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 Nuclear power pushed to back burner in U.K.’s green energy plan, Japan Times , BY RACHEL MORISON, BLOOMBERG, 22 Nov 20, Britain’s ambition to renew its aging fleet of nuclear power plants is losing momentum after the government offered few new details on how it will support additional projects.Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s administration set aside £500 million ($661 million) for small modular reactor projects but was silent on support for traditional large-scale plants. The issue gained urgency on Thursday as Electricite de France SA’s announced the closure of its Hinkley Point B reactors two years early.
The government’s latest thinking on how to replace its aging fleet of nuclear plants marks a dramatic shift from 2013, when David Cameron agreed to funding for new reactors at the Hinkley Point site with support from China. Since then, relations with China have deteriorated, electricity demand slumped and renewables such as wind and solar farms became much cheaper than new atomic plants……
- That left an uncertain outlook for the £20 billion Sizewell C nuclear project in eastern England that EDF is hoping to develop. That would replace units set to retire in 2035, when the last of the existing fleet of atomic plants in the U.K. will close. Including the Hinkley Point B that EDF said will close in 2022, four major plants will close in the next four years. The only project set to come online is Hinkley Point C in 2025.
- For more than a year, the government has been promising an energy white paper that may set out a future funding model for nuclear power plants. That document is now due next month, delayed as ministers debate how to balance the energy industry’s needs with strains on the budget from COVID-19 and the worst economic recession in decades.The problem for nuclear power is its cost and time scale. Each project can cost £20 billion or more and take a decade to deliver. Wind farms need a fraction of that money and can come together in less than five years. And while the cost of renewables is falling, nuclear power is becoming more expensive, with EDF reporting cost overruns and delays both at its Hinkley Point C project and one in France.
- EDF is the only remaining nuclear developer with a major project under way. The French utility wants to build additional units in eastern England in a project dubbed Sizewell C. But it has made it clear it can’t shoulder alone the risks and investment needed. The government has suggested it may take an equity stake in Sizewell. The white paper may deliver a verdict on whether it might adopt the Regulated Asset Base model that has been used to with other major infrastructure projects.
- For Hinkley Point C now under construction in western England, China General Nuclear Power Corp. took a one-third stake in the project. The government agreeing to pay a subsidy of £92.50 for every megawatt-hour of electricity the plant produces for 35 years. The price would drop to £89.50 if a station using the same technology goes ahead at Sizewell C.That deal left EDF and its partners with all the risks involved with building the plant and taxpayers owing nothing until the facility begins generating electricity. However, the deal is looking like a bad value for consumers, since the wholesale price of electricity at the moment is about half of what EDF will earn……….. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/11/22/business/nuclear-power-uk-green-energy/
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November 23, 2020
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
business and costs, politics, UK |
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Ars Technica 21st Nov 2020, Should any discussion of nuclear power go on for long enough, it becomes inevitable that someone will rant that the only reason they’ve become unaffordable is a proliferation of safety regulations. The argument is rarely (if ever) fleshed out—no specific regulation is ever identified as problematic, and there seems to be no consideration given to the fact that we might have learned something at, say, Fukushima that might merit addressing through regulations.
But there’s now a paper out that provides some empirical evidence that safety changes have contributed to the cost of building new nuclear reactors. But the study also makes clear that they’re only one of a number of factors, accounting for only a third of the soaring
costs. The study also finds that, contrary to what those in the industry seem to expect, focusing on standardized designs doesn’t really help matters, as costs continued to grow as more of a given reactor design was built.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/11/why-are-nuclear-plants-so-expensive-safetys-only-part-of-the-story/
November 23, 2020
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
2 WORLD, business and costs |
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 Ohio likely to require nuclear reactor audit before renewing bailout -analysts https://uk.reuters.com/article/instant-article/idUKL1N2I61D0 Banking and Financial News Scott DiSavino, NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Ohio’s legislature will likely require the owner of two nuclear power reactors to prove they need financial assistance to remain in service following a bribery scandal related to passage of the state’s 2019 nuclear bailout, analysts said on Friday.FirstEnergy Corp lobbied state officials to provide more than $1 billion to fund the continued operation of its Davis-Besse and Perry reactors.
The Ohio reactors are now owned by Energy Harbor, which emerged from the bankruptcy of FirstEnergy’s FirstEnergy Solutions unit in February. The reactors likely still need financial help to keep operating.
