South Africa Nears Decision on $100 Billion Nuclear Program

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In his State of the Nation address in February, South African President Jacob Zuma said he expects the government to conclude the procurement of 9,600 megawatts (MW) of nuclear energy. He made the statement despite a model developed by the National Planning Commission and the Department of Energy that would favor a delay in the nuclear decision and the consideration of less capital-intensive options, such as gas for energy.

South Africa already has agreements with France, the U.S., China, Canada, Russia, Japan and South Korea, which indicate the initial steps in the possibility of jointly developing a nuclear power base in the country. The agreements require an estimated $100 billion in investments.

Last week, China's state-owned firms China General Nuclear Corporation (Guangdong) and Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (Beijing) signed an agreement with the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa (NECSA) that will allow China to fund 95% of skills development for South Africans at Chinese universities and institutions in nuclear and other specialized sources of energy.

There are similar agreements with Russia. In November 2013, Rosatom (Moscow) signed a skills- and capacity-building agreement with NECSA, having already discussed a draft agreement at the government level on cooperation in the design, construction, operation and decommissioning of nuclear plants.

Russia and China also have a promised manufacturing localization program, which would support South Africa's industrial and development goals.

A government-to-government nuclear agreement also was discussed during the visit to South Africa by French Prime Minister Francois Hollande in October 2013.

In 2012, the government designated the state-owned power utility Eskom as the owner and operator of new nuclear capacity, which means that the nuclear procurement program demands a competitive bidding process.

For related information, see March 5, 2014, article - Kenya Faces Licensing Challenges on Way to 1,000 Megawatt Nuclear Project, and October 29, 2013, article - Westinghouse Agreement among Plans by South Africa to Develop Nuclear Power Market.

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