South Africa is ready for nuclear new build
23 July 2015
It was ready to support South Africa's nuclear new build programme using its
existing capacities, the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) told
Parliament's portfolio committee on energy yesterday.
The committee was undertaking an oversight visit to Necsa's Pelindaba facilities, in
Tshwane. Chief executive officer Phumzile Tshelane said Necsa possessed nuclear
standard manufacturing capabilities, and listed its recent achievements.
It had exported nuclear reaction chambers to Russia and had supplied products to
other international clients such as France's Areva and Alstom. The state-owned
company also manufactured components for the Medupi and Kusile coal-fired power
stations.
Tshelane said that Necsa would support localisation as part of ensuring that the new
build programme resulted in the development of a nuclear industry in South Africa.
Necsa also ran an acclaimed Learning Academy from which
engineers, artisans and
other technically skilled personnel graduated each year.
"We are proud of the contribution we are making already in developing critical skills
for South Africa, which will also be relevant to the new build programme," he said.
In response to a question on the costs of the new build, the Necsa chief brushed
aside the R1-trillion figure, saying it was unrealistic in global comparison.
Supply of nuclear fuel
Necsa had also undertaken feasibility studies on the production and supply of
nuclear fuel to the envisaged fleet of nuclear reactors to be procured by South
Africa. This would ensure that the country was self-sufficient and did not depend for
nuclear fuel supplies on the few current global suppliers.
The company is a key player and a global leader in nuclear medicine, exporting life-
saving medical isotopes to more than 60 countries.
During the visit, committee members toured the Necsa site, the
training and
manufacturing facilities, as well as the nuclear medicine and the fluorine plants. The
visit, said the committee, was primarily to study what happened at Phelindaba, and
to assess if Necsa was ready for the new nuclear build programme.
The government needed to speak openly about the nuclear build programme, it
stressed.
"Government needs to engage the country on the positive and negative aspects of
the build programme," said committee chairman Fikile Majola. "Issues of
confidentiality need to be explained where they exist."
Transparency needed
The committee was of the view that the country needed to have a discussion on the
procurement process of the nuclear build programme. Members of Parliament
needed to engage with relevant stakeholders, said Majola. "We need to remove the
secrecy surrounding the build programme and have a public discourse on the issue."
The members welcomed the localisation aspect included
in the nuclear build
programme, saying this would create employment opportunities and would
contribute to skills development.
Parliament needed to find a mechanism of a co-ordinated approach that would bring
committees together to deal with and focus on the nuclear build programme, said
Majola.
On the visit, the committee was impressed by the medical products produced by
Necsa's NTP division, particularly those used to detect cancer. It encouraged the
corporation to find ways to roll out this product in deep rural areas where people
often did not go for cancer screening.
Today, the committee is at MegaWatt Park, Eskom's headquarters, where
discussions will focus on challenges facing the electricity supplier.
SAinfo reporter
Pelindaba Nuclear Research Centre, west of Pretoria. (Image: Wikimedia Commons: NJR ZA)
