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Second Nuclear Power Plant likely

(adapted from iol by Sheena Adams and Chiara Carter, 26 February 2006)

South Africa is likely to get another nuclear plant in the face of rising consumer demand and a power supply crisis that has left large areas of the country in the dark in recent months.

Eskom has confirmed it has commenced with "pre-feasibility studies" for a second nuclear plant, more powerful than the controversial Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) expected to come online in 2015.

The Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa, which has been vocal in its opposition of the PBMR, has slammed Eskom's "secret" study of the viability of yet another nuclear plant.

Andy Gubb, regional manager for the advocacy group in the Western Cape, said it was shocked by Eskom's "discussions and debates behind closed doors".

Eskom's managing director of resources and strategy, Dr Steve Lennon, told Independent Newspapers that if the sensitive project got the go-ahead, it would only come into production some time after 2015.

He said Eskom was investigating various sites for the plant, all of them in the greater Cape Town area and along the West Coast.

"It's just so we don't put all our eggs in one basket and so we can look at all options. Another nuclear plant would be closer to the Koeberg-type technology (presently in use)," he said.

He added that the plant would not replace two new natural gas plants being planned for the Western Cape, but would make more financial sense to build in the long run.

Capacity of a second nuclear plant would also outstrip that of the PBMR - estimated to reach an eventual target of between 4 000mW and 5 000mW.

This is roughly equivalent to the current demand in the Western Cape. The capacity of the PBMR demonstration plant at Koeberg, where building will begin next year, is estimated at 170MW.

"Nuclear plants have more consistency in their life-cycle costing than gas plants. But the bottom line is that it's not a matter of nuclear or natural gas. It's a matter of all of them. We need all of them in an optimal mix," Lennon said this week.

He added that the matter was "absolutely sensitive" and Eskom was committed to going through the rigours of extensive research and testing before a final decision to commence with the project was made.

He said Eskom had been looking at a host of possible sites for the past 10 years, but that the best ones were considered to be in the Western Cape.

"Feasibility studies for the new plant will have to take the characteristics of new technologies and match those to the different locations.

The plant is one of a range of options being looked at by Eskom.

Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin's spokesperson, Gaynor Kast, said the government had made no firm plans for another nuclear base-load station for the country.

But she said long-term planning for the country's increasing power requirements involved all sources of energy, including nuclear.

"Any further orders for a PBMR plant will depend on a number of issues, including its capital and operating costs vis-ˆ-vis other technologies," Kast said.

Gubb said there had been no transparency or involvement by the public in the plans.

"There has got to be true participation around these decisions because it's a public issue," Gubb said.

Eskom should rather spend its money on researching alternative, and safer, forms of energy, he said.

Erwin this week pointed out that the country had to diversify from over-reliance on coal-based electricity generation because of international environmental concerns and that such energy diversification would raise the cost of electricity.

Eskom has other plans to provide power - but none of these are expected to do much more than supplement the current supply rather than substantially add to the electricity generation capacity of the country.

These plans include: