The Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa (Niasa) has confirmed that it will co-host a nuclear conference next month. Called the Nuclear Technology Imbizo 2022, the conference’s other co-hosts will be the South African Young Nuclear Professionals Society, Women in Nuclear South Africa, and the Southern African Radiation Protection Society. The Imbizo will be held at the Cape Town International Conference Centre and take place on March 16 and 17.

The association highlighted that South Africa had suffered from “massive load-shedding” (power cuts or outages) imposed by the State-owned national electricity utility Eskom over the past couple of years, including during this year already. Most of the breakdowns that triggered this load-shedding had occurred and were occurring in the utility’s fleet of coal-fired power stations. Further, under the Integrated Resource Plan 2019, 11 500 MW of this coal capacity would have to be decommissioned from 2030 on.

Niasa deputy president Gaopalelwe Santswere affirmed that the Department of Minerals Resources and Energy’s request for proposal (RfP) for the construction of 2 500 MW in nuclear generation capacity was “much anticipated” and “exciting news” for the local industry. The RfP was expected to be released by the end of the current financial year. The association was of the opinion that construction of one or more new nuclear power plants (NPPs) in the country would provide significant relief to Eskom, regarding dispatchable electricity.  

“South Africa needs to move with speed from high carbon emissions to low carbon emissions and [that] will never be achieved without the inclusion of nuclear technology,” he also pointed out. “Niasa is also appreciative of the news announced two weeks ago by Necsa [the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation] with the regard to the issuance of [a] Request for Information for the Multipurpose Research Reactor (MPR).”

The imbizo will be attended by international as well as national delegates, Niasa noted. There will be both industry executives and government officials present, presenting best practices, innovations and ideas that have been developed and implemented over the past decade, and will be, into the future. The conference will provide a platform for discussions on how best to implement the proposed new NPP project and the planned new MPR programme.