FirstEnergy was not alone in seeking state funding for its reactors. Nuclear plants in Illinois, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut also received subsidies in recent years.
n Ohio, however, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested Larry Householder, Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, in July, alleging bribery related to the passage of the state’s nuclear subsidy law, known as House Bill 6 (HB6).
In an effort to undue damage done by the scandal, Ohio politicians have proposed new legislation that could remove or reduce the nuclear subsidies in HB6.
“Ultimately, the subsidies may be reduced following the audit but we are skeptical they’ll go to zero when all is said and done,” said Josh Price, senior analyst at Height Capital Markets.
FirstEnergy shares fell over 3% on Friday to their lowest since September.
Earlier this week, the FBI also raided a home owned by Sam Randazzo, chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). Randazzo resigned on Friday, according to the state governor’s office.
Officials at the PUCO had no comment. Energy Harbor was not immediately available for comment.
FirstEnergy said its “Board will continue to take decisive action to address this matter,” noting it is in the “best interest” of Ohio and the nation to maintain clean and reliable nuclear power. Reporting by Scott DiSavino Editing by Marguerita Choy
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November 21, 2020
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
business and costs, politics, USA |
2 Comments
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Carbon Brief 18th Nov 2020, Media reaction: Boris Johnson’s ‘10-point’ net-zero plan for climatechange. In the lead up to the plan, expectations were running high for a major announcement on nuclear power, after weeks of stories about a “green light” for the Sizewell C plant and Rolls-Royce planning to build up to 16 mini-nuclear plants. In an article published at the start of November, the i newspaper said “Johnson…is expected to commit to building a new nuclear power station at Sizewell in Suffolk”.
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The Daily Mail’s Ruth Sunderland said new nuclear will “have to be” part of the UK’s energy mix and suggested that Johnson was posed to give approval to the new Sizewell facility, despite opposition “by protesters who say it threatens ecology and wildlife”. The reality was less specific. The plan included a fund of £525m “to help develop large and smaller-scale nuclear plants, and research and develop new advanced modular reactors”, but did not mention a specific project.
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November 21, 2020
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
business and costs, politics, UK |
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Bloomberg 20th Nov 2020, Britain’s ambition to renew its aging fleet of nuclear power plants is losing momentum after the government offered few new details on how it will support additional projects. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s
administration set aside 500 million pounds ($661 million) for small modular reactor projects but was silent on support for traditional
large-scale plants.
The issue gained urgency on Thursday as Electricite de France SA’s announced the closure of its Hinkley Point B reactors two
years early. The government’s latest thinking on how to replace its aging fleet of nuclear plants marks a dramatic shift from 2013, when David Cameron agreed to funding for new reactors at the Hinkley Point site with support from China. Since then, relations with China have deteriorated, electricity demand slumped and renewables such as wind and solar farms became much cheaper than new atomic plants.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/nuclear-power-pushed-to-back-burner-in-u-k-s-green-energy-plan-1.1525271
November 21, 2020
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
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Nuclear Engineering International 18th Nov 2020, Framatome has joined the Sizewell C Consortium, a group of more than 100
companies and organisations from across the UK working to design, supply
and construct the proposed nuclear power station in Suffolk, England.
November 21, 2020
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
business and costs, UK |
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Trump’s Impact on Nuclear Proliferation, Treating Foreign Policy as a Business, Just Security, by Tamsin Shaw, November 18, 2020 “…………….Russia and the United States Nuclear Industry
It’s only relatively recently that the public and private U.S. institutions have begun to examine seriously the intricate financial network that lies behind and links Russian nuclear business dealings in the United States. Public perception of these dealings has been dominated by the false Uranium One conspiracy theory. This distraction has diverted attention from the extent to which Russia has established a strong foothold in the US nuclear industry in a way that suggests an aspiration to vertical control.
The grain of truth in the Uranium One story is that in 2010 Canadian company Uranium One, which was responsible for mining 20% of the currently licensed uranium in the United States, made an agreement with JSC Atomredmetzoloto, or ARMZ, the mining arm of Rosatom, giving them a controlling stake (51%). In 2013 Rosatom acquired full ownership. Uranium One continues to mine approximately 10% of that licensed in-situ uranium.
