‘Koeberg Nuclear Plant is like an old car that simply can’t be kept on the road’
Cape Talk, 7 June 2021, by Barbara Friedman Refilwe Moloto speaks to Hilton Trollip, a research fellow in energy at UCT’s Global Risk Governance Programme.
- Koeberg GM suspended but energy expert says the nuclear power station is past its sell-by date
- Researcher Hilton Trollip is skeptical about refurbishing Koeberg
- All coal-firing and nuclear plants need to end and move over to renewable sources, says Trollip
On Friday the general manager of Koeberg Nuclear Power Station was replaced by Eskom’s Chief Nuclear Officer. Velaphi Ntuli has been suspended for operational reasons.
RELATED: Eskom suspends Koeberg Power Station GM for ‘performance-related issues’
One of those being that one of Eskom’s biggest generating units with a capacity of 900MW, Koeberg Unit 1 has been on an outage since January 2021.
Just how concerned should we be as we head into winter, and at the same time, try to revive our economy?
We don’t know what’s happening inside Koeberg because we have no information on that, but what we do know is that Eskom is sitting with a power station fleet that is 30, 40, and 50 years old.
Hilton Trollip, Research Fellow – Global Risk Governance Programme UCT
Koeberg was built in 1985 and reaches the end of its design life in 2024, he notes.
It’s like a 20 or 30-year-old car. There comes a stage when it simply can’t be kept on the road, or to keep it on the road is too expensive or you are going to have regular breakdowns.
…………….Should the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station be given a longer lease on life?
There are plans to refurbish it, but I am skeptical about the wisdom of that. I am an engineer and everybody knows, things wear out, including power stations. Hilton Trollip, Research Fellow – Global Risk Governance Programme UCT
He says the government as a whole has not taken on board the fact that this energy era has to come to an end and be replaced with renawables……….. https://www.capetalk.co.za/articles/418543/koeberg-nuclear-plant-is-like-an-old-car-that-simply-can-t-be-kept-on-the-road
No comments yet.
1.This Month
WEBSITE of the week – Sustain – Climate Change, Coronavirus and Sustainability
For more information and to register:
https://sppga.ubc.ca/events/event/nuclear-power-and-climate-change-can-small-modular-reactors-deliver/(See RSVP link and then register with Eventbrite)
Webinar: Nuclear Power and Climate Change: Can Small Modular Reactors Deliver?
The presentations will draw upon the 2021 World Nuclear Industry Status Report
Wednesday October 6, 2021 TIME (be sure to convert time to your zone)12:30 PM – 1:50 PM PDT (Pacific Daylight Time) 3:30 PM – 4:50 PM EST (Eastern Standard Time)
NUCLEARWAKEUPCALL.EARTH
Welcome to Women Transforming Our Nuclear Legacy (WTONL), a global online mentoring program for women and girls! https://www.nuclearwakeupcall.earth/women-s-project
So far, the nuclear lobby has bought the hearts and minds of governments, but has not won the hearts and minds of the people. In a propaganda war, as in all wars, truth is the first victim. But there are many journalists and others out there who will counter the lies of the nuclear industry.
Today, across the world, the nuclear industry is unpopular. It is particularly unpopular with women, and with indigenous peoples. It’s unpopular with those who have suffered from it, such as the veterans who attended nuclear bomb tests, and the ‘downwinders’ who suffered from those same tests. It’s unpopular with families afflicted with cancer from uranium mining. It’s unpopular with Ukrainians and Japanese whose lives have been disrupted by nuclear disasters.
he nuclear industry is also unpopular higher up in the social food chain. Many academics, economists, scientists, and doctors are concerned about the dangers of all kinds that are intrinsic to the nuclear industry.
So who does like the nuclear industry? – careerists in the nuclear industry, careerists in politics, academia, careerists in the Murdoch media, highly paid uranium workers, communities that exist only because of mining, – (the latter can’t really afford not to support it).
The nuclear industry, following in the footsteps of the tobacco and asbestos industries will now blanket its servant mass media, and any other possible avenues – such as education, and politics, – with propaganda.
The main focus of the nuclear lobby’s propaganda? This will now be CLIMATE ACTION .
They’re spending an awful lot of money on this. Despite this huge investment in deception, the nuclear lobby is not winning.
-
Archives
- September 2021 (282)
- August 2021 (291)
- July 2021 (257)
- June 2021 (210)
- May 2021 (278)
- April 2021 (257)
- March 2021 (283)
- February 2021 (271)
- January 2021 (278)
- December 2020 (230)
- November 2020 (296)
- October 2020 (391)
-
Categories
- 1
- 1 NUCLEAR ISSUES
- business and costs
- climate change
- culture and arts
- ENERGY
- environment
- health
- history
- indigenous issues
- Legal
- marketing of nuclear
- media
- opposition to nuclear
- PERSONAL STORIES
- politics
- politics international
- Religion and ethics
- safety
- secrets,lies and civil liberties
- spinbuster
- technology
- Uranium
- wastes
- weapons and war
- Women
- 2 WORLD
- ACTION
- AFRICA
- AUSTRALIA
- Christina's notes
- Christina's themes
- culture and arts
- Fukushima 2017
- Fukushima 2018
- fukushima 2019
- Fukushima 2020
- Fukushima 2021
- general
- global warming
- Humour (God we need it)
- Nuclear
- RARE EARTHS
- Reference
- resources – print
- Resources -audiovicual
- World
- World Nuclear
- YouTube
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
Leave a Reply