Plan to include small modular reactors in SA's energy mix still alive - Ramokgopa

CAPE TOWN - Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said that the plan to include small modular reactors in the energy mix was still alive. 

Ramokgopa was responding to the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in a written parliamentary reply on how far the country was from building its own small modular reactor.

Ramokgopa also told Parliament that the R200 billion 20-year Karpowership project for emergency power had been terminated and was no longer an option.

The Integrated Resource Plan of 2019 called for the country to construct two small modular reactors by 2030 to boost the country’s energy capacity.

The energy minister told Parliament that the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy "plans to include small modular reactors (SMRs) as part of its broader nuclear energy strategy".

He said that in 2020, the department went out to test the market to look for information for both conventional pressurised water reactors and small modular reactors.

Ramokgopa said the department had further developed a draft strategy and position paper based on the outcomes of the request for information (RFI) to implement the 2,500 megawatt nuclear new building programme.

He said the outcomes of the consultations would inform the plan of the country for building its own small modular reactors.

Meanwhile, Ramokgopa has again confirmed that they’re no longer pursuing the three Karpowership projects since they "failed to reach legal and commercial close" by 31 December last year, putting an end to the idea.