South Africa’s minister of electricity and energy, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, recently told the Sunday Times (paywall) that his ministry was close to finalising plans to secure funding approval for a new local nuclear power station.
The minister first announced the project in December last year which aims to add a further 2.5GW (2,500MW) of power generation to the country’s grid. That should go a long way to help alleviate the electricity shortage that has plagued South Africa — when it is eventually completed.
Don’t expect that to be anytime soon, however.
Nuclear power takes time
Putting aside the fact that these plans are only seeking approval of the proposed procurement structure from the national treasury, getting a new nuclear power plant up and running won’t happen overnight… or before the end of the decade.
Back in December, The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy director-general Zizamele Mbambo stated the “ideal time by which to start commissioning the first unit of this 2,500MW” was closer to 2032/2033. Don’t be surprised if it takes even longer than that.
Technical details, like the location of the plant and what kind of technology it would use, are still to be confirmed although Ramokgopa did say the latest technology was “very rapid to deploy, relatively cheaper and more efficient.” Let’s hope they use that one, then.
Then there’s the question of who will run things.
“We must resolve the issues of who will operate the plant, but I think I can say before we even conclude that it will be Eskom, as Eskom has the experience, having done that at Koeberg,” the minister said.
After the last 104 consecutive days without load shedding, we’re feeling slightly more optimistic about this project (and the country’s overall power grid) than we were a few months ago.
