MPs accused of nuclear bias
PARLIAMENT’s energy committee last week battled to defend itself when environmentalists and others accused it of being biased towards nuclear as an energy source.
CAPE TOWN — Parliament’s energy committee last week battled to defend itself when non-government organisations, environmentalists, academics and others accused it of being biased towards nuclear power as an energy source.
Last Thursday, the committee held a nuclear stakeholders’ meeting where only the Department of Energy, the Energy Institute of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, the Nuclear Energy Corporation of SA, and the Nuclear Industry Association of SA made presentations. During discussions, opponents of nuclear energy voiced disappoint- ment that this was not a proper debate. “This is biased and I wonder what the point of this all is,” one member of the gallery commented.
Independent Democrats MP Lance Greyling also questioned the point of the meeting.
“I just want to put it on record that I do not see the point of this meeting if it is just about the pros of nuclear,” he said.
Mr Greyling said there was no point in going ahead with a costly nuclear build programme if future demand for electricity had not been properly worked out yet.
However, committee chairman Sisa Njikelane was at pains to defend the selection of presenters and the direction of the discussion.
“This is the fifth in a series of stakeholder meetings we (the committee) have held around the country. The Durban meeting was only focused on renewable energy and so it is natural that this one should be focused on nuclear,” he said.
Mr Njikelane said the government had already decided to go the nuclear route and this discussion was about what it would mean and to get an update on what should occur.
President Jacob Zuma last month took over from Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe as chairman of the National Nuclear Energy Executive Co-ordinating Committee.
The country’s electricity master plan, the Integrated Resources Plan 2010 (IRP) makes provision for the building of 9,600MW of electricity to be generated from six nuclear reactors to be located in three power stations by 2030.
However, the proposal does not include any cost calculations.
And industry sources have claimed that, should the nuclear build go ahead, it could cost between R300m and R1bn.
Department of Energy director Thabang Audat said in his presentation that the revised IRP, which should be ready by the first quarter of next year, would have a lot more detail about the country’s overall energy plans.
Mr Audat said the starting point for SA’s future electricity generation was not to exclude any generation technology but rather to assess the country’s energy needs and how they could be met. He said SA could position itself as Africa’s nuclear electricity generation technology provider if the localisation aspects were fully implemented.
Nuclear Industries Association of SA director Judi Nwokedi bemoaned the fact that the private sector had not been engaged over the nuclear build programme.
“It is private sector companies, big and small, which will be building those plants and supplying a lot of the equipment needed.
“It is time for the discussion between government and the private sector to start,” Ms Nwokedi said.