“[Its] important to note that nuclear and renewable energy will have a significant contribution in [South Africa’s] anticipated generation mix,” South Africa’s Energy Minister Dipuo Peters said.
And while nuclear energy has become the issue of the hour after Japan’s Fukushima crisis, South Africa has no intention on halting its nuclear ambitions. Peters noted at a nuclear energy conference held in South Africa that the alternative energy was a long-term solution to address the energy crisis. Peters said, “There are many lessons to be learned from the accident, in particular the safety and emergency [responses].” The Minister discussed how the country’s power utility Eskom has been operating the only nuclear power plant in Africa (Koeberg nuclear power station) safely for 40 years.
Many other developed nations are cutting nuclear energy out of the energy mix. Switzerland announced that it would shut down its reactors once the plant(s) reach 50 years of age with the last facility to go offline by 2034. In addition, Germany announced yesterday that it would phase out nuclear energy over the next 11 years. In 2001, the European nation stopped building nuclear power plants, but had toggled with the idea of reversing that decision. That was until crisis struck the nuclear power industry forcing countries to rethink their position on nuclear energy.
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