Earthlife Africa is “disillusioned” by what it called South African Minister Alec Erwin’s “continuing confusion” about the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR).
“Erwin cites the PBMR as an efficient and economical method of providing power. Since its inception, costs and schedules on the PBMR have continued to escalate,” Earthlife Africa said in a statement on Tuesday.
“In 1998, the demonstration plant was expected to be completed in 2003 and in 1999 was expected to cost R2-billion. In 2002 completion was expected by 2007 with a cost of R4-billion. By 2004, expected costs had risen to R10-billion and completion was expected in 2010.
“By last year the project was expected to costs R14,5-billion and completion by 2010 seemed unlikely in light of the fact that the design was not finalised. In fact, it is expected that the final design for the PBMR will have to include an as of yet excluded containment building. This is likely to increase costs even further,” it said.
Earthlife Africa said that this track record, the experimental nature of the reactor, the fact that the project’s majority shareholders are all in some way part of the South African government and that no orders had yet been placed, put the phrase “efficient and economical” in a new light.
The organisation said that Erwin continued “to disguise the truth about the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor”, claiming that it would produce 400MW.
“400MW is in fact the expected thermal output of one PBMR and equates to an expected output of 165MW of electricity,” Earthlife Africa noted.
“Further he claims that South Africa’s uranium supplies ensure security of supply. In fact uranium needs first to be enriched before it may be used to generate nuclear power. Enrichment is not done in South Africa and is an incredibly energy intensive process. Therefore the security of supply is hardly ensured,” Earthlife Africa said.
It added that Erwin failed “to appreciate the tremendous resources we are gifted with in the form of wind and sunshine” that could be used to generate electricity that was “truly clean”.
“It is arrogant in the extreme to assume that where the USA has invested at least $8-billion in scientific studies trying to and failing to find a solution to high-level nuclear waste that remains radioactive for 240Â 000 years, that South Africa would succeed”, the statement said.
“Renewable energies would allow us to meet the growth and development goals of South Africa, while simultaneously allowing us to leave the legacy of a clean and safe environment to our future generations,” Earthlife Africa said.
It added that the renewable energies had the potential for tremendous job-creation and were possibly the most direct link between investment and poverty-alleviation available.
“Having already missed the opportunity to invest in ground-breaking solar power technology at the University of Johannesburg, it is hoped that the South African government will fast-track the implementation of renewable energy
technologies,” said the statement. – I-Net Bridge