Carol Paton is dead right about Eskom and the way it is misrepresenting the case for nuclear power and against renewable energy (Expect Molefe to sell us the nuke line, July 26).In fact, she has been quite conservative because the levelised cost of electricity from Eskom’s new power stations is likely to be between R1.05 and R1.20 a unit, rather than the R1 a unit she used. The real madness, however, remains the reliance on the 2010 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which government and Eskom regard as gospel. The fact is that the cost of solar photovoltaic is now one third of what it was in 2010. That alone should be enough to throw out the old plan.But it gets worse. Since the IRP was published we have had the discovery of vast gas fields off the Mozambique coast and low natural gas prices. The combination of relatively clean gas and renewable energy is a heaven-sent opportunity for cheaper, cleaner power and water saving on big scale.What Eskom should be working on are ways to stor...
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