On a continent that has too often been cavalier about the future wellbeing of its people, its encouraging at least from the development perspective that south africa is not alone in planning to build nuclear reactors. Shes strung together words on sustainable development. Role of nuclear technology in south africa semantic scholar. Inside south africas energy clash the tower of khi solar one near upington, south africa. But already the noxious debate over their future has made nuclear energy a dirty word in south africa. Ghana is a west african country lying on the gulf of guinea at latitudes 40 44. South africa plans to sign new, more transparent nuclear power agreements with five foreign countries after a high court blocked a deal with russia due to.
In his book uranium road questioning south africas nuclear direction, fig says. The chernobyl disaster reminded the world of the human and environmental costs of nuclear power accidents. A south african court has ruled that critical aspects of the countrys nuclear procurement process are illegal and unconstitutional. In august 2018 the south african government announced that it had abandoned plans to build up to 9600 mwe of new nuclear capacity by 2030. The implications of south africas nuclear power programme 1. Thermal power stations, whether coalfired, gas, oil or nuclear, require large quantities of water for cooling purposes. Introduction the demand for energy continually increases with south africa s developing population and economy.
The plant is formed of two pressurised water reactors pwr which have a capacity of 970mw, offering a combined capacity of 1. The governments commitment to the future of nuclear energy is strong. Hence south africas indigenous energy resource base is dominated by coal. Siting for ghanas nuclear power programme the journey so far. Nuclear power stations for baseload and designed for future addition of desalination installations. South africa currently has two nuclear reactors generating five per cent of its electricity, with its first commercial nuclear power reactor beginning operations in 1984. The implications of south africas nuclear power programme. But past nuclear accidents caused by nuclear waste have resulted in increased opposition to nuclear power. Why south africa should not build eight new nuclear power. He mentioned that it would be useful to structure a separate nuclear policy in south africa, as this was currently nonexistent. The country has attempted to construct a reactor twice in the past once in 2008 and again in 1998 only to have the plans abandoned due to financial constraints. Nuclear power in south africa south african nuclear.
South africa is anticipating building new large nuclear power plants of the koeberg type in the future and also research is underway on the small modular high temperature gas cooled reactor technology the pebble bed modular reactor pbmr to determine whether this type of nuclear technology could be included in the energy supply system for. If there were no alternatives it would be easier to understand support for nuclear power. South africas previous nuclear power attempts shed further light on the financial issues surrounding the establishment of nuclear reactors. In terms of share of gdp in 2012, south africa was the 4th largest investor in renewable power in the world after uruguay, mauritius and. Why south africa should not build 8 new nuclear power stations. Reactors until the results of the nuclear sys tem analysis project. South africa is the only country on the african continent that already has a commercial nuclear power plant. South africas installed capacity was 51 gwe as of 2017, of which coalfired stations accounted for about 45 gwe.
South africa has started a process that could lead to it adding up to 9,600 megawatts of nuclear power to its national grid, the department of energy said on sunday. As for the future, we have to wait and see which other african countries will build nuclear power plants. South africa is the only country in africa with a commercial nuclear power plant two reactors located at the koeberg nuclear power station accounts for around 5% of south africas electricity production. It has two nuclear reactors, and generates approximately ve percent of the countrys electricity. According to the world nuclear association, an umbrella group for individuals and organizations in the nuclear profession, the use of nuclear power to generate electricity is under serious consideration in 12 african countries. South africa will have six new nuclear power plants by 2030, which will cost between r400 billion and r1 trillion to build, according to a report by reuters. Germany went as far as adopting a road map that would lead to the eventual closure of all its nuclear power stations. South africa, kazakhstan and with the olympic dam mine in australia. South africa to sign new nuclear power pacts after court. The governments diversication strategy includes construction of a second nuclear power plant. South africa accepts nuclear plant ruling, plans to start. We call on the people of south africa to oppose the governments shady. Chapter 1 the future of nuclear power overview and conclusions. As of december 2015, 65 nuclear reactors were under construction with a total capacity of.
Koeberg showcases south africa s successful history of nuclear operations. Its first commercial nuclear power reactor began operating in 1984. The russian nuclear body is also in negotiations with authorities in algeria, egypt and morocco to build proposed nuclear power plants. In south africa too the need for the continued inclusion of nuclear power in. South africas koeberg nuclear power station, the only nuclear power plant in africa, has been incidentfree in its 34year operations. South africa has one nuclear power station koeberg situated near cape town. At different times, the united states, russia, france, china, and south korea were involved in negotiations. These were projected to come online between 2024 and 2030. Why nuclear power would be a bad option for south africa. The country currently has africa s sole nuclear plant.
