Tycoon philanthropist Tony Elumelu looks to build Nigeria’s first nuclear power plants

Transcorp Energy Limited, a unit of Nigerian tycoon Tony Elumelu’s Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp), has announced plans to build Nigeria’s first nuclear power plants.

The move aligns with the company’s plans to boost its integrated energy strategy, while serving as an alternative energy source to improve access to electricity.

Nairametrics quoted Peter Ikenga, the head of Transcorp Energy, as saying: “This project is transformative and a first in Nigeria and would radically change the way nuclear power plants are deployed, offering a substantially less expensive and less complicated solution.”

Transcorp is a diversified conglomerate with strategic investments and core interests in hospitality, agribusiness and energy. It was founded by Elumelu in 2004.

Bloomberg Quint reported that the plants will offer a “less expensive and less complicated solution” for stable and reliable power generation in Nigeria.

Transcorp will utilize the OPEN100 model technology, the world’s first open-source blueprint for nuclear power plant deployment for a small, standard, pressurized water reactor that will accelerate deployment of modular nuclear plants for power generation.

Meanwhile, the company’s plan has already been presented to Nigeria’s science and technology minister.

Transcorp Energy

Transcorp won a bid for Nigeria’s distressed power-generating company, Ughelli Power Plc (then the operator of the Ughelli Power Plant) in Delta State during the privatization of Nigeria’s national power assets in September 2012. The company invested $300 million in the deal. The investment was part of strategic investor Heirs Holdings’ commitment to USAID’s Power Africa initiative.

By November 2015, Transcorp Ughelli Power and Ughelli Power merged to form Transcorp Energy.