US committed to nuclear energy and eager for SA cooperation
Although the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan, following the devastating earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, set the global nuclear energy sector back, this has since been overcome. So affirmed US Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman at the Nuclear Africa 2014 conference in Midrand (between Johannesburg and Pretoria) on Tuesday.
"We had a setback after Fukushima. The whole world took a step back," he said. "Since that time there has been a renewed commitment by most countries, that nuclear has a critical role."
"I think the votes are in, what the role of nuclear energy will be," he added. "We now have in the order of 70 nuclear plants being built around the world. The needs are tremendous, the opportunities are even greater."
Poneman highlighted that President Barack Obama had reaffirmed the importance of nuclear power in the US energy system. The President regarded it as an important factor in fulfilling his climate change and energy transformation agenda.
An important part of Obama's climate change policy was international cooperation. "It's going to be critical that we work together," noted the Deputy Secretary. With South Africa, this cooperation could include the nuclear sector. The US, pointed out Poneman, has "a burgeoning relationship with South Africa".
"We certainly understand the approach [to nuclear energy they the South African government] are taking," he stated. "We have excellent [nuclear] training programmes – we have tremendous programmes. And we'd be happy to send students here, as well."
Poneman recalled South Africa's abandoned Pebble Bed Modular Reactor project, which had involved US nuclear company Westinghouse. He suggested that some in the industry were still inspired by the idea of small modular nuclear reactors.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
FlameBlock is a proudly South African company that engineers, manufactures and supplies fire intumescent and retardant products to the fire...
VISIT SHOWROOM
ENVASS is a customer and solutions-driven environmental consultancy with established divisions, serviced by highly qualified and experienced...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
