Power on: Koeberg nuclear station. The ANC Youth League has supported the development of nuclear energy, identifying it as “critical to advance massive industrial development”. Photo: Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The ANC Youth League has supported the development of nuclear energy, identifying it as “critical to advance massive industrial development” in a policy discussion document.
Nuclear power, the document suggests, is not only a proven source of stable and reliable energy — but it is also environmentally friendly.
The document — prepared in the lead-up to the youth league’s national congress, set to kick off at the tailend of this month — discusses South Africa’s energy crisis at length, also weighing in on the trajectory of the country’s just energy transition.
The 15-year energy crisis, which is at the heart of the country’s economic woes, is a thorn in the side of an ANC battling to justify its leadership in the run-up to next year’s national elections. Meanwhile, the governing party has had to balance competing interests amid the country’s transition towards a greener economy.
South Africa’s energy problem is “a baseload problem”, the youth league document states.
Although the discussion supports the transition to greener alternatives as part of South Africa’s energy mix — necessary to cushion the economy against climate shocks — it also asserts that renewable technologies alone are not sufficient to sustain “the expansion and building of heavy industries”.
Last week, the Presidential Climate Commission, established by President Cyril Ramaphosa to oversee South Africa’s energy transition, said it had ruled out nuclear power as playing a part in the country’s energy mix.
In a report containing its recommendations for the future energy mix, the commission backed a least-cost option that includes 50 to 60 gigawatts of renewable energy and no new coal and nuclear power.
“Not only are these the cheapest, secure options, but they are also the only options with build times short enough to make a meaningful impact on load-shedding. These technologies would also attract the best finance terms,” the report read.
The commission’s position on nuclear has put it at odds with the department of mineral resources and energy, led by Gwede Mantashe. Last month, during the Enlit Africa conference in Cape Town, Mantashe announced that his department would issue a request for proposal for 2 500 megawatts of nuclear power as part of the Integrated Resources Plan (IRP), which sets out the basis for new energy procurement.
The youth league’s document suggests that the department’s request for information on nuclear energy indicates that the government “acknowledges and understands the role nuclear energy played in South Africa since its first commercialisation”.
Mantashe’s department has previously argued that nuclear power was cheaper and cleaner than other sources of energy, which the Presidential Climate Commission has disputed.
Last month, Ramaphosa transferred competencies from Mantashe to new Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, empowering him to determine the energy sources and mix required to keep the lights on. These decisions, however, feed into the IRP, which falls under Mantashe’s responsibilities.
Mantashe has been overseeing an update of the 2019 IRP, which was produced under his watch.