South Africa is pushing ahead with plans for a new 2,500-megawatt nuclear power station in order to improve energy security, with the procurement process expected to be completed by 2024, according to the deputy energy minister.
According to a copy of Nobhule Pamela’s speech to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), “we plan to issue the Request for Proposal (RFP) for 2,500MW nuclear program at the end of March 2022 and complete the procurement in 2024 to support the economic reconstruction and recovery plan and ensure the security of energy supply.”
There were no quick specifics on the project’s expected cost or completion date because the government only issued a request for information in June last year to gauge market interest in the new facility and the procurement process was still in its early stages.
South Africa’s energy regulator authorized a long-term government plan to develop new nuclear power plants this month, a step that might help the country transition away from coal and toward less carbon-intensive electricity generation.
The continent’s only operational nuclear station, a 1,900 megawatt (MW) facility outside of Cape Town built during apartheid, is located in Africa’s most industrialized economy.
However, a large portion of its electricity is generated by a fleet of coal-fired power plants that emit hazardous emissions into the atmosphere and are slated for closure within the next decade as South Africa reduces emissions.
After rejecting a huge nuclear expansion plan championed by former president Jacob Zuma in 2018, South Africa has indicated it will try to develop its nuclear capacity at the speed and time it can afford.
Analysts were concerned about Zuma’s plan for a nuclear power plant complex with a total capacity of 9,600 MW because it would have put huge pressure on South Africa’s public finances at a time when the country was facing a slew of credit rating downgrades.
