State-owned power utility Eskom was hoping that a clear strategy for South Africa’s nuclear plans would emerge in the next few months, as nuclear was still “firmly” part of the country’s electricity generation plans, CEO Jacob Maroga said this week.

He noted in a results presentation on Thursday that nuclear was the biggest opportunity for the utility to limit its carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions.

However, pursuing nuclear would require a collaborated, integrated strategy, given the size of such projects, as well as a number of related issues, such as safety.

Maroga said that he could not say how the utility would likely fund nuclear projects, as it would first have to complete the funding model for its current expansion projects.

The utility, which posted a R9,7-billion loss in the 2009 financial year, was expecting an R80-billion funding shortfall for its expansion programme. It was working on finalising a funding model by end-September.

Eskom had terminated the procurement process for the proposed multibillion-rand Nuclear 1 project in December last year, after the utility’s board decided that it could not make an investment decision to proceed, owing to financial pressures.

The utility generated 221,7-million tons of CO₂ in the 2009 financial year, and believed that nuclear and renewable energy projects would play a major part in reducing its CO₂ emissions.

Maroga emphasised that the utility had to change its CO₂ footprint, not only from a climate change point of view, but also to ensure that South Africa was not put at a huge cost risk, as the cost of carbon would become a big factor, going forward.