The nuclear development strategy encompasses the entire fuel cycle, from uranium enrichment to long-term waste disposal infrastructure.
Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says despite losing 16 years of progress on nuclear energy, the government, in partnership with the private sector, will expedite the country’s “rightful place” in the nuclear programme.
Ramokgopa made the announcement at a media briefing in Pretoria on Sunday.
Gigawatts
The minister said that Eskom plans to add 5.2 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity to the national system through future nuclear builds.
Ramokgopa stated that South Africa’s nuclear development strategy is being revived and expanded, encompassing the entire fuel cycle, from uranium enrichment to long-term waste disposal infrastructure.
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Uranium
He said this is part of a wider Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) aimed at diversifying the grid and providing stable, reliable power.
“We’re looking at partnering with some of our neighbouring countries for uranium, the enrichment of uranium as a fuel that is going to power our nuclear programme, and like I said, we want to participate in the entire nuclear fuel cycle.
“We’re going to exploit this energy resource to give us the electricity for purposes of isotopes, and then we’re going to bury it in [Valpoort], so we are addressing the entire fuel life, life cycle,” Ramokgopa said.
Nuclear energy
Ramokgopa added that South Africa wants to assume its rightful place in the nuclear energy sector.
“So the era of nuclear is now part of that complex that has evolved, and the South African energy complex is entering a new era.”
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Mistakes
He said South Africa will not be “left behind.”
“We have made mistakes before, and those mistakes led to load shedding, when in fact we could have built our nuclear programme. Of course, it was soiled by the procurement process. There were no issues around technology.
“Now we want to clean that and ensure that not only electricity generation, but also in the fuel cycle, create the jobs industrialize, ensure that we build up and bolster our research and development capabilities, so that as we grow this economy, we’re introducing new skills, high end skills were able to service the continent and its ambition to industrialize and ensure that we address the electricity hunger of 600 million people on the continent,” Ramokgopa said.
Koeberg
The Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, earlier this month, secured a licence extension to continue operating Unit 2 for another 20 years.
This came a few days before the licence was expected to expire on Sunday, 9 November 2025.
The National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) has approved a 20-year licence extension for Koeberg Nuclear Power Station Unit 2, allowing for continued operation until 9 November 2045.
Licence
This followed Eskom’s application, which included detailed safety assessments, technical reviews and infrastructure upgrades as part of the station’s Long-Term Operation (LTO) programme.
According to Eskom, the licence extension follows the successful completion of an extensive refurbishment and life-extension programme, which included the replacement of three steam generators, thorough safety inspections, and refuelling activities to ensure the unit’s continued safe and efficient operation.
Eskom said both Units 1 and 2 are expected to deliver 1 860 MW of baseload power.
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