NUCLEAR POWER
GAVIN KEETON: Follies still possible — approach with care
Hopefully, the recent court order declaring SA’s proposed nuclear deal process unconstitutional provides breathing space for a careful reassessment of our future electricity needs. What is required are unemotional projections of electricity demand and how to meet it most cost-effectively, including environmental costs. Rushing into large-scale building for extra capacity that may not be needed and may be more costly than alternatives would be foolish. The government’s determination to build 9.6GW of nuclear energy is based on projections in the 2010 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). This calculated that SA would need to double generating capacity, from 44GW in 2010, to 89GW by 2030. However, IRPs in 2013 and 2016 cut this to 82GW, while work done for the National Planning Commission suggests only 61GW will be needed. The decline in projected need reflects the reality that SA’s electricity consumption today is lower than in 2008. Demand remained flat because the economy grew at less th...
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