South Africa to make nuclear decision soon
21 February 2012
Engineering News - February 21, 2012
The task team established by the South African government to reassess the country's nuclear energy roll-out plans in light of the Fukushima nuclear disaster that followed in the wake of the Japan earthquake and tsunami of 2011 would be in a position to advise Cabinet "soon" on the outcomes of their work.
Speaking at the Africa Energy Indaba in Johannesburg on Tuesday, Energy Minister Dipuo Peters said the report would provide insight into the construction-design, technology and engineering lessons garnered from the disaster and would empower Cabinet to make an informed decision on South Africa's approach to the deployment of nuclear.
The review had delayed a final decision on how South Africa intended deploying some 9 600 MW of nuclear capacity by 2030. In fact, Peters indicated that the timeframe for delivering the first new nuclear capacity had been pushed back a year from the 2023 schedule outlined in the Integrated Resource Plan for electricity.