South Africa plans to add 2,500 megawatts of new nuclear generation to tackle power outages in the country, the government announced on Tuesday.
The first of the new units will probably start operating in 2032 or 2033, as stated by the South African Energy Ministry's Deputy Director General of Nuclear Power, Zizamele Mbambo, in a press briefing. He mentioned that South Africa has already requested proposals from "different vendors".
"We are excited about the prospects, and we are confident about our ability to ensure that within a reasonable period of time we are able (to announce) preferred bidders," the country's Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa told in a news conference.
Ramokgopa referred to the additional 2,500MW of nuclear power as "a significant milestone," adding that the measure would be a part of the government's plan to "ending the existential challenge that is confronting the country," concerning long term energy security.
The country's sole nuclear power station, the Koeberg, near Cape Town, is currently operating at half capacity as its unit 2 was shut down for maintenance after unit 1 was restarted following the outage period required to extend the plant's life by 20 years, reports say.
With a view to overcome the energy crisis, South Africa's cabinet endorsed on Sunday an updated Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which outlines plans for the growth of power supply until 2050, Ramokgopa revealed.
In November, the country accelerated plans for three gigawatts (GW) of gas-fired power generation to address the crisis, Ramokgopa said.
In addition, the country recently received about 450 gasoline generators from China "to alleviate the impacts of load shedding" in public facilities, the energy minister highlighted. He also noted that the second shipment of 150 KW diesel generators, electric vehicle generators and off-grid photovoltaic energy storage systems, is expected in a few weeks.
The donation was part of a memorandum of understanding signed between South Africa and China at the BRICS Summit in August.
Earlier in mid-August, South African Ambassador to Russia Mzuvukile Jeff Maqetuka discussed with Russian Deputy Energy Minister Sergey Mochalnikov a joint project for building a gas power plant in the African country, along with the supply of Russian liquefied natural gas for new generating capacity.