ENERGY GENERATION
Nuclear energy has a place in SA’s supply mix
The nature of electricity is it has to be used when it is produced, and nuclear offers base-load guarantees, writes Knox Msebenzi
SA does not have an oversupply of electricity, despite load shedding coming to an end over the medium term, power being exported and old coal-fired power stations being scheduled for closure. This is the view of Australian environmentalist Ben Heard on a recent visit to SA. He argues that if 7-million tonnes of wood is being burned a year, if a mother cannot warm her baby’s bottles and a grandmother has to choose between heating her home and cooking, then SA does not have a power supply problem but a distribution problem. His fresh eyes on our old problems are insightful. In many ways, we have become used to our inequality and poverty. We cease to see the injustice in plain sight. Arguing that we should increase supply drastically to accommodate the developmental needs of SA is a humane means of saving the environment. Electricity is not cheap if poor people cannot afford it. There are issues that SA has to face. Eskom has excess capacity. It has to bring independent power producers...
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