- The 2,500 megawatts nuclear power, to be commissioned by 2032/2033, will tackle its worst power outages.
- South Africa will build the nuclear power plant at a scale and pace it can afford.
South Africa will launch a bidding process for an additional 2,500 megawatts (MW) of nuclear power by March 2024. This is as the country attempts to tackle its worst power outages on record. Officials said the new nuclear power procurement is not a short-term fix, as the first units will start operating in a decade.
Also, South Africa’s Electricity Minister, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, said, “We are excited about the prospects, and we are confident about our ability to ensure that within a reasonable period, we are able (to announce) preferred bidders.”
Ramokgopa reiterated that South Africa, which has the African continent’s only operational nuclear power plant, Koeberg, will build new ones at a scale and pace it can afford. However, South Africans are wary of the government’s nuclear programme after a 9,600 MW nuclear deal with Russia under Jacob Zuma’s scandal-plagued presidency was thwarted by a court challenge in 2017. South Africa expects to commission the first unit of the new 2,500 MW nuclear project by 2032/2033.