Uganda’s Controversial Nuclear Power Plant and Serbia’s Lithium Mining

In western Serbia, Rio Tinto holds some of Europe’s largest lithium reserves, a critical metal for making electric vehicle batteries. The deposits were discovered in 2004, but in 2022, the Serbian government stopped the mining project due to public protests over environmental and public health concerns. However, with new assurances from Rio Tinto and the European Union, Serbia plans to start exploiting lithium as early as 2028. The mine is projected to produce 58,000 tons of the raw material annually, satisfying a substantial 17% of the production requirements for electric vehicles in Europe (1.1 million cars), highlighting its potential impact on the industry.

In Kenya, public protests against the construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant are escalating. The plant is set to be built on the coast of Kilifi, a popular tourist destination known for sandy white beaches, coral reefs, and mangrove forests. Local residents, including tourism workers, fishermen, property owners, beekeepers, and butterfly farmers in the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, a UNESCO biosphere reserve, are concerned about the future and have been staging protests, with some pursuing legal action. Construction of the 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant is scheduled to commence in 2027, with an anticipated completion date of 2034. While about 90% of Kenya’s electricity comes from renewable sources, the availability of solar and wind power around the clock is an issue, and hydropower production is being affected by drought resulting from climate change.