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South African government wants country to be a world nuclear competitor

DIKOBE BEN MARTINS Ensure that South Africa can compete with the rest of the world

DIKOBE BEN MARTINS Ensure that South Africa can compete with the rest of the world

Photo by Duane Daws

6th December 2013

By: Keith Campbell

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

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South African Energy Minister Dikobe Ben Martins has affirmed that government wants the country to be globally competitive in the nuclear sector. “Our responsibility has always been . . . to ensure that, in nuclear energy, South Africa can compete with the rest of the world,” he said, pointing out that previously the country had only had a small number of nuclear specialists.

“South Africa, the South African Cabinet [and] the South African government have committed to ensuring the security of our energy supply in South Africa by utilising the energy sources that we can . . . that we should . . . utilise,” he stated. This includes nuclear, along with renewables and carbon-based energy (coal and gas). Government had committed to sourcing 16% of the country’s energy from nuclear power.

Martins was delivering the opening address at the recent Atomex Africa, a regional forum for the South African nuclear industry (and those local companies interested in becoming nuclear industry suppliers) organised by Russian State-owned nuclear group Rosatom in Johannesburg. “We are meeting, as government officials, as various officials from various departments, [forum delegates] as stakeholders [and] others as potential stakeholders to interact on how to enhance our relationship with Rosatom,” he observed, “[and] how to make the greater South African public aware of the potential that exists in this sector.”

He cited three “important tenets” that are guiding govern- ment: localisation, skills transfer and job creation. “How will our engagements, at the end of the day, create a better life for our people?” For example, the development of a local nuclear industry energy should, for the country’s pupils and students, “open new vistas of career opportunities”.

The Minister and officials from his department are, he pointed out, engaged in a programme of study tours to various countries to examine their various energy technologies and power generation networks. These visits embraced various forms of energy, including renewables and hydroelectricity, as well as nuclear.

The morning session of the forum was marked by the signing of a memorandum of under- standing (MoU) between the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (better known as Necsa) and two Russian companies, members of the Rosatom group: Niaep-ASE and Nukem Technologies. Under the MoU, the three companies have under- taken to cooperate in design, engineering, procurement for and construction of nuclear facilities and capital projects. “The parties are interested in developing projects and initiatives in the nuclear industry in South Africa, expanding their mutual presence in the nuclear market and industry of South Africa in establishing partnerships and providing the necessary support and [ensuring] involvement of local South African companies working for nuclear and power industries,” stated Rosatom in a press release.

The three companies have selected priority areas in which to develop business opportunities, and engineering and construction projects. These are nuclear and thermal power plants, spent fuel treatment and storage, nuclear waste disposal solutions and facilities and nuclear decommissioning and remediation solutions and facilities and related engineering solutions and facillities.

Necsa is South Africa’s State-owned nuclear energy company. It undertakes nuclear design, engineering and manufacturing activities for South African facilities. It operates the Safari-1 research reactor, is a major world producer of radioisotopes, carries out nuclear and radiation sciences research and development and processes uranium. It is also the operator and manager of the Vaalputs National Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility, in the Northern Cape province (on behalf of the National Radio-active Waste Disposal Institute).

Niaep-ASE is a nuclear engineering company involved in the design, building and decommissioning of nuclear power plants (NPPs), both inside and outside of Russia. The company currently has 30% of the global market in the engineering and building of NPPs. Nukem Technologies, which is based in Germany, is a subsidiary of Niaep-ASE. It specialises in spent fuel and radio- active waste management, nuclear facility decommissioning, and consulting and engineering services.

 

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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