Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa will publish a motivation for more nuclear power reactors before the end of November. He said the document would be “based on science”.
Ramokgopa made the announcement on Tuesday, 10 November, at a government conference on nuclear power and clean energy in Pretoria.
The public will have 60 days to comment on the document. The department will then process the submissions and hold a roadshow to give feedback to communities.
Ramokgopa plans to issue a ministerial determination by June 2027 for the procurement of 5 200MW of new nuclear reactors. He needs the agreement of energy regulator Nersa and the finance minister. Moneyweb reported that this would be almost three times the size of Koeberg.
“South Africa is a litigious society. Opponents of nuclear power will try to do so, but if we provide a case based on science, I am confident we will prevail,” Ramokgopa said.
He said the public participation process was not a legal requirement. He said the careful approach would make it easier for judges to settle any disputes brought to court.
The reactors are expected to be built either next to Koeberg or at Thyspunt, near Jeffreys Bay. Eskom is still working to get environmental authorisation for the Thyspunt site.
The determination is a legal step that must come before formal procurement can begin. Procurement will include appointing technology partners and doing construction work.
The 5 200MW is the first phase of a programme that plans for 10 000MW of new nuclear capacity. Ramokgopa said this size would allow South Africa to set up a local supply chain for nuclear plant parts. He said this could create many jobs.
Ramokgopa said 417 nuclear reactors were operating worldwide and another 78 were under construction. He said South Africa could draw on the experience of other countries.
He said any reactors built in the country would be supervised by the National Nuclear Regulator. Eskom would own and operate them.
Ramokgopa said small modular reactors also had a place in South Africa’s energy future. He said he regretted the cancellation of the pebble-bed modular reactor programme about 16 years ago.
Only China and Russia have commissioned small modular reactors so far, said Loyiso Tyabashe, chief executive of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa).
Ramokgopa said the third part of the nuclear programme was a return to nuclear fuel production. The aim is to use South Africa’s uranium and thorium, he said. He said the country would need to invest in exploration.
The minister also challenged the nuclear industry to share its successes and its scientific literature. “This is how we will ensure that ordinary people understand and are not taken in by opportunists,” he said.
Cabinet has approved the procurement of a new multipurpose reactor for Necsa’s facility at Pelindaba, outside Pretoria. Tyabashe said Necsa planned to use it to generate electricity, provide heat for industry and produce medical isotopes.
Necsa’s goals for the next two years include finding partners for the multipurpose reactor and building a demonstration small modular reactor. It also plans to prepare a facility to restart nuclear fuel manufacturing, which stopped in the 1990s.
Source: this article is based on reporting by Moneyweb. Image: Moneyweb. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Business desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Anelisa Nkuna covers business and money news for Tzaneen Voice. Anelisa reports on the rand, fuel prices, interest rates, jobs, Eskom, Transnet, farming and company results. The aim is simple: explain what the numbers mean for household budgets, small businesses and workers in South Africa.