Plan to build nuclear plant still on cards

NNR review process at an advanced stage

THE government’s ambition to build a nuclear power plant at Thyspunt in Cape St Francis in the Eastern Cape is still on the cards.

This emerged in a written response from Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe to a parliamentary question from DA MP Kevin Mileham.

The latter asked about the status of the Thyspunt site, whether public participation around the site was continuing and the status of the nuclear build programme in the country.

“Thyspunt remains one of Eskom’s suitable sites to host a nuclear power plant. It has undergone extensive environmental studies in the form of an environmental impact assessment and nuclear site safety review by independent consultants,” Mantashe said.

He said Eskom has submitted a nuclear site installation licence application for Thyspunt in order to get the site ready for any nuclear power plants.

Eskom had previously decided against building a nuclear power plant at Thyspunt and chose to add more nuclear capacity to Duynefontein, next to Koeberg nuclear plant outside Cape Town.

Mantashe’s written response comes in the wake of the National Nuclear Regulator’s recent notice notifying the public about the public hearings to consider Eskom’s application for a nuclear installation site in St Francis.

It said it received an application from the power utility in March and issued letters to interested and affected parties to make submissions.

“The regulator considered the comments received and responded accordingly. The NNR is at an advanced phase of its review process for the Thyspunt application after the high level of public and stakeholder interest.

“The NNR board is of the view that further public participation on health, safety and environmental issues is necessary to strengthen the assessment of the application by the regulator,” it said.

Mantashe said site approvals for nuclear power plants, environmental impact assessments by the Department of Environmental Affairs and nuclear installation site licences formed part of long-lead items.

“The public hearings are an integral part of the nuclear installation site licence process,” Mantashe said.

The minister also said that since the receipt and acceptance of Eskom’s application, the NNR has been seized with an internal technical review process of the Thyspunt site application, which was a lengthy and thorough process focusing on technical, scientific and on-site assessment, among others.

“The reason for holding NNR public hearings around Thyspunt during this time is that NNR has completed its internal review process of the Thyspunt site application and is now embarking on an external consultation process to listen to health, safety and environmental concerns related to the application from interested and affected parties.

“The NNR embarks on this process to ensure that its regulatory decision-making is independent, robust and transparent,” Mantashe said.

He also said the new nuclear build programme was still part of the energy mix in terms of the Nuclear Energy Policy.

“The nuclear energy policy provides government vision for developing extensive nuclear energy programmes and to become self sufficient on all aspects of the nuclear value chain for peaceful use of nuclear energy.”

The nuclear build programme is informed by the integrated resources plan (IRP) that was being finalised at Nedlac.

Mantashe said the IRP would be tabled in the Cabinet for approval this month.

“The IRP considered a diversified energy mix that includes cleaner coal, nuclear, gas, hydro, renewables and battery storage. The outcomes of the revised IRP will determine how the nuclear new build programme becomes phased in in future,” he said.

“Government policy position is that South Africa will acquire nuclear at the price, pace and scale that the country can afford,” Mantashe said.

“The nuclear energy policy provides vision to become self-sufficient Gwede Mantashe Mineral Resources and Energy Minister