Release
French Nuclear Society (SFEN) and Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa (NIASA) to cooperate for the advancement of nuclear science and technology
On December 1st in Cape Town, while the COP21 summit just opened in Paris, the French Nuclear Society (SFEN) represented by Valérie Faudon, General Delegate and his South-African counterpart Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa (NIASA) represented by Dr Adam, President, signed a cooperation agreement.
This agreement is part of the longstanding and fruitful Franco-South African nuclear cooperation. France and Republic of South Africa have long collaborated: Koeberg nuclear power plant (2-900MWe reactors, 30 km north of Cape Town), the only one on the African continent, was built between 1976 and 1984 by a consortium including AREVA (formerly Framatome), Spie-Batignolles and Alstom.
The agreement signed by SFEN and NIASA intend to foster the advancement of science and technology in the area of nuclear energy, as well as knowledge sharing between experts from both countries. Consequently, it will contribute to supporting the development of nuclear energy in South Africa, so the country is to have the best tools to mitigate climate change.
As the COP21 opens in Paris, Dr Adam and Mrs. Faudon have wished to recall in a joint statement forming part of the process "Nuclear for Climate" that "nuclear energy – low carbon energy efficient, competitive and always available – is part of the solution to the challenge of climate change ".
SFEN and NIASA also point out that “the world must use all low-carbon energy sources, including nuclear energy, if it is to limit climate change while still meeting development goals. IPCC says that 80% of electricity must be low-carbon at a global level by 2050 to achieve the 2°C goal”.
In 2012, South-Africa produced 258TWh, this being 239 TWh from coal (93%), 13 TWh from nuclear (5%) and 4,9 TWh (2%) from hydro. In the meantime, according to the World Bank, nearly 8 million of people live without electricity. The goal is there to achieve a universal access to the grid by 2025. It is a major social challenge for the country.
The fact is that, thanks to the long cooperation between France and South Africa, nuclear energy is a low-carbon and efficient industrial solution, already available in South-Africa. The Koeberg nuclear power plant, operated by ESKOM, generates 5% of South-Africa’s electricity. Since the start of operation in 1984, Koeberg’s reactors avoided the emission of 330 MTons CO2, corresponding to about 1.5 year of the total coal consumption in South Africa.
NIASA and SFEN share the belief that nuclear energy supports low-carbon growth of South Africa. The development of nuclear power technology must be encouraged if we are to meet climate targets. Therefore, South Africa’s National Integrated Resource Plan for Electricity (IRP 2010) plans for the coming years massive new renewable energies as well as nuclear build. The consumption of electricity is planned to double, from 43.9 GW in 2010 to 89.5 GW in 2030. IRP2010 envision a generation capacity of 89,532 MW for 2030 with 57% fossil fuels, 26% renewable and 15% nuclear at 11,400 MW.
South Africa’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) submitted for COP21 in Paris expresses the Nation’s firm commitment to “working with others to ensure temperature increases are kept well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels”. South Africa already started to invest heavily in transforming its energy sector, which will be “designed to replace an inefficient fleet of ageing coal-fired power plants with clean and high efficiency technology going forward”. As Mrs Faudon says:”Nuclear energy is therefore part of the solution to mitigate the risks of climate change.”
The two associations also point out that nuclear energy enables to reduce CO2 emissions, while providing economic and industrial development.
Nuclear investments are growth engines for the regions and countries in which they are constructed. They directly create highly skilled employment, far beyond reactor operation and maintenance. They include engineering, construction, manufacturing and design, regulation, legal, government, finance, insurance, research, mining, transport, radiation, environment and radiation protection, and communication roles. The introduction of nuclear power can also boost education levels in the wider population, as all jobs require a high level of basic science.
The Koeberg power plant already gives employment opportunities for about 1.500 people. The South-African Nuclear Energy Corporation (NECSA) research center employs 2.000 people and undertakes researches and development in the field of nuclear energy, including the operation of the SAFARI-1 research reactor.