The United States also relies, both for civilian utilities and defense purposes, on nuclear fuel supplied by Russian subsidiary of Rosatom called Techsnabexport (TENEX). No U.S. uranium enrichment facilities are currently in operation. The U.S. company, Centrus has a new centrifuge design but it will likely be over a decade before it goes into action.
Nor does the United States currently have a company that builds commercial nuclear reactors. The only U.S. company now aiming to construct them is Bill Gates’s TerraPower, which is working on what will likely be the next generation of reactors, small modular reactors (SMRs), but again these won’t be commercially viable for a decade. Commercial nuclear reactors were previously designed and built by US company Westinghouse. But on March 24, 2017, Westinghouse declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The sale of that company naturally has serious national security implications. But the story of the sale and of the role that the Trump administration played in it raises many questions.
Trump’s friend and adviser, Tom Barrack, seized on the opportunity presented by the Westinghouse bankruptcy to put together a new version of the Marshall Plan for the Middle East, producing his own document setting out the details. In his March 2017 white paper, Barrack refers to the plan interchangeably as the “Trump Marshall Plan” and the “Trump Plan.” The July 2019 House Oversight and Reform Committee report details the ambitious deal Barrack tried to put together to purchase Westinghouse. Barrack had permission from the highest levels at the White House for a US-led consortium involving Colony Capital, IP3, and financial firms Blackstone and Apollo. Barrack assured Blackstone CEO Steve Schwartzman,
Our GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] allies in Saudi Arabia and the UAE have committed to invest in the Westinghouse acquisition and are willing to concurrently lock in Westinghouse as the primary partner on the 30+ reactors expected to be constructed in their countries in the coming decade.
IP3 officials were very optimistic. President Trump and Jared Kushner had met with MBS on March 14, and IP3 boasted that this meeting prepared the way for a “partnership to acquire Westinghouse between IP3 and Saudi Arabia.” They eagerly arranged meetings with officials in the administration to promote the plan, including then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo, Director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn, and top National Security Council (NSC) Staff officials. They also briefed Jared Kushner.
But in January, 2018 it was announced that Canadian company, Brookfield Business Partners, a subsidiary of investing giant Brookfield Asset Management, would purchase Westinghouse. And Westinghouse promptly and unilaterally decided to sever ties with IP3. ProPublica discovered that Kushner was the one who prevented the IP3-led deal from happening, reporting that Kushner “wanted to table the nuclear question in favor of simpler alliance-building measures with the Saudis, centered on Trump’s visit in May, according to a person familiar with the discussions.”
The Westinghouse sale went through on August 1, 2018. Three days later it was announced that Brookfield Properties, another subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management that had just purchased Westinghouse, would buy Jared Kushner out of his catastrophic real estate deal involving 666 Fifth Avenue.
Who Owns Westinghouse?
The Westinghouse purchase was naturally considered an extremely sensitive deal, deserving scrutiny by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which at the time included Steve Mnuchin, Rex Tillerson, Jeff Sessions, Wilbur Ross and Dan Coats. The committee approved the transaction but with a Nuclear Regulatory Committee (NRC) Requirements Notice forbidding transfer of their licenses and insisting on compliance with all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. But the NRC filing submitted to CFIUS is fairly thin. It tells us that Westinghouse would be “ultimately controlled” by Brookfield Asset Management, but little about the money behind the deal. According to their 2018 20-F annual report, BBU acquired 44% of the company, while having a 100% voting interest, having put in $405m of equity totaling $920m, with the balance coming from “institutional partners.” The rest of the purchase price was funded with approximately $3b of long-term debt financing. The sources of the equity and financing aren’t disclosed.
Immediately prior to the Westinghouse sale, prominent foreign policy experts Thomas Duesterberg and William Schneider wrote an article expressing serious concerns about the opacity………….https://www.justsecurity.org/73422/trumps-impact-on-nuclear-proliferation/
November 19, 2020
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
business and costs, politics international, Russia, USA |
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Times 18th Nov 2020. A total of £525 million has been pledged “to help develop large and
smaller-scale nuclear plants, and research and develop new advanced modular
reactors”. However, there is no word as yet on a funding package to
support the proposed £20 billion new nuclear plant at Sizewell in Suffolk.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/boris-johnson-promises-revolution-in-homes-roads-and-industry-n6xzp6jld
November 19, 2020
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
business and costs, politics, UK |
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U.S. sees $18 billion from purchases in nuclear power agreement with Poland, By Timothy Gardner, WASHINGTON (Reuters) 16 Nov 20, – The United States and Poland have struck a nuclear power agreement in which Poland will likely buy $18 billion in nuclear technology from U.S. companies, the U.S. energy department said on Monday.
