Equipment and Service Providers Wait on South Africa's 9,600 Megawatt Nuclear Plan Decision

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Johannesburg, South Africa)--As South Africa's power and industrial sectors wait for the government's go/no-go decision on the country's proposed 9,600 megawatt (MW) nuclear build plan, international power and nuclear build companies circle in holding pattern waiting for the signal for the bidding action to start in earnest.

The build up to the decision also has reference to the 2008 load shedding and blackouts, which were laid at the door of national utility Eskom's poor coal supply management and even more to the government's decision in the 1990s not to go ahead with a new build program, which the power industry warned was necessary to prevent critical shortfalls in the next decade. The government thought that the fleet of coal-fired power stations built along the spine of the Mpumalanga coal fields in the 1970s and 80s, and then mothballed, could be unwrapped to fill the gap -- they did not.

At a conference on nuclear power in Johannesburg this week high profile industry leader and former chairman of Eskom, Bobby Godsell, said that it was unclear how the country could meet its ambitious power expansion plans without the 9,600 MW of nuclear power being phased into the power generation mix from 2023 to 2030.

To add 42,600 MW of new capacity, including 17,000 MW of renewable capacity, by 2030 demanded a nuclear component, particularly to fill base load needs, said Godsell.

"There is nothing uniquely bad about nuclear power and nothing uniquely good about other sources of electricity," he said. He added that it was necessary to transition away from the current mix that was concentrated in the northeast of the country and on one primary energy source (coal), which placed a burden on the transmission system, the environment and the country's coal resources.

At the same conference Ditebogo Kgomo, head of nuclear at the department o energy, presenting an address on behalf of energy minister Dipuo Peters, said the government was carrying out an 'integrated nuclear infrastructure review' as part of a self assessment exercise to establish the readiness of the country to proceed with a plan to invest in the 9,600 MW of nuclear power as outlined in a national energy plan.

The review covering 19 areas should be completed in June. The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) will then be requested to conduct an external assessment of the review, including South Africa's state of readiness to move ahead with a nuclear build program.

The review is being led by the department of energy with support from the national nuclear regulator, the South African nuclear energy corporation, Eskom and other government departments. The drafting of the reports received cabinet sanction.

With few viable alternatives to fill the base power gap and a skein of other major infrastructure projects coming down the pipeline the betting must go with a government 'Yes' decision for the nuclear build program. It is still a bet but the boys with the plans and brief cases should keep circling and holding.

For related information see October 11, 2012 -- South Africa Edges Closer to 9,600 Megawatt Nuclear Build, but Doubts Persist

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