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Cape Town - South Africans could have to deal with major debt if the energy deal with Russian nuclear firm Rosatom costs as much as R1trn, an expert indicated.
“I hope it wouldn’t get to the situation of building six [nuclear reactors], which would make electricity very expensive [and] could lead to very big debts for the country,” Greenwhich University’s Professor Steve Thomas told Carte Blanche in an interview.
Thomas was a guest in South Africa at Earthlife Africa last week, where he presented a paper, Pay More with Nuclear.
Key driver for economic growth
Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson said the nuclear deal was a key driver for economic growth after signing a deal for SA to get up to eight nuclear reactors from Russia.
She said the deal paves the way for the building of up to 9.6GW of nuclear power plants based on Russian technology by 2030.
President Jacob Zuma also expressed government’s focus to create an additional 9 000MW of nuclear capacity in his State of the Nation address on June 17, 2014.
Cost estimated at R1trn
Thomas told Carte Blanche that the cost of 9.6GW of nuclear power plants would cost over a R1trn, adding that the reactors that South Africa is considering are behind schedule, are not in operation and have not been tested. One in France is three times over budget.
“None of the new designs that Eskom and the South Africa government are considering are in operation anywhere, so you would be buying something that is unproven,” he said.
Five sites identified
Carte Blanche said five sites have been identified.
One near Cape St Francis, another adjacent to Koeberg, one at Bantamsklip and two others in the Northern Cape.
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- Fin24.
