Page 4 - AfrElec Week 35 2021

AfrElec NUCLEAR AfrElec

SA regulator approves

2,500-MW nuclear plans

SOUTH Africa’s power regulator has cleared reliable and affordable form of energy.
SOUTH AFRICA government plans to build a new generation of Critics, however, have criticised the govern-
nuclear capacity in the country. ment for following through on its nuclear plans,
The National Electricity Regulator of South principally because of cost.
Africa (NERSA) said at the end of August that The falling cost of solar and wind means that
it had approved the Department of Mineral nuclear power could be an expensive commit-
Resources and Energy’s (DMRE) plans to build ment for indebted Eskom.
2,500 MW of new nuclear capacity. However, critics noted that nuclear power is
The DMRE can now embark on the roadmap no longer an economic option for South Africa,
towards procuring the 2,500 MW of capacity. particularly with the falling cost of solar and
The ministry plans to issue a request for pro- wind power across the world.
posal (RFP) at the end of the 2021/22 financial “The DMRE in its strategic and economic
year, plans is promoting the role of nuclear energy
Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe outlined (mainly small modular reactors) and clean coal
the government’s nuclear plans at the Budget (with carbon capture and storage, CCS), but
Vote in Parliament. these technologies are neither price-competitive
The department aims to complete the pro- nor, in the case of small nuclear, are they cur-
curement of 2,500 MW in 2024 in line with the rently commercially available,” Anton Eberhard,
five-year Strategic Plan and the Medium-Term Professor Emeritus at the Power Futures Lab,
Strategic Framework to ensure the security of University of Cape Town, said in 2020 when the
the country’s energy supply. IRP was launched.
The whole process began in 2020 when the “None of South Africa’s IRP electricity plans
department issued a request for information have had nuclear power in the least-cost mix; it
(RFI) in June 2020. has been forced in as a “policy adjustment”. In a
The procurement takes place as the govern- fiscally constrained post-COVID environment
ment aims to decommission 24,100 MW of coal the question has to be asked: what is Energy
capacity from 2030, which would introduce Minister Gwede Mantashe up to,” Eberhard
instabilities to the national electricity grid. added.
The procurement of the 2,500-MW NNBP in Two PWRs at Koeberg, operated by state-
2024 provides adequate time for construction, owned utility Eskom, began commercial opera-
commissioning and connection to the electric- tions in the mid-1980s.
ity grid of this new capacity to ensure the con- Meanwhile, Eskom André de Ruyter said in
tinued security of supply. August that the utility should concentrate on
The nuclear plans are also included in the renewables to meet the country’s energy needs
government’s Nuclear New Build Programme and to combat climate change.
(NNBP), which is part of the 2019 Integrated “This decision will promote the energy mix
Resource Plan (IRP2019). envisaged by the IRP 2019 and a move away
The IRP2019 is the 20-year electricity gen- from coal-fired energy generation. It was previ-
eration plan and promotes an inclusive energy ously intimated that small-scale modular reac-
mix that encompasses various sources of energy tors could be considered. We expect that the
such as coal, nuclear, gas, solar, wind, hydro and procurement will proceed on that basis, thus
so forth. Thus nuclear energy is integral to South opening up the market to new nuclear tech-
Africa’s future energy mix as a country. nology that has not yet been seen in the South
The DMRE further assures the people of African market,” said Jurg van Dyk of Pinsent
South Africa that nuclear power is a safe, clean, Masons.™

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 35 02•September•2021