Browse by Tags

Pebble Bed project is shut down. Future reactor investments up in the air. This is not a good time to be looking to invest in nuclear energy in South Africa. Eskom, the major utility that would buy them, backed out of a multi-reactor tender a few years ago because it lacked the money to pay for them...

PBMR to lay off 75% of staff The South African government will stop funding research and development work on the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR). About 600 of the 800 staff will be let go which is expected to trigger an exodus of nuclear expertise from the country. Public Enterprise Minister Barbara...

Target application is Idaho’s Next Generation Nuclear Plant World Nuclear News reports that PBMR in South Africa has  successfully manufactured nuclear fuel “pebbles” at 9.6% enrichment for use in a planned high temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR).  The company said the fuel design and fabrication...

Lack of money for light water reactors impacts commercial development of advanced nuclear fuel concept The South African government's inability to fund conventional LWR reactors will significantly slow down development of the new pebble bed technology. The announcement by Eskom last week that it...

"It's too big. We can't do it," says the utility Another casualty of the world wide credit crunch in the nuclear  industry was record Friday Dec 5. Eskom, the troubled South African electric utility, canceled its plans to build two nuclear power plants worth $12 billion. Bloomberg...

Money and management get everyone's attention Eskom, the much troubled South African electric utility, told  Bloomberg Wire Service Nov 13 it will select the winner of a tender for construction of a $11.7 billion nuclear power plant by January 2009.  However, Eskom also said the current...

Eskom wants ship it overseas to make MOX fuel South Africa is seeking commercial contracts with foreign  countries to reprocess spent nuclear fuel.  Currently, the electric utility has about 1,000 tons of it.  The current inventory of spent nuclear fuel comes from a single reactor at Koeberg...

Current inventory is almost 1,200 tons, but a lot more is coming South Africa, which is planning a major new nuclear build to solve its economically draining power shortages, is also looking at what to do with the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle. This week a briefing by the Minerals & Energy Department...

Cabinet decision cuts reliance on coal-fired electric plants because of global warming Reuters reports that South Africa's cabinet has approved the country's nuclear energy policy. It will play a greater role in resolving a critical power shortage The cabinet approved the nuclear energy policy...

Areva and Westinghouse bid new nukes for South Africa French nuclear giant Areva said it was ready to build up to 12 nuclear power plants in South Africa, where massive electricity shortages and brownouts shut down the key mining industry this month and slowed down the economy overall. South Africa's...

Western news media finally notices there might be a problem After rattling around the South African press for five days and some coverage by various blogs, including this one, and Danger Room at Wired, the break-in and shooting at South Africa's nuclear plant at Pelindaba got some ink in the New...

Attack at Pelindaba nuclear facility [Hat tip to John Robb at Global Guerrillas ] An attack by three or four masked gunmen on the Pelindaba nuclear facility in South Africa has left a senior emergency officer seriously injured. Anton Gerber, Necsa emergency services operational officer spoke to the Pretoria...

Energy strategy will reserve uranium for its own reactors Reuters reports that South Africa declined an invitation to join a U.S.-initiated multilateral nuclear supply pact because it could undermine Pretoria's plan to revive uranium enrichment on its own soil. South Africa's no-show at a 16-nation signing...

Paperwork is the problem A setback to the pebble bed modular reactor (PMBR) project has been revealed in the annual report of the state-owned entity developing these small-scale, high temperature nuclear power plants. In the annual report to Parliament this week, the chief executive of PMBR Limited,...