South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to enable it to assess nuclear technologies that could be considered for a national programme to build 2500 MW of new nuclear capacity. The programme could include conventional pressurised water reactors (PWRs), small modular reactors (SMRs) or a blend of technologies.
South Africa is the only country in Africa to have a civil nuclear programme, with two reactors at the Koeberg power plant, in service for more than 30 years. They produce 1,860 MW, or about 4 percent of the country’s total energy. Currently, 90 percent of the country’s electricity is generated from coal-fired stations.