Investment needs for future adaptation measures in eu nuclear. Nicci botha has been wordsmithing for more than 20 years, covering just about every subject under the sun and then some. Firstly, there is the big newnuclear option for south africa, to replace the old coalfired power stations that have to be retired as they reach endoflife. He noted that nuclear power had initially entered south africa via a weapons programme. South african attitudes about nuclear power economics research. According to reuters 2015, south africa will have new nuclear power plants by 2030. Request pdf siting for ghanas nuclear power programme the journey so far. The south african government has plans to build another nuclear power station. Firstly, temperatures tend to be lower than in other regions at similar latitudes. South africa is presently the only african country with a commercial nuclear power plant. South africa is in need of additional reliable baseload electric power.
It is the only commercial nuclear power station on the african continent and only one of four in the southern hemisphere. With two reactors, south africas koeberg nuclear power station generates nearly. The strategic partnership implies joint implementation of the national nuclear power development programme of south africa. When a nuclear power plant is functioning properly, it can run uninterrupted for up to 540 days. In south africa, nuclear energy is becoming a dirty word. For example, eskoms coalfired power stations are located near to the coal fields. The key project is the construction of new npps with the russian vver reactors totalling 9. Arguing that nuclear power has the potential to make a substantial contribution to sustainable development and a significant contribution to reducing south africas greenhouse gas emissions and in the light of the countrys rich resources of uranium, the eskom board had approved the investigation of up to 20 000 mw of nuclear capacity over. South africa has two nuclear reactors generating 6 percent of its electricity. The south african nuclear sector employs about 2 700 people. How many nuclear power plants are needed to reduce emissions. New nuclear build in south africa advances a step further as the department of environmental affairs dea has granted eskom permission to proceed with the nuclear installation at duynefontein in the western cape. South africa will be building a group of new nuclear power stations to add an extra 9 600 mw of nuclear power to the existing approximately 2 000 mw of nuclear power that we currently generate. Introduction the demand for energy continually increases with south africas developing population and economy.
The outcome is a significant setback for a network of entities. The site is located next to the existing koeberg nuclear power station. No nuclear energy option for south africa for now at least. Power generation technology data for integrated resource plan of. Nuclear power in south africa updated june 2015 south africa has two nuclear reactors generating 5% of its electricity. Ussr 108 x 109t, the peoples republic of china 99 x 109t, south africa. South africa, along with the uk, may be one of the few nations still willing to place massive bets on new nuclear power plant construction. The plant, which is approximately 30 kilometres north of cape town, consists of two 900 megawatt pressurized water reactors. Nuclear power has been touted as one of the solutions to meet this ever. Two nuclear reactors at the koeberg nuclear power station, near cape town, came online in 1984 and 85. Koeburg is located about 20 miles from cape town on the west coast of south africa. Cape town academic renfrew christie was jailed for passing details of south africas nuclear power program to the african national congress anc in 1980. These plants account for 95% of all the electricity produced in south africa and 45% of all electricity produced on the african continent. South africa is considering the construction of three nuclear power stations on its coastline despite objections from environmentalists.
South africa produces around 229,200 gigawatthours 825,000 tj electricity annually. The plant has produced enough electricity to power 65,000 homes during the day. The only operating nuclear power station in south africa is the koeberg power plant run by the stateowned electricity utility, eskom. Spent fuel is disposed of at vaalputs radioactive waste disposal facility in the northern cape the safari1 tank in pool research reactor is located at the pelindaba nuclear research. It has been operating since 1984 and holds the record for the longest continuous operating eskom unit. Ranked among the top and most advanced electricity services providers in south africa, schmidhauser electrical is known for its high quality and professional competence. He, and also asked how earthlife africa coped with the conflicting and illdefined mandates between deat and the nnr.
The real story, the dance of nuclear power, began in 2010 when south africa planned to build 8 more nuclear reactors for 9600 mw of additional energy at koeberg and thyspunt. What do you believe is the appropriate mix for nuclear power in south africa. There is currently one nuclear power station in south africa, situated at koeberg, cape town, in the western cape province. South africas first commercial nuclear power reactor began operating in 1984.
Coal fired power stations are not feasible at the coast due to excessive fuel transportation cost. South africas koeberg nuclear power station, the only nuclear power plant in africa, has been incidentfree in its 34year operation. Zuma, the guptas and south africas r1 trillion nuclear plans. Levelized cost of electricity for multiple nuclear units with the same commercial service. South africa will be building a group of new nuclear power stations to add an extra 9 600 mw of nuclear power to the existing approximately 2 000 mw of nuclear power that we currently generate from koeberg nuclear power station near cape town, which is the only nuclear power station in africa. Most power stations in south africa are owned and operated by eskom. At least for the time being, it looks as if that bet is. South africa plans three nuclear power stations south. South africa initiates nuclear power procurement process.