#AUW2018: Nuclear is still the cheapest energy around

Des Muller

“Koeberg is producing the cheapest electricity in South Africa and has been for the last 30 years, and it will be for the next 30 years, at 26 cents per kW/h. The average is about 80 cents so its way below the average grid costs,” he said.

Safety and running costs

He acknowledged that nuclear power plants are expensive to build, but it's because of the safety aspect and that’s what people fail to understand. “I promise you do not want cheap nuclear in your neighbourhood. You will want expensive nuclear and safe nuclear power. You want to live next to the stuff and sleep comfortably at night.”

In addition, nuclear generates a lot of power, and the running costs are very low. “Electricity is generated 92% of the time of a plant’s 80-year lifespan so, it is about the volume of energy you get out of it and that it is clean. And that is what makes nuclear cost effective,” Muller said.

Nuclear power plants also use very little fuel. He said that what Koeberg, for example, has used in the 35 years since it was commissioned would fit in “less than half of a tennis court. That is how much waste it produced to provide power to half of the Western Cape.”

The spectre of corruption

The big issue, however, is the corruption around the nuclear build programme in South Africa. “It must be developed and procured in the most ethical and transparent environment. It cannot be developed and build successfully in a very corrupt environment, so you have to get that space clean before you can move into it. You must procure it for the right reasons,” he said.

Muller said he didn’t know where the trillion-rand figure bandied about to build a nuclear plant came from. “The construction of a nuclear plant can cost you about R60bn per gigawatt.”

Benefit to the economy

It is important, he said, to get the build programme back on track so that we understand what it can do for this economy, while dismissing claims than eight to 10 years to build a plant is too long.

A long construction framework should be seen as an advantage. “Why do we worry that it takes long? It gives people 10 years’ worth of work. We should applaud that. The nuclear industry provides the highest density of employment.

There are other benefits such as localisation. “We can get up to 40% localisation on a nuclear build programme if we prepare way in advance. This equates to R24bn of gigawatts. That is the potential we can get to," Muller said.

Africa Utility Week took place in Cape Town from 15-18 May 2018.