Power play

US ramps up nuclear energy for Africa in showdown with Russia, China

By Julian Pecquet

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Posted on November 9, 2022 11:13

FILE PHOTO: The logo of state power utility Eskom is seen outside Cape Town’s Koeberg nuclear power plant © FILE PHOTO: The logo of state power utility Eskom is seen outside Cape Town’s Koeberg nuclear power plant, March 20, 2016. REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: The logo of state power utility Eskom is seen outside Cape Town’s Koeberg nuclear power plant, March 20, 2016. REUTERS

The Joe Biden administration is racing to bring US nuclear power to energy-starved Africa amid intensifying competition with Russia and China.

As world leaders meet this week in Sharm el-Sheikh for the COP27 UN Climate Change Conference, Washington has been touting so-called Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) as a viable energy alternative for a continent that lags the rest of the world in access to electricity.

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