R 041259Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 7809
INFO USDOC WASHDC 3116
AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 
AMEMBASSY ASMARA 
AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA 
AMEMBASSY CAIRO 
AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM 
AMEMBASSY DJIBOUTI 
AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 
AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 
AMEMBASSY KIGALI 
AMEMBASSY LONDON 
AMEMBASSY PARIS 
USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA

UNCLAS NAIROBI 002716 
 
 
STATE FOR T MARC HUMPHREY, EEB/ESC/IEC, EEB/ESC/ENR, OES/SAT, 
OES/ENV, AF/E, AND AF/EPS 
 
COMMERCE FOR SARAH LOPP AND BECKY ERKUL 
 
LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS AND REOS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: ENRG TRGY EINV SENV BEXP BTIO KE
SUBJECT:  KENYA ASPIRES TO BUILD A NUCLEAR PLANT BY 2015 
 
REFS: (A) STATE 127423 (B) NAIROBI 2381 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1.  As reported in ref B, although it has no known fissionable 
material, Kenya aspires to build its first medium-sized 1,000 MW 
nuclear plant by 2015 as part of a multifaceted strategy to boost 
power production.  The Government of Kenya (GOK) will appeal to the 
private sector to finance the plant's estimated $1 billion 
price-tag.  According to a Ministry of Energy (MOE) prospectus, 
"Investment Opportunities in the Energy Sector," released in early 
October before a three-day national energy conference, the 
government will offer potential investors a 30-year power purchase 
agreement on a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) arrangement. 
Private British investors are reportedly considering helping Kenya 
build this facility.  Possible construction sites have already been 
identified in the Rift Valley, Nyanza Province near Lake Victoria, 
and Coast Province to serve Mombasa. 
 
¶2.  Since mid-summer 2008, US Mission Nairobi officers from both 
State and Commerce have held a series of meetings and roundtables 
with Ministry of Energy Permanent Secretary Patrick Nyoike and 
senior representatives of the Kenya Electricity Generating Company 
(KENGEN), among them, Managing Director Eddy Njoroge and Director of 
Business Development Albert Mugo, the Kenya Power and Lighting 
Company (KPLC), including its Chief Manager for Planning David 
Mwangi, and independent power producers.  Judging from these 
meetings and the MOE prospectus, the nuclear option is among the 
least likely of a number of power generation possibilities available 
to Kenya.  Development of the country's rich geothermal resources, 
now estimated at a potential 7,000 MW, remains the government's 
preferred option. 
 
¶3.  Should the nuclear plant come on line, we expect that the 
Ministry of Energy (rather than a new government agency) will 
oversee its operations. 
 
RANNEBERGER