Uganda and Russia look to move ahead with nuclear project

Russia and Uganda have signed a roadmap for cooperation in nuclear energy, aimed at advancing plans for a nuclear power plant in Uganda. The agreement sets out a framework for technical and economic collaboration between the two countries.

Where this fits

This illustrates a critical strand of energy security that Australia is failing to pursue: firm, low-emission generation that does not depend on China's supply chain or weather. Uganda, a developing nation with rising electricity demand, is moving toward nuclear because it solves the reliability problem that renewables alone cannot. Australia has the technical capacity, uranium reserves, and industrial base to do the same, but nuclear remains banned by law. While other countries treat nuclear as essential infrastructure for decarbonisation and energy independence, Australia is locked into a renewables-plus-gas path that locks in both fossil fuel dependence and reliance on China for panels, batteries and inverters.

What it means

Uganda's choice exposes Australia's strategic passivity. A country with far fewer resources is taking control of its energy future through a technology that delivers firm power without foreign supply-chain vulnerability. Australia, meanwhile, is building a grid that will depend on gas for decades to firm variable renewables, while outsourcing the manufacture of every solar panel and battery cell to a strategic rival. The energy transition is not simply an emissions story; it is a sovereignty story. A renewables-only grid is cheaper per megawatt-hour, but the whole-system cost, firming, transmission, materials dominance by one country, is being borne by consumers and taxpayers, while the firm alternative remains off the table by law.