The United States has been competing with China and Russia and other countries to supply nuclear power technology to countries hoping to build their first reactors, or boost their programs.
“We are hopeful that the ultimate decisions that are made by Poland … over a period of time will result in them choosing U.S. technology,” U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette told reporters in a teleconference. ……
Over the next 18 months, the United States and Poland will work on an a report for the program that seeks to build six reactors, as well as potential financing arrangements, the department said.
The first reactors are planned to be in operation by 2033 in a program that will potentially be worth $40 billion, a senior U.S. energy department official said. Poland would buy at least $18 billion from U.S. companies, the official said.
Westinghouse, owned by Brookfield Asset Management BAMa.TO, Bechtel and Southern Co SO.N and the U.S. government, will participate in a first step in the agreement, an engineering study for planned plants, the official said.
This month the United States and Romania came to an initial $8 billion agreement on the construction of two reactors on the river Danube. Romanian state-owned nuclear power producer Nuclearelectrica ROSNN.BX ended talks with China General Nuclear (CGN) about the construction of the reactors after they had dragged on for six years.
Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Marguerita Choy https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclearpower-poland-idUSKBN274239
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November 17, 2020
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
EUROPE, marketing, USA |
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……..Solar rising, By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com 16 Nov 20,
Whereas the nuclear sector comeback has its work cut out for it, solar power has clearly been on the ascendancy thanks in large part to falling costs.
Nuclear advocates have pointed to rising electricity costs in California as the reason why other states should think twice before adopting its model. Environmental Progress has reported that between 2011 and 2018, power costs in the Golden State increased by 27.9% compared to a 4% national average. This period coincided with a period when California has been aggressively ramping up its renewable generation capacity. Renewable sources currently account for ~30% of California’s electricity generation with an aim to double that by 2030 and hit 100% by 2045.
But that’s being a bit disingenuous because it fails to capture just how much solar costs have fallen over the timeframe.
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), solar installation costs have dropped by more than 70% over the past decade, opening up vast new markets and systems nationwide. The organization says prices as of Q2 2020 dropped to their lowest levels in history across all market segments, with utility-scale prices ranging from $16/MWh – $35/MWh, thus making it competitive with all other forms of generation. Meanwhile, costs for the average-sized residential system were cut in half from a pre-incentive price of $40,000 in 2010 to roughly $20,000 today.
And no, renewables are not to blame for California’s blackouts.
Higher Soft Costs Remain
A common complaint is that solar power is only becoming cheaper for utilities but not for residential applications.
That’s partly true but not entirely so because residential costs have actually been falling but at a slower clip than their bigger brethren.
According to SEIA, residential PV pricing fell only 20% between 2014-2020 to $2.84/Watt mainly due to soft costs, including labor, overhead costs, supply chain, customer acquisition, and permitting/inspection/interconnection costs remaining high. Further, inconsistent permitting practices and building codes and permitting practices across jurisdictions have led to some regions not being able to enjoy the full benefits of falling hardware costs.
Strongly Bullish
Despite these challenges, the solar sector remains strongly bullish.
Indeed, S&P Platts says that the shift to renewable energy is likely to continue full steam ahead regardless of fed policies noting that the energy transition has “clearly been moving forward on a regional basis,” despite lacking clear endorsement at the federal level under Trump.
It remains to be seen whether nuclear energy can command the same level of support.
November 17, 2020
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
2 WORLD, business and costs |
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Rolls-Royce vows to create 6,000 UK jobs with nuclear power station plans, Engineering firm is part of consortium pushing for government backing, Jasper Jolly, Wed 11 Nov 2020
‘……….However,it faces opposition on the grounds of safety, security and cost.
The consortium this week signed agreements with the US company Exelon Generation and the Czech power company CEZ to consider the reactors.
Small nuclear reactors were first developed in the 1950s to use in nuclear-powered submarines. Since then Rolls-Royce has designed reactors for seven classes of submarine and two separate land-based prototype reactors.
