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SOUTH AFRICA intends to publish the tender for a 2,500 megawatt (MW) nuclear program at the end of March 2022 and to complete the procurement in 2024.
This is in support of the country’s economic reconstruction and recovery plan and ensuring the security of energy supplies, Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Energy Nobuhle Nkabane said this week.
Speaking at the 65th International Atomic Energy Agency (Iaea) meeting in Vienna, Nkabane said the country is trying to accelerate its safe nuclear energy program, which recently approved a 2,500 MW contribution from nuclear energy to the national energy mix.
Nkabane pledged South Africa’s contribution of EUR 238,617 (approximately R 4.14 million) to the Technical Cooperation Fund for 2022, highlighting the country’s support for Iaea training activities under the Technical Cooperation Program through capacity building in the Nuclear science and technology.
In the minister’s declaration, the milestones of the South African nuclear industry were updated, including the preparatory work for the 2nd participation in important Iaea programs.
As a founding member, South Africa contributed to the work of the Iaea, which promotes the peaceful use of nuclear technology in its 173 member states.
“In June 2020, South Africa issued a request for information to test market appetite for the 2,500 MW nuclear power and received positive responses from 25 companies showing interest in this program.
“The National Energy Regulator of South Africa recently agreed to a ministerial provision under Section 34 to procure 2,500 MW of new generation capacity from nuclear energy,” said Nkabane.
She said that the life of the Koeberg power plant would be extended by another 20 years through technical and regulatory work.
South Africa’s first commercial nuclear reactor started operating in 1984, but the nuclear industry dates back to the mid-1940s when the Atomic Energy Corporation’s predecessor organization was founded
“We thank the Iaea for the continued support through the peer review missions on the safety aspects of long-term operations in Koeberg,” she said.
In August last year, South Africa announced an agreement by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa that would allow the procurement of 2,500 MW of nuclear energy through the planned decommissioning of the coal-fired power plant fleet (24,100 MW) after 2030, causing instabilities in the national electricity grid.
The procurement of the 2,500 MW new construction program for nuclear power plants in 2024 will provide sufficient time for the construction, commissioning and connection to the electricity grid of this new capacity to ensure continued security of supply.
Opponents of the South African nuclear program, including Tax Abuse Abolitionist Energy Advisor Liz McDaid, said it was “suspicious … to move forward with nuclear rather than the obvious, which is renewable energy.”
Professor Anton Eberhard of the Power Futures Lab at UCT’s Graduate School of Business said new nuclear procurement is “a wasteful and costly diversion” from solar and wind power.
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