SA eyes more nuclear energy as minister Ramokgopa pushes for an additional 2500MW

Early Breakfast with Africa Melane

Makoma Lekalakala | Director at Earthlife Africa

Energy and electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says work is at an advanced stage to procure 2,500 MW of nuclear energy.

Speaking with the Sunday Times, Ramokgopa said that the nuclear plan aims to secure approval from the Treasury to build a 2,500MW power plant next month, with the team working on the deal finalising the procurement structure.

Ramokgopa said that internal conversations related to what type of nuclear technology should be considered, with the late technology seen as very rapid to deploy, relatively cheap and more efficient.

There are also considerations over who will operate the plant, but Ramokgopa said that Eskom will likely run the plan given its experience with Koeberg near Cape Town.

The minister said the department will have more information on the proposal by the end of August.

Ramokgopa initially revealed the intention to launch the procurement process in December 2023.

The determination was first signed off by the now unbundled Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and concurred with by Nersa in 2021.

However, after Ramokgopa received new powers following an exchange between the relevant ministries, another layer of approvals was required.

South Africa has not experienced load shedding for the last 100 days, a feat last achieved in 2021.

This is good news as building a new nuclear power plant will not go online in the near term.

The process of building a new nuclear power station takes roughly eight to ten years to build.

Koeberg is the only nuclear power station in South Africa and produces 1,860MW when fully operational.

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