Two years later than state utility Eskom expected, South Africa’s next nuclear plant is scheduled to come online by 2019.
In addition, the anticipated 20,000 MW has been reduced with the government now saying a target of 6,000 MW by 2025 is more probable.
South Africa’s power utility operates Africa’s sole nuclear power plant Koeberg with a total capacity of 1,800 MW. Nelisiwe Magubane, the deputy director-general at the Minerals and Energy Department, added that an additional 3,200 MW of the planned 6,000 MW was due in 2019.
The government, which took over after Eskom bowed out, said that the two-year delay was needed to properly initiate the process.
Some experts said the government could have assisted Eskom in raising capital for the project, but Magubane said the government wanted to launch a process that differed from the utility’s one-time proposal to ensure it could build the production over time.
"In the next 20 years we need to decommission quite a number of coal-fired power plants, so we need to have a plan on what it would be that would replace that ageing fleet," she said.
South Africa’s progress on renewable energy has slowed as a result from financial constraints. The plant’s delay will keep the country reliant on its depleting coal supply.