Nuclear power has been very much in the news lately.

President Jacob Zuma mentioned nuclear power in the State of the Nation address and said that South Africa needed to move on nuclear. The new Minister of Energy, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, later also mentioned the need for nuclear.

As I have said more than once before, nuclear power carries a great deal of emotional loading. This, in turn, leads to the strangest ideas doing the rounds, as people who know little to nothing about the subject pronounce opinions with the sound of great authority.

During the President’s address in Parliament, he mentioned spending large sums of money on the development of infrastructure such as roads, railways, harbour development and so on. These comments were greeted with applause. People wanted to hear that large sums of money were going to be spent on developing the country.

Then, strangely, as soon as one mentions spending large sums of money on nuclear power, there are many howls of protest and comments like: “We can’t afford it.”

Let us be clear; producing electricity is not an option – it is a necessity. We are not going to succeed in providing the roads, railways and harbour developments if there is insufficient electricity. So, bluntly, electricity production is part of the infrastructure development that the President was so upbeat about.

Years ago, a good economist friend of mine told me that people mostly confuse the terms ‘cost’ and ‘price’. This explanation has always stuck with me and often comes to mind. He said that ‘price’ is what you pay in the beginning, and ‘cost’ can only be calculated at the end of a product’s lifetime. He is quite correct.

So, if you buy two pairs of shoes, with the one pair’s ‘price’ being R500 and the second pair’s R1 000, people will mostly say that the second pair ‘cost’ more. But, if the R500 pair lasts only one year and the R1 000 pair lasts four years, then the cost of the R1 000 pair is less because it actually cost R250 a year. So, the next time you buy shoes, buy the cheaper ones, the R1 000 pair, because they cost you less when you work out your yearly expenses.

Research work carried out at North-West University has shown that nuclear power is the cheapest of all power sources. It costs less than the others, and that includes coal, wind, solar, and anything else. You must measure this cost over a life cycle.

One huge advantage of nuclear power is that the fuel quantity is so small. That means that the fuel cost is very low and is highly predictable. For example, if the Koeberg nuclear power station were a coal-fired power station, it would use six trainloads of coal a day. However, since it is nuclear, it uses only one truckload of fuel a year. Note: year, not day.

If the coal price were to double, it would be a financial disaster for a coal-fired power station, but if the uranium price were to double, it would makes essentially no difference to a nuclear power plant. So, fuel price planning is much easier for nuclear.

Because of some advanced technology issues, but largely because of very high quality assurance standards and substantial safety devices, and standby backups, nuclear power stations require more capital expenditure upfront.

“Oh dear,” people say. I think they should be saying: “Oh, fantastic! Great news!” Why? Last year, then Department of Energy director-general Nelisiwe Magubane said that a localisation target of 50% was quite reasonable for the first of the projected three nuclear power plants to be built in the Cape.

Fifty per cent of a large amount of money spent locally is great news. It should be cheered, as was the President’s comments about expenditure on road, rail, harbours, and so on.

But the news is better than that. In aiming for the 50% target, companies need to look at the entire world market. Currently, there are some 70 nuclear reactors being built worldwide, and many more on the drawing board. So, this is a substantial market to aim for, with the goal of providing South African-built nuclear parts and assemblies. We certainly have the technology and expertise to do it. We now need a government and industry partnership to get the show on the road. The nuclear power industry can deliver huge profit and major inflow of foreign money. It is to be welcomed.

More good news is that industry can start immediately. We can start now by exporting valves, pumps and other assemblies. We do not have to wait until our own nuclear plants need the parts. Right now is not too soon. Yes, there are quality and protocol rules and requirements, but get that right . . . and away you go!