainable energy system for tomorrow."
The meeting also signals that the government remains committed to its long-term goal of generating up to 6,000 megawatts of electricity from nuclear power, a target first reaffirmed during the International Conference on Nuclear Energy (ICoNE 2026) chaired by President William Ruto.
As part of those plans, the government is continuing site identification and characterisation activities in Kilifi and Siaya, while strengthening the legal, policy and regulatory framework required before nuclear power plants can be constructed.
EPRA Acting Director General Dr Joseph Oketch said Kenya's current renewable energy success alone would not be enough to meet future demand.
"Kenya has built a strong foundation in renewable energy, particularly geothermal, hydro, wind and solar power, and there is a need to expand this energy mix to include emerging energy sources, while working with multiple sectors," he said.
"Guided by the Energy (Integrated National Energy Plan) Regulations, 2025, the Authority is keen on providing guidelines to implement these energy sources through public participation, and strengthening the technical capacity needed to inform Kenya's long-term energy decisions."
Kenya is among 50 African countries participating in the IAEA's African Regional Cooperative Agreement (AFRA), which supports member states in applying nuclear science and technology for development.
While the Nairobi meeting will primarily focus on technical planning, it underscores the government's determination to diversify the country's electricity sources as demand rises, with nuclear power increasingly viewed as a reliable low-carbon option to complement Kenya's largely renewable energy system.
