South Africa could have a new nuclear power plant by the year 2020 if Cabinet approves a proposal expected to be put forward by the Ministry of Energy
- By April Murelio -
South Africa, plagued by chronic power shortages, plans to have the country's new nuclear power plant up and running by 2020, Energy Minister Dipuo Peters told a nuclear conference. The new nuclear plant would produce 20,000 MW
Energy Minister Dipuo Peters announced that her ministry was to submit a proposal on the construction of a nuclear power plant to Cabinet next year. The department is currently engaging role-players such as the Science and Technology Ministry on the plan.
"In February next year or early next year we will be submitting to Cabinet our plan," said Peters.
The minister said that a nuclear power plant would enhance the country's energy mix as traditionally South Africa has relied on coal generated electricity.
The introduction of nuclear technology will see the creation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
"If, for instance, we build the next generation nuclear fleet of 20,000mw, we estimate that we will create around 70,000 direct jobs in the South African economy. This figure will be much higher if we include approximately 300,000 indirect jobs that will be created throughout the entire nuclear value chain," said Peters.
ESKOM's Nuclear Power Program forms part of the Generation GroupÆs concern. Nuclear power offers a clean and efficient source of electrical energy. Coal-fuelled power stations are restricted to the vicinity of coal mines due to the high cost of transporting vast quantities of coal. As a result, there is an imbalance between electricity supply and demand centres in South Africa as indicated by the map. Nuclear power generation has a different set of locational requirements and is not restricted to coal mining areas. Nuclear plants can thus be sited closer to demand centers on the coast such as cities and heavy industries, thereby reducing transmission costs significantly.
Part of ESKOM's Nuclear Program is to select and acquire potential nuclear power plant sites on the coastline where there is a large demand for electricity and no local supply of coal. Such sites which also meet other nuclear plant requirements are a scarce national resource which need to be preserved for possible use in future. Koeberg Power Station, located on the Duynefontein site, supplies the greater Cape Metropolitan area with power and is an example of a well-sited nuclear plant. Being near to the main distribution area, there are lower transmission costs and fewer instabilities (in terms of power spikes and trips).
ESKOM Generation Group has identified four potential locations for nuclear power on the South African coast (namely Brazil, Schulpfontein, Bantamsklip and Thyspunt) through its Nuclear Siting Program.
The challenge is to make sure the country is able to develop the necessary technology. However, the minister said that the industry and role players would be given ample time to develop such technology before construction starts on the nuclear power station.
For South Africa to be able to produce nuclear power specialised skills will be needed and the minister said that the skills to perform the job will be first sourced in the country before looking abroad.
Eskom generates approximately 95% of the electricity used in South Africa and approximately 45% of the electricity used in Africa. Eskom generates, transmits and distributes electricity to industrial, mining, commercial, agricultural and residential customers and redistributors. Additional power stations and major power lines are being built to meet rising electricity demand in South Africa. Eskom will continue to focus on improving and strengthening its core business of electricity generation, transmission, trading and distribution.