nuclear-news

France keen to sell nuclear reactors to South Africa

French companies Areva and EDF presented bids for the supply of highly specialised third-generation reactors,…..the president had not held separate talks with Areva and EDF but had attended a dinner at which all French companies with a stake in South Africa were represented.

SA unveils plans for a nuclear future French interested in supplying technology, Times LIVE, Mar 17, 2011 By CAIPHUS KGOSANAThe cabinet has approved a power generation master plan that calls for nuclear technology to become the single biggest new generator of electricity…….

President Jacob Zuma this month paid a state visit to France, a leader in nuclear power technologies. Its nuclear-power savvy companies are interested in supplying the technology South Africa will require.

But the safety of nuclear power stations is in sharp focus after the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the crisis they caused at the devastated Fukushima nuclear power plant.

That country is on the brink of a deadly nuclear disaster at the Fukushima plant, where workers are scrambling to cool reactors that are overheating dangerously.

Energy Minister Dipuo Peters said at a briefing in Cape Town yesterday that the cabinet had not gone into detail on the methods that would be used to buy nuclear power, or about the companies that would be invited to bid on supplying nuclear reactors.

She said the cabinet was wary of the risks involved in nuclear technology and would take them into account when it mapped out a detailed proposal for the construction of nuclear power plants.

“The cabinet will consider all risks included in the plan, the most reliable technology, the cost to the state and to the consumer, as well as the risks involved,” she said…….

In 2008, French companies Areva and EDF presented bids for the supply of highly specialised third-generation reactors, but the government balked because of the $9-billion price tag.

Asked if Zuma had made any promises to French companies during his state visit about South Africa’s nuclear future, Peters said the president had not held separate talks with Areva and EDF but had attended a dinner at which all French companies with a stake in South Africa were represented.

SA unveils plans for a nuclear future – Times LIVE

March 18, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, South Africa