6 Aug (NucNet): South Africa’s new energy minister Ben Martins has said the country remains committed to adding new nuclear to its energy mix in line with an electricity security plan first put forward 20 years ago.
Mr Martins, who took over the energy portfolio from Dipuo Peters in July 2013, said in a statement released by the energy ministry that the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for 2010-2030 was developed through “a robust public engagement process” and recognises the need for South Africa to use diverse energy sources including nuclear.
Mr Martins said that in the interests of the energy security of all South Africans, the government must be allowed the opportunity to carry out the necessary work towards finalising procurement for the new build programme.
The IRP says nuclear power generation capacity will rise to 9,600 megawatts 2030, an increase from 1,860 MW today, and the government has put in place “structures that will take decisions” related to the IRP.
“This will ensure security of supply that complements the national commitments on the reduction of emissions from fossil fuels, and will be cost effective in the long run,” the energy ministry said. The government is still planning to make “appropriate decisions” for new nuclear build.
The energy ministry said South Africa has bilateral agreements on peaceful uses of nuclear energy with a number of countries.
It has a bilateral agreement with Russia dating back to 2004 and similar bilateral agreements with the US, The European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), South Korea, China, Argentina and Algeria.
Most recently, during a summit held in Durban in May 2013, South Africa and Russia signed an agreement which aims to strengthen areas of common interest including energy.
South Africa has two commercially operational nuclear units at the Koeberg nuclear power plant. According to the IAEA, the units account for about five percent of the country’s generated electricity.
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To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Dalton at david.dalton@nucnet.org
