As Nigeria battles with inadequate power supply, Communications Director of Russia’s nuclear power giant, Rosatom, Mr. Ryan Collyer, has made a case for the adoption of nuclear-powered electricity for Nigerians.
Collyer who stated this in a chat with journalists in Lagos over the weekend, also said that Rosatom was in talks with the Federal Government for the construction of a nuclear science and technology centre, as well as a power plant. He said: “At the heart of the construction of a nuclear science and technology centre is a nuclear research reactor that produces isotopes. These isotopes are used for medical purposes, diagnoses and treatment of oncological and cardiovascular diseases.

“These isotopes are used by radiation facilities that radiate food fresh produce, by way of eliminating microorganisms and pests and insects. It significantly extends the shelf life of fresh produce. This is done so that the food properties do not change. The taste and quality do not change. A number of laboratories use these isotopes. There are two types of facilities included in the project – medical and agricultural. The other one is research oriented.

The second project is a nuclear power plant. We still have to decide the capacity of the nuclear power plant. The Nigerian government has to communicate to us on their expectations.” As regards funding, Collyer explained that Rosatom, which has been in the nuclear energy enterprise for 70 years, will get the attention of financial institutions in the world. He said: “Rosatom is a vertically integrated enterprise, integrated from the value chain of nuclear industry, from mining uranium to processing it to enriching it to producing fuel.

All these value chain steps are handled by our company, which enables us to attract financing of nuclear power plant from financial institutions. We are not sticking to one model. We are able to approach financing in a very flexible manner. “We are a solution providing company. We are the first company to construct a nuclear power plant in Africa, we also have state of the art technology. Besides nuclear, Rosatom has non nuclear energy centres. We are also into renewable energy.  We operate in more than 40 countries. We are also into hydro electricity, off grid and micro-grid solutions.”