Stefaans Brmmer
The Cabinet is expected to “bless” the construction of a controversial new nuclear power station in January, but environmentalists have threatened legal action against the government if it gets the nod.
Eskom confirms it will be briefing the Cabinet on the project in January, and says it hopes this will result in a statement supporting construction of the first Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR), a new-generation nuclear power station being developed by the electricity parastatal. The government has previously promised there would be no decision until all stakeholders, including the public, have been consulted.
Eskom started investigating the PBMR in 1993. The revolutionary design is claimed to be safe, but major nuclear powers including the United States and Germany have failed to apply it commercially.
Now Eskom bets it is the best solution to meet South Africa’s future energy needs and has already spent R90-million on research and design. It is seeking approval to start building the first reactor – a demonstration model – in 2001 at Koeberg near Cape Town, the site of South Africa’s only existing nuclear power station.
Eskom heavyweights briefed President Thabo Mbeki on the project last week.
Earthlife Africa fired off a letter to Mbeki arguing the Cabinet had no right in terms of the Constitution and environmental legislation to base a decision only on Eskom’s input. “To consider a decision regarding construction of an untested nuclear reactor – solely or primarily on the basis of input from the developer – would be inconsistent with [the] government’s environmental management responsibilities.”
A Cabinet “blessing” cannot remove separate hurdles to construction, which include licensing by the Council for Nuclear Safety and an environmental impact assessment at the Koeberg site, but opponents say the government will be jumping the gun and reneging on previous guarantees to hear all sides.
Earthlife Africa representative Richard Worthington said his organisation was already consulting lawyers with a view to a legal challenge.
The cost implications of the PBMR project are staggering. Eskom projects development costs will come to R540- million. Each reactor will total more than R600-million extra. Opponents argue that once the demonstration model has been built – and well in excess of R1- billion spent – there will be no turning back on the entire project of at least 10 further reactors.
The costs pale in comparison to Eskom’s profit projections. It claims there is wide international interest and projects that profits, mostly from exports, will total R16-billion by 2016.
The government has washed its hands of Eskom chair Reuel Khoza’s “conflict of interest” in the PBMR programme.
Khoza stands to benefit commercially from the project, but is also involved in policy formulation.
As chair of the board of Eskom, he has been party to the decisions to push ahead with the development of the PBMR rather than other energy supply options.
But Khoza is also chair of Co-ordinated Network Investments (CNI), an empowerment company which bought R15-million worth of shares, or 29%, of the industrial IST Group in July last year – more than a year after Khoza took over the helm at Eskom.
IST is one of the main contractors developing the nuclear reactor for Eskom. CNI, and Khoza personally, stand to gain substantial profits if the PBMR project succeeds.
Khoza also sits on Eskom’s nuclear oversight committee, which “interfaces” with the government on nuclear matters . He was part of the high-level Eskom delegation which briefed Mbeki last week.