South Africa: Impact studies for nuclear plants near completion
16 avril 2012
Business Report - 16 April 2012
THE final environmental impact reports for a nuclear power station with a capacity of 4 000 megawatts would be completed and submitted to the Department of Environmental Affairs late this year for environmental authorisation, Minister of Energy Dipuo Peters told Parliament last week.
South Africa is experiencing increasing electricity demand, with growth in excess of 3 percent a year. Based on economic growth projections, the country will require more than 40 000 megawatts of new electricity generating capacity over the next 20 years.
Peters also told Parliament that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the nuclear power station was being undertaken by an independent environmental expert.
The three sites that form part of the study are Bantamsklip near Pearly Beach, east of Hermanus on the Western Cape south coast; Duynefontein, next to the existing Koeberg power station near Cape Town; and Thyspunt on the coast near St Francis Bay in the Eastern Cape.
Peters said 28 specialist studies had already been completed in the EIA process, including studies related to fauna and flora, wetlands, morphology, transport, heritage and socio-economic activity, including the impact on the chokka fishing, tourism and agriculture industries.
Catégorie: Energie