DEPARTMENTAL APPROVAL
NGOs get advice on resisting nuclear plant in Cape
Concerns centre on the cost factor and possible predetermined outcome to benefit Russian firm Rosatom
Nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) spent the weekend seeking legal advice on how to appeal or stop Eskom from acting on the approval it got from the Department of Environmental Affairs for a nuclear facility at Duynefontein near Cape Town. Eskom wants to add 9,600MW of nuclear capacity to help wean the economy off coal in what could be one of the world’s biggest nuclear contracts in decades. SA’s nuclear energy policy has been mired in uncertainty. Opposition parties, energy experts and NGOs are mostly worried about the cost factor. Some also claim the process has been predetermined to benefit Russian firm Rosatom. Earlier in 2017 the High Court in Cape Town ruled a nuclear ministerial determination was invalid as the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) did not do the requisite public hearings. Energy analyst Chris Yelland said the approval was just one of many steps that must be taken before Eskom could act on it. These steps include a ministerial determination, approval by t...
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