However, to be cost-effective for civilian use the power generated by the reactors has to compete with renewable sources such as wind and solar power. The costs of installing renewables have fallen dramatically in the last decade and they do not pose the same safety concerns.
The Financial Times last month reported that the government was backing the plans to commit between £1.5bn and £2bn, and that it would form part of Boris Johnson’s 10-point plan for the environment. However, the second wave of coronavirus has caused the delay of the Treasury’s multiyear spending review. …..
a 2017 study by the consortium partner Atkins found that the electricity produced from the small reactors would be a third more expensive than traditional plants……. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/nov/11/rolls-royce-vows-to-create-6000-uk-jobs-with-nuclear-power-station-plans
November 12, 2020
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
business and costs, Small Modular Nuclear Reactors |
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Middle East nuclear ambitions stymied by financial constraints, enrichment fears, S and P Global , AuthorDania Saadi, EditorKshitiz Goliya-11 Nov 20,
HIGHLIGHTSIran, UAE producing nuclear power for electricity generation
Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey want to follow suit
But Saudi Arabia and Jordan want uranium enrichment
Dubai — While the UAE started its first nuclear reactor this year, other countries in the Middle East are stuck in their plans as they grapple with financial constraints, uranium enrichment aspirations, and Western fears amid Iran’s controversial nuclear ambitions.
he UAE, so far, is the only regional country to have agreed to the so-called “gold standard” in its nuclear cooperation agreement with the US, foregoing any plans to enrich uranium, which is the West’s main cause of concern.
The UAE’s peaceful program includes four 1.4 GW nuclear reactors, the first of which started in August, to meet up to 25% of the country’s electricity needs.
“The question of deployment of sensitive nuclear technologies has been a hot button issue in the Middle East for years, beginning in 1970s when Israel clandestinely produced nuclear weapons and the rest of the countries in the region had to respond to that development,” said Mark Hibbs, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s nuclear policy program.
“Nuclear transparency issues in the Middle East are not confined to just to one or two or three countries but are the concern of virtually all states in a region where suspicion is widespread and where international cooperation and confidence building are limited.”
Saudi nuclear plans
In Saudi Arabia, earlier scenarios to develop 17.6 GW of nuclear power by 2032 have been scaled back to building a mix of 1.2-1.6 GW and small modular reactors without any set timeline.
However, the West has concerns about the Saudi program because of its stated intentions to mine and enrich its uranium deposits.
In a March 2018 interview with CBS, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said, “Saudi Arabia does not want to acquire any nuclear bomb, but without a doubt if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible.”
Such statements have unnerved Western countries, including some US lawmakers, who have urged the US Administration to persuade Saudi Arabia to agree to the “gold standard” and foreswear enriching uranium.
Resource-barren Jordan
Turkey, which has a so-called 123 nuclear cooperation agreement with the US just like the UAE, is building its first nuclear plant Akkuyu, which will consist of four 1.2 GW reactors being supplied by Rosatom, with work on the first unit set to start in 2023………
esource-barren Jordan needs financial help to achieve its ambition to produce nuclear energy to help halt its reliance on energy imports. Jordan, which in 2015 signed with Rosatom a $10 billion deal to build a 2 GW nuclear power plant, has since scrapped this plan and is looking at small modular reactors.
Financial constraints
Jordan also wants to mine and enrich its own uranium deposits, which is another sticking point with the US in reaching a 123 agreement.
“Finances is likely to pose the biggest obstacle to fulfilling these [nuclear] dreams because nuclear energy is such a costly venture,” said Mark Fitzpatrick, associate fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
“If you look at it in terms of energy efficiency, nuclear energy is not the most efficient way of developing electricity. Solar energy probably offers better efficiency in the long-run, while in the short-run because of the depressed price of oil, countries are finding it more economic to just import oil.”
However, the elephant in the room that may thwart the region’s nuclear ambitions is Iran, which started in 1959 with a small US nuclear reactor but ended up entangled in a major standoff with the West in the 2000s……
Besides Iran, another cause for concern is the potential attack on nuclear facilities.
