South Africa's nuclear industry initially reacted with some concerns about the suggested delays to the country's nuclear new build program in draft updated energy plans released in late November, writes Knox Msebenzi.

South African utility Eskom has released a request for information for the country's nuclear new build program. It stressed the exercise will not create any financial commitments or obligations to Eskom or the government.

South Africa's nuclear regulatory framework is robust, but improvements are needed in the country's regulation of the use of radiation sources, an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) review mission has found.

South African nuclear utility Eskom said it is confident its probabilistic seismic safety studies for Thyspunt adequately characterise the site's seismic hazards. It denied allegations by a research institute that it had not shared its findings on the seismic safety of the Eastern Cape site.

South African utility Eskom will stick with its plan to invite this year applications from companies interested in building new nuclear plants. This is despite the government's newly announced aim to increase the country's nuclear capacity by 1359 MWe by 2037 - less and over a longer timeframe than the previously announced target.

South Africa is well-equipped to have nuclear power plants and has a nuclear safety culture, with Koeberg having operated safely for over 32 years, utility Eskom said yesterday. The performance of the Koeberg plant has also consistently been one of the strongest within the Eskom fleet, it said, adding that it is also the cheapest energy provider in South Africa's fleet.

The Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa (NIASA) has welcomed the announcement of the start date for request for proposal (RFP) for the procurement of new nuclear power plants. It called for localization to be a key factor in the selection of a vendor through a "fair and transparent" procurement process.

South African nuclear operator Eskom has launched a five-year project to train 100 nuclear plant operators to support the country's current and future nuclear needs.

South African utility Eskom has submitted site applications for nuclear installations at Thyspunt in the Eastern Cape and Duynefontein in the Western Cape to the country's National Nuclear Regulator (NNR).

South Africa's Department of Energy has received Cabinet approval to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the country's 9600 MWe nuclear new build program. The final funding model will be informed by the response of the market to the RFP and be submitted to Cabinet thereafter for final approval and implementation.

South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal has upheld an appeal from Westinghouse against Eskom's 2014 award of a contract for replacement steam generators for the Koeberg nuclear plant to Areva.

Nuclear power is the only source that can provide the baseload electricity that South Africa needs to sustain its long-term economic growth while reducing its carbon emissions, according to a panel of experts from industry, civil society and academia.