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Picture: Trevor Samson

Government was poised to make a decision on a “significant” nuclear energy programme as part of the country’s investment in new electricity generation capacity, Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said on Tuesday 27 November.

She was addressing a two-day meeting of African energy decision-makers who belong to the executive committee of Powering Africa: The Nuclear Option.

The aim of the conference was to develop an understanding about how nuclear power could be developed and used on the continent.

The minister said that Africa possessed significant uranium resources which not only should be beneficiated but also used to generate energy.

“This is going to require deliberate and calculated planning on the part of the leaders of the continent. We will require strategic partnerships from those who have extensive nuclear programmes.

“A nuclear programme requires extensive infrastructure and huge investment in skills.
“I believe that for this continent it may be beneficial for regional approaches to be adopted in building this infrastructure.”

Sonjica said the National Nuclear Regulator of SA was engaged in preliminary discussions with its Nigerian counterparts to establish a regional nuclear and radiation safety regulatory forum.

The aim of the forum would be to strengthen regulatory frameworks and infrastructure and harmonise safety standards in the region, she said.

The minister acknowledged public concern over radioactive waste management, which she said was the “Achilles heel” of nuclear energy but said the government was serious about dealing with it.

Government is in the process of finalising a draft law to give effect to the provisions of the radioactive waste management policy and strategy published last year.

A radioactive waste management fund is expected to be finalised by March 2008.

Also, Sonjica announced that SA had submitted its accession to the joint convention on the safety of spent fuel management and the safety of radioactive waste management to the International Atomic Energy Association.

While SA was a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, it also believed that concerns over proliferation should not be used to prevent other countries from benefiting from nuclear technology.

Africa in particular needed nuclear energy, Sonjica said.

Linda Ensor – Business Day

Dwindling Forests And Resources Force Africa To Mull Nuclear Energy
Mariette le Roux
Cape Town (Agence France-Presse) Nov 28, 2006

Depleting forests and coal reserves, compounded by the environmental cost of traditional energy sources, are forcing Africa to seriously consider going nuclear, experts say. "For the sake of humanity and the environment we should accept nature's gift," South African energy analyst Andrew Kenny told a conference in Cape Town of scientists, businessmen, energy watchdogs and African government officials.
But some warn that a lack of financing, a regulatory void and a dearth of specialist skills could impede Africa's participation in the "nuclear renaissance".
"There are good reasons for certain African countries to be considering nuclear energy, but this does not mean they will be able to do it overnight," Alan McDonald from the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency told AFP.
Franklin Osaisai, director-general of Nigeria's atomic energy commission, said Africa simply had to find the money for nuclear energy.
"It is not affordable not to invest in energy. We found nuclear to be a viable option -- an expensive initial investment but cheaper in the long-term," he said.
Nigeria planned to start generating nuclear power in the next 10 to 12 years, Osaisai said. Several delegates mooted regional cooperation as a possible solution to many of the constraints facing the continent.
These included harnessing South Africa's existing regulatory framework and sharing infrastructure between countries.
But McDonald said Africa did not feature strongly in IAEA projections for increased nuclear energy production.
"Most of the additional plants being foreseen are in countries with established programmes and existing, big plants. It is much easier to start a new plant when you have an established programme ... and a skilled workforce."
The construction cost of a nuclear power plant averages about one million euros per megawatt it produces.
Nuclear energy was "definitely" an affordable option for Africa, said Anne Renzi, deputy head of export finance at Areva, a global nuclear energy company.
"It is a question of comparison. Each time the barrel price of petrol is more than 45 dollars, any nuclear project is competitive," she said.
South Africa's Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said Africa should tap its rich uranium resources rather than exporting them, adding that this would need "deliberate and calculated planning on the part of leaders of the continent."
South Africa is the only African country with a nuclear power station, which produces about six percent of its electricity. It now wants to expand capacity by developing a pebble bed modular reactor.
Several speakers told the conference that nuclear energy was a safe alternative.
Kenny said there had only been one nuclear accident claiming more than five human lives, as opposed to 187 such accidents at coal-based power plants.
He also said radiation was not a major problem in countries harnessing nuclear energy while coal, wood and paraffin fires caused death, disease and disability on a massive scale in Africa.
Mariette le Roux - Agence France-Presse