Role of nuclear technology in South Africa

Abstract

South Africa is in the critical process of determining the profile of its power composition for the next 30 years and beyond. From the IRP2010 it seems that too much emphasis is placed on renewable energy, coal and other technologies and too little on nuclear power. In the revision of the IRP2010, the renewable portion of the energy composition has been increased substantially from 11.4 to 17.8GW, where nuclear remains on 9.6GW (DME, 2011). The purpose of this research is to investigate and compare power-generating technologies. The investigation of the different technologies is corroborated through modelling the IRP2010 planned energy mix efficiency, as well as a proposed energy mix. These models will be built using Microsoft Excel. Topics not investigated are socio-economic impacts and politics around nuclear energy in South Africa. The main finding of the research is that nuclear power is the best option for base load energy in order to meet South Africa's growing demand for electricity. It has the highest load factor, longest economic life, best safety record, adheres to the Kyoto protocol, uses the least fresh water and is economically competitive. It addresses all the concerns stipulated in the IRP2010 and the technology also offers benefits outside the electricity industry, such as the mining, medical, agriculture and research sectors. This versatile, reliable and powerful technology holds great benefits and has the potential to uplift the quality of life for the whole South African nation.