Eskom looks to nuclear plants

Note: I warn the public of South Africa not to believe a word from Eskom's mouths. They are turning out to be the biggest liars of all. They say one thing and then 3 months later they say something completely different. They do not even seem "able" to even read their own "tripe" that they fed the press in the past. They just continue to feed more bull**** into the system ... and everyone just believes it because they are Eskom "surely" they must know what they are talking about? .... nonsense !!!!! The media of this country have FAILED democracy, they have become a mouthpiece for the government and they fail to print anything from those opposing nuclear energy. Nobody can honestly be stupid enough to believe nuclear energy is just the great, wonderful, god-sent saviour ..... world-wide this industry has caused nothing but turnmoil, heartache, cancer and death. Now they want to poison South African's too so that a few men can excercise their EGO's and Bank Balances so that the rest of South Africa can suffer.


Eskom looks to nuclear plants
James Macharia | Johannesburg, South Africa
05 September 2007 07:21

South Africa's largely coal-driven power utility Eskom has hit the limits of its capacity and aims to double output by 2025, with nuclear plants supplying more than a quarter of future energy compared with 6% now.

Eskom's chief executive Jacob Maroga told a coal conference on Tuesday the state-owned firm would cut back on polluting coal-fired plants that have made South Africa the world's lowest cost electricity producer.

"The issues we're faced with are costs and lead time, but the debate around global warming is key, because coal is a big contributor to carbon dioxide emissions," Maroga told the Coaltrans conference.

"We can now finally say we have run out of surplus capacity."

Maroga said plans to boost output to 80 000 megawatts (MW) by 2025 would include adding 20 000 MW of nuclear-supplied energy as well as extra renewable capacity.

The proportion of output from coal would fall below 70% by 2025 from 86% currently.

"All over the world nuclear is coming back," he said. "Going forward the electricity prices we have will not be sustainable."

The two reactors at South Africa's Koeberg, Africa's only nuclear-fired facility, generate some 6% of the country's electricity, mainly used around Cape Town.

Maroga said South Africa, one of the biggest producers of uranium, was building a multi-billion dollar new technology pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR), and has mooted building more conventional plants to add to Koeberg.

Eskom was currently planning to expand yearly by 4%, to keep up with a projected 6% growth in the gross domestic product of Africa's biggest economy.

The company has already outlined a R150-billion spending programme from 2007 to 2011, with more to follow. - Reuters

Source: http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=318364&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__business/