South Africa’s nuclear plan on hold

South Africa is freezing a plan to obtain more electricity from nuclear sources to allow it to include additional public participation in a move to boost transparency, the nation’s electricity minister said.

Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said at a briefing on Friday that the government withdrew a determination published in January that started a process to procure 2,500 megawatts of nuclear power generation after civil society groups objected to the regulator’s approval that failed to include public hearings.

“We carry the responsibility of ensuring that this process that we’re undertaking is subject to the highest levels of public scrutiny,” he said.

“The last thing we want is to do a major build program on the back of suspicion that the department and government is hiding something from the public.”

Atomic power formed the basis of a scandal in South Africa almost a decade ago when the nation neared a deal with Russia to build 9,600 megawatts of nuclear capacity, a plan publicly backed by former President Jacob Zuma.

Former Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene explained to a judicial probe in 2018 that he refused to sign the deal despite pressure from the ex-leader.

More recently, state-owned Eskom’s Koeberg nuclear station faced environmental groups against a 20-year extension of its license.

The regulator approved one of the units while another awaits a decision. Losing the process would potentially shut generation capacity that the utility needs to meet demand and continue to avoid controlled blackouts that plagued the economy for years.

According to the department, the government’s rationale for building a new nuclear plant includes reducing emissions and adding a source of constant power to complement output from renewable technologies.