Nuke power 'only way to end crisis'
19 January 2008, 13:25
By Melanie Peters
Experts say nuclear power is the only energy source that can save South Africa from its power crisis.
While South Africans are fed up with power cuts Eskom says it's only going to get worse before it gets better. Rolling blackouts are here to stay, at least until the utility's first power station is completed in 2016.
Eskom warned that there would be a high risk of power cuts throughout the weekend.
The crisis will be felt until Eskom completes the first of a series of new nuclear power stations, which it hopes will be in 2016. Already it has asked the government to put a moratorium on major construction projects until 2013.
this week Eskom confirmed that it had asked two companies, Areva of France and US company Westinghouse, to submit bids to build the first new power station - twice as powerful as Koeberg - at an estimated cost of R120-billion.
Eskom plans to develop 20 000 megawatts of nuclear power by 2025. An investment decision on the first plant, which would have a capacity of 3 300 to 4 000MW, will go to the board in June.
Eskom plans to build up to six nuclear power stations to the tune of R720-billion. This is a handful compared to France's 58 nuclear reactors that provide 74 percent of its electricity.
Possible SA sites are Brazil near Kleinzee and Schulpfontein near Hondeklipbaai on the Northern Cape west coast, Duynefontain (Koeberg), Bantamsklip near Pearly Beach, east of Gansbaai and Thyspunt near Oyster Bay, west of Cape St Francis.
Plans include the pebble bed modular reactor.
Eskom has come under flak for its lack of foresight and planning over the past decade. The Public Protector has questioned the utility about its load-shedding and there have been calls for a government investigation.
However, President Thabo Mbeki last month admitted the power shortage was the fault of the Cabinet rather than Eskom because it had not heeded Eskom's pleas "several years ago" to invest more in electricity generation.
In a statement Eskom said continued economic growth had exhausted its surplus electricity generation capacity.
"We expect the reserve margin to continue on a downward trend for the next seven years until a new base-load power plant is built," said the statement. "In spite of new capacity coming on line, which includes bringing back mothballed power stations and building open-cycle gas turbines, the demand is still higher than available capacity. Eskom will invest about R150-billion over the next five years in the upgrading SA's power supply."
Former Eskom council member Christo Viljoen confirmed it would take at least eight years for Eskom to recover from the current crisis.
"Its planning department has totally failed us. South Africans are furious. It's a national crisis. It will undermine economic growth and it's crippling for businesses. A high-level team needs to investigate how Eskom is managed.
"The Cabinet needs to deal with this in no uncertain terms."
Viljoen blamed the power shortage on Eskom's poor planning and the government's botched plans to privatise part of the electricity utility.
"Nuclear energy is the only way to go. You can't buy power stations off the shelf. With proper planning it will take a minimum of eight years until they are switched on, that's without any hiccups. Another concern is the shortage of skills.
"Eskom has indicated that it needs 1 000 engineers and technicians."
He said it was worrying that Eskom was running out of power during the summer when there was less demand for electricity. "They need to re-look at how they are load shedding and how they inform people. There should be forecasts like the weather."
By Eskom's own calculations, the demand for electricity increases by 1 200MW a year. This meant that one nuclear power station equal to Koeberg (1 800MW) had to be built every 18 months, or alternatively one coal-fired power station the size of Tutuka (3 600MW) in Mpumalanga every three years.
Other experts in the field agree nuclear and coal are the only way.
Andrew Kenny, an independent energy researcher and former UCT academic, said South Africa should also consider importing hydro-electricity from Central Africa in the long run.
Experts say nuclear power is the only energy source that can save South Africa from its power crisis.
While South Africans are fed up with power cuts Eskom says it's only going to get worse before it gets better. Rolling blackouts are here to stay, at least until the utility's first power station is completed in 2016.
Eskom warned that there would be a high risk of power cuts throughout the weekend.
The crisis will be felt until Eskom completes the first of a series of new nuclear power stations, which it hopes will be in 2016. Already it has asked the government to put a moratorium on major construction projects until 2013.
this week Eskom confirmed that it had asked two companies, Areva of France and US company Westinghouse, to submit bids to build the first new power station - twice as powerful as Koeberg - at an estimated cost of R120-billion.
Eskom plans to develop 20 000 megawatts of nuclear power by 2025. An investment decision on the first plant, which would have a capacity of 3 300 to 4 000MW, will go to the board in June.
Eskom plans to build up to six nuclear power stations to the tune of R720-billion. This is a handful compared to France's 58 nuclear reactors that provide 74 percent of its electricity.
Possible SA sites are Brazil near Kleinzee and Schulpfontein near Hondeklipbaai on the Northern Cape west coast, Duynefontain (Koeberg), Bantamsklip near Pearly Beach, east of Gansbaai and Thyspunt near Oyster Bay, west of Cape St Francis.
Plans include the pebble bed modular reactor.
Eskom has come under flak for its lack of foresight and planning over the past decade. The Public Protector has questioned the utility about its load-shedding and there have been calls for a government investigation.
However, President Thabo Mbeki last month admitted the power shortage was the fault of the Cabinet rather than Eskom because it had not heeded Eskom's pleas "several years ago" to invest more in electricity generation.
In a statement Eskom said continued economic growth had exhausted its surplus electricity generation capacity.
"We expect the reserve margin to continue on a downward trend for the next seven years until a new base-load power plant is built," said the statement. "In spite of new capacity coming on line, which includes bringing back mothballed power stations and building open-cycle gas turbines, the demand is still higher than available capacity. Eskom will invest about R150-billion over the next five years in the upgrading SA's power supply."
Former Eskom council member Christo Viljoen confirmed it would take at least eight years for Eskom to recover from the current crisis.
"Its planning department has totally failed us. South Africans are furious. It's a national crisis. It will undermine economic growth and it's crippling for businesses. A high-level team needs to investigate how Eskom is managed.
"The Cabinet needs to deal with this in no uncertain terms."
Viljoen blamed the power shortage on Eskom's poor planning and the government's botched plans to privatise part of the electricity utility.
"Nuclear energy is the only way to go. You can't buy power stations off the shelf. With proper planning it will take a minimum of eight years until they are switched on, that's without any hiccups. Another concern is the shortage of skills.
"Eskom has indicated that it needs 1 000 engineers and technicians."
He said it was worrying that Eskom was running out of power during the summer when there was less demand for electricity. "They need to re-look at how they are load shedding and how they inform people. There should be forecasts like the weather."
By Eskom's own calculations, the demand for electricity increases by 1 200MW a year. This meant that one nuclear power station equal to Koeberg (1 800MW) had to be built every 18 months, or alternatively one coal-fired power station the size of Tutuka (3 600MW) in Mpumalanga every three years.
Other experts in the field agree nuclear and coal are the only way.
Andrew Kenny, an independent energy researcher and former UCT academic, said South Africa should also consider importing hydro-electricity from Central Africa in the long run.
- This article was originally published on page 5 of The Cape Argus on January 19, 2008
Johannesburg
