It is surely no coincidence that just as the new Integrated Resource Plan that will set out projections for SA’s long-term energy demand and determine the energy mix is nearing completion, Eskom has stepped up its public campaign against renewable energy and in favour of nuclear. The IRP 2010, which should be updated every two years, is four years out of date having got snarled up in SA’s toxic energy politics. The reason for the delay has been the obsession at the top levels of government with pulling off a mega nuclear deal. An updated iteration of the IRP that is an exercise undertaken by expert modellers, made a brief appearance on the internet in December 2013, before vanishing from the public eye. The likely reason was that it pushed the case for nuclear energy out from 2023 to sometime between 2025 and 2035. It was not adopted by the Cabinet and never became policy. Instead, the government planned for nuclear energy on the basis of the outdated plan. But as time has passed an...
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