Pretoria - South Africa will be unable to build a new nuclear power station unless government signs guarantees for its funding.

According to Dr Yves Guénon, director of business development at French power company Areva, the amount involved is simply too large for any company to commit itself to such a project without a government guarantee.

Guénon says if government proceeds with its plan to establish a nuclear power programme of up to 20 000MW, this could create as many as 77 000 permanent jobs. Guénon was speaking at a seminar on nuclear power in Pretoria.

He said that unless the South African government took a decision on the new nuclear power station soon, it would be impossible to add new nuclear power to the national grid by 2018.

By that time the two new coal-fired power stations, Medupi and Kusile, should be completed - but what would follow, he asked. Demand for electricity would still be growing.

Guénon says South Africans should realise that if the economy is growing at 3% a year they could experience load-shedding for the next 20 years.

He said renewable energy may be a good idea in terms of short-term electricity supply, but in the long run it's too expensive and provides too little power to solve South Africa's problem.

While the initial capital costs of a nuclear power station are higher than those of a coal-fired plant, over its lifetime a nuclear power station costs less than any other power station.

Dr Kelvin Kemm, chief executive of Stratek Business Strategy Consultants, agrees.

He reckons that the capital cost of a nuclear power station is about 1.5 times that of a coal-fired one, but the operating cost - including fuel cost - is minimal compared with the cost of coal.

And this does not include the possible impact of a future carbon tax, which could make coal power incredibly expensive.

On global markets a carbon tax may in future be levied on the products of countries using "dirty" power.

Coal-fired electricity is one of the dirtiest forms of power and South Africa is currently largely dependent on it.

Nuclear power is in turn regarded as "clean" and would not be subject to this type of taxation.

Dr Rita Bowser, deputy president for the southern African region of American power giant Westinghouse, says it takes six to seven years to build a nuclear power station.

She adds that time is running out for the South African government to decide on a new nuclear power plant.

The economic crisis has enabled the world to hold its breath. As soon as economies recover the global demand for nuclear power will escalate sharply.

South Africa could find itself at the back of the queue when it decides to develop a new nuclear power station.

Guénon urged government already to set about training people to work in the nuclear power industry, further underscoring the need for a speedy decision.

- Sake24.com

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