Even assuming that SA can find the funds, we would do well to take into account the non-negotiable costs of decommissioning and waste management Pelindaba nuclear plant, just outside Pretoia — PICTURE: SYDNEY SESHIBEDI Consider decommissioning costs before committing to new nuclear power investmentAs South Africa prepares to invest in new nuclear power, we may do well to consider the other end of such investment: decommissioning. In the north of Germany, the Greifswald nuclear power plant (also known as Lubmin) has been undergoing the process of decommissioning since 1990. Before its closure, with a total planned capacity of 8 x 400MW plant built, but with only 5 reactors fuelled, Lubmin was to be the largest nuclear power station in East Germany prior to reunification. The reactors were of the VVER-440/V-230 type, or so-called second generation of Soviet-design. When it is concluded, the full process of decommissioning at Lubmin will have taken 30 years from first shutdown. In 199...
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