ENERGY PLANNING
Nuclear build may still see light of day despite resistance
The political balance of forces will determine SA's nuclear build outcome, writes Carol Paton
Is SA’s nuclear deal getting closer or further away? This shouldn’t be a speculative question in a country with energy planning processes that are evidence-based and involve sophisticated modelling. But SA’s energy planning has become so politicised that what happens in the end will depend not on least-cost and most benefit, but on the political balance of forces. The last Cabinet meeting of the year last week saw a flurry of activity indicating that the deal, which suffered a setback with the publication of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) three weeks ago, is still alive. A number of appointments were made including reconfirming Phumzile Tshelane as CE of the SA Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) and appointing new boards for the National Radioactive Waste Disposal Institute and the National Nuclear Regulator.But, getting back to the political struggle. The IRP base-case, which is typically the case that prevails, suggested that no new nuclear energy would be needed until 2037. A...
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