25 May (NucNet): New nuclear makes sense for South Africa because upfront investment would be paid back in 20 years with another 60 years of operation providing “the cheapest source of electricity” in the country, Eskom chief executive officer Brian Molefe said.
In an interview with Eyewitness News, Mr Molefe was asked if the cost of new nuclear was too much.
He said: “I think sometimes our approach to this is a little bit on the pedestrian side because when people say ‘you can’t afford nuclear’ nobody asks ‘relative to what?’”
He said a typical nuclear reactor’s life is about 80 years and after installation it provides the cheapest power in the generating fleet.
He said the cheapest source of electricity [in South Africa] at the moment is Koeberg, which is nuclear, and that was installed in the eighties and still has some 20 years to go.
“The question is ‘how long will it take to pay back the cost of installing it?’ and the answer is ‘about 20 years’,” he said.
South Africa has two pressurised water reactors in commercial operation at Koeberg, which is operated by state-owned Eskom.
In June 2015, plans were announced to build six to eight new nuclear power units by 2030 at a total cost of about €75bn ($84bn).
In April Eskom filed two nuclear site licence applications with the country’s National Nuclear Regulator (NNR).
The applications were for the Thyspunt site in Eastern Cape and the Duynefontein site in Western Cape.
The plant and technology types have not been specified, the NNR said.
See Eyewitness News: http://bit.ly/1Xw7qcc
