Nuclear power in South Africa
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South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
is the only country in
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
with a commercial nuclear power plant. Two reactors located at the
Koeberg nuclear power station Koeberg nuclear power station is a nuclear power station in South Africa. It is currently the only one on the entire African continent. It is located 30 km north of Cape Town, near Melkbosstrand on the west coast of South Africa. Koeberg ...
accounts for around 5% of South Africa's electricity production. Spent fuel is disposed of at Vaalputs Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility in the Northern Cape. The
SAFARI-1 SAFARI-1 is a 20 MW light water-cooled, beryllium reflected, pool-type research reactor, initially used for high level nuclear physics research programmes and was commissioned in 1965. The reactor is owned and operated by South African Nuclear En ...
tank in pool
research reactor Research reactors are nuclear fission-based nuclear reactors that serve primarily as a neutron source. They are also called non-power reactors, in contrast to power reactors that are used for electricity production, heat generation, or marit ...
is located at the
Pelindaba Pelindaba ("Pelile Ndaba", Zulu for "end of story" or "the conclusion") is South Africa's main nuclear research centre, run by the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation. It is situated near the Hartbeespoort Dam, approximately 33 km (22& ...
nuclear research centre in
Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...
.


New build

Plans for new nuclear power have been scaled back, and new build is now considered unlikely before 2030. The 2010 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) envisaged building 9,600
MWe The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Watt ...
of new nuclear power capacity by building between six and eight new nuclear reactors by 2030, which would cost about R1 trillion. In 2016, an updated draft IRP was published which set a much lower and slower nuclear target, due to lower demand projections and increased capital cost. This updated IRP envisaged that the first new nuclear power plant would only need to be online by 2041. South Africa's 2019 Integrated Resource Plan
IRP
plans a 20 year life-extension for Koeberg to 2044, and a delayed nuclear new build programme due to the "marginal cost of ucleargeneration, in comparison to other options" with a scenario that may build new capacity after 2030.


Criticism

There was much concern about the cost of the endeavour, as well as the probability for corruption, due to the lack of transparency in the procurement processes and the disregard of civic society. President at the time Jacob Zuma nevertheless pushed ahead with plans to secure nuclear power.


Legality

Following the
Public Protector The Public Protector in South Africa is one of six independent state institutions set up by the country's Constitution to support and defend democracy. According to Section 181 of the Constitution: * These institutions are independent, and subje ...
's "State of Capture" report, which implicated him and Jacob Zuma in the peddling of state patronage, Brian Molefe resigned from his position as executive chief of Eskom on 1 January 2017. However, analysts noted that corruption at Eskom was deep-rooted and that Molefe's resignation would not resolve the nuclear question. In April 2017, Eskom requested that the Treasury department waive procurement regulations for the new nuclear plants, claiming that Eskom "had done a lot of the work prior" and that these efforts were adequate. The Democratic Alliance objected on the grounds that this would embark the state on its "single biggest public procurement without fully assessing associated risks and consequences for SA’s economy". On 26 April 2017, following a legal application by Earthlife Africa and the Southern African Faith Communities Environment Institute, the
Western Cape High Court The Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa (previously named the Cape Provincial Division and the Western Cape High Court, and commonly known as the Cape High Court) is a superior court of law with general jurisdiction over th ...
declared that the South African government's new nuclear procurement processes had been unlawful because they had not followed due processes. The court noted that the National Energy Regulator,
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
, and the Energy Minister must all be involved in the process. All of the subsequent existing contracts with Russia, the US, and South Korea were therefore found to be void.


Costs

The R1 trillion cost of the proposed new nuclear project played a part in ratings downgrades by international credit ratings agencies. Finance Minister
Pravin Gordhan Pravin Jamnadas Gordhan (born 12 April 1949) is a politician and anti-apartheid activist who has held various ministerial posts in the Cabinet of South Africa. He served as Minister of Finance from 2009 until 2014 and again from 2015 until 2017 ...
, who opposed new nuclear installations on the grounds of the steep cost, was replaced by Malusi Gigaba in March, 2017. Gigaba is responsible for filling the vacancy of chief procurement officer at Treasury, which would make decisions about procurement processes regarding the new nuclear project.


Life extension of Koeberg

In January 2018, Eskom's acting Chief Financial Officer stated that the company cannot afford a new nuclear build, following a 34% drop in interim profits due to declining sales and increasing financing costs. The government stated it will proceed with the plan but more slowly. The draft 2018 IRP does not call for new nuclear power, partly due to declining electricity demand, forecast 30% lower than in the previous IRP. South Africa's 2019 Integrated Resource Plan
IRP
plans a 20 year life-extension for Koeberg to 2044, and a delayed nuclear new build programme due to the "marginal cost of ucleargeneration, in comparison to other options" with a scenario that may build new capacity after 2030.
Small modular reactor Small modular reactors (SMRs) are a proposed class of nuclear fission reactors, smaller than conventional nuclear reactors, which can be built in one location (such as a factory), then shipped, commissioned, and operated at a separate site. The ...
s may become an attractive option, dependent on earlier demonstration elsewhere in the world.


Nuclear expertise in South Africa

AREVA built the twin units of the Koeberg nuclear power plant. In 2001, AREVA NP
renamed Framatome in 2018
) bought a 45% stake i
LESEDI Nuclear Services
followed by a further 6% stake in 2006. Today
Framatome Framatome () is a French nuclear reactor business. It is owned by Électricité de France (EDF) (75.5%), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (19.5%), and Assystem (5%). The company first formed in 1958 to license Westinghouse's pressurized water react ...
is a majority shareholder in Lesedi Nuclear Services. I
2016
the
IAEA The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 195 ...
Concluded a Long Term Operational Safety Review at South Africa’s Koeberg Nuclear Power Plant. The Pre-SALTO (Safety Aspects of Long Term Operation) review mission was requested by the Government o
South Africa’s Department of Energy
"A SALTO peer review is a comprehensive safety review addressing strategy and key elements for the safe Long Term Operation of nuclear power plants

Other Nuclear Energy news and more reading: * Th
IAEA
*
The South African Young Nuclear Professionals Society ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
*https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-o-s/south-africa.aspx


See also

*
South African nuclear program As a member of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, South Africa uses nuclear science for peaceful means. South Africa's nuclear programme includes both nuclear energy and nuclear medicine. In the past there was also a military component, and S ...
*
South African Nuclear Energy Corporation The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) was established as a public company by the Republic of South Africa Nuclear Energy Act in 1999 and is wholly owned by the State. The name is correctly indicated above, although the sequence of ...
* Nuclear power stations in South Africa * List of nuclear reactors in South Africa


References

{{Africa topic, Nuclear energy in