“Modern nuclear power plants are designed to be secure against most kinds of threats but they can’t be perfectly secure against threats such as an airplane directly attacking the plant…or in the case of an attack like the Israeli attack on Iraq’s Osirak reactor [in 1981],” Fitzpatrick said. https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/videos/market-movers-europe/110920-utilities-renewables-libya-oil-lockdown-lng-uniper-germany
November 12, 2020
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
business and costs, MIDDLE EAST, politics international |
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New Civil Engineer 11th Nov 2020, A consortium led by Bechtel is reportedly in talks with the government
about acquiring the Wylfa Newydd site on Anglesey earmarked for nuclear
development. Plans for a £20bn nuclear plant were recently scrapped by
developer Horizon after 18 months of talks with government about a funding
mechanism eventually fizzled out. The site is however still safeguarded and
the project could theoretically be restarted by a third party. Led by the
Bechtel, the consortium includes Southern Company, an electricity utility,
and Westinghouse, a nuclear engineering company.
https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/bechtel-led-consortium-in-talks-about-wylfa-site-11-11-2020/
City AM 10th Nov 2020, A group of US companies has reportedly approached the government about
taking over the development of a nuclear power plant at Wylfa in north
Wales. Engineering giant Bechtel will lead the consortium, and will be
joined by utility firm Southern and nuclear engineers Westinghouse.
https://www.cityam.com/us-consortium-mulls-taking-on-abandoned-wylfa-nuclear-project/
November 12, 2020
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
business and costs, politics, UK |
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NJ Ratepayers Unite to Stop More Nuclear Corporation Bailouts, Energy Monopolies https://www.insidernj.com/press-release/nj-ratepayers-unite-stop-nuclear-corporation-bailouts-energy-monopolies/ November 9, 2020,
Diverse energy users and consumer advocate groups create NJ Ratepayers United
Trenton, N.J. –– As a $300 million annual nuclear subsidy continues to burden New Jersey consumers, a coalition has formed to oppose another proposed major energy policy initiative from PSEG and Exelon that would enable the companies to transform the state’s electricity capacity market and obtain windfall profits.
NJ Ratepayers United (NJRU) is a diverse coalition of New Jersey consumers, business groups, consumer advocates, grassroots organizations and energy providers that have joined forces to stop the proposed Fixed Resource Requirement (FRR). This proposed overhaul would transform how the state procures power, eliminating ratepayer protections and empowering select companies to leverage their market power to further increase electricity costs. Continue reading →
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November 10, 2020
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
business and costs, opposition to nuclear, USA |
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S. Africa Regulator to Consider Approving Nuclear Power Plan, Bloomberg, By Antony Sguazzin,10 November 2020,
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- Program envisages addition of 2,500 megawatts of atomic power
- Country’s renewable-energy lobby opposes expansion of industry
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa will on Nov. 11 consider approving the procurement of 2,500 megawatts of nuclear power, marking another step toward the expansion of the industry.
The regulator will consider approving a so-called section 34 determination for the program, which enables the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to undertake a bidding process for private producers to build nuclear-power facilities, it said in a Twitter posting outlining the agenda for the meeting.
South Africa, which destroyed its atomic weapons prior to the end of apartheid, already operates Africa’s only nuclear-power plant, the 1,800 megawatt Koeberg facility in Cape Town, as well as the Pelindaba research facility north of Johannesburg.
While the expansion of nuclear power has the support of the ministry and labor unions, it’s opposed by environmentalists and backers of the country’s expanding renewable-energy program.
NuScale Power LLC, a U.S. nuclear-energy firm, has said it will propose small, modular reactors for installation in South Africa. The U.S. International Development Finance Corp. has announced that it will support a bid by NuScale, approving the procurement of 2,500 megawatts of nuclear power, marking another step toward the expansion of the industry.
The regulator will consider approving a so-called section 34 determination for the program, which enables the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to undertake a bidding process for private producers to build nuclear-power facilities, it said in a Twitter posting outlining the agenda for the meeting.
South Africa, which destroyed its atomic weapons prior to the end of apartheid, already operates Africa’s only nuclear-power plant, the 1,800 megawatt Koeberg facility in Cape Town, as well as the Pelindaba research facility north of Johannesburg.
While the expansion of nuclear power has the support of the ministry and labor unions, it’s opposed by environmentalists and backers of the country’s expanding renewable-energy program. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-09/south-african-regulator-to-consider-approving-nuclear-power-plan
November 10, 2020
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
marketing, South Africa |
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