Koeberg nuclear power station
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has urged government to review its stance on nuclear energy, saying nuclear was an “expensive investment [on the road] to national suicide”.
In his State of the Nation address (SoNA) on Tuesday night, President Jacob Zuma, in a move welcomed by the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, gave his support to the further development of nuclear energy, along with shale gas, in a bid to ensure South Africa’s energy security.
However, following a national executive committee meeting, on Wednesday, the NUM said nuclear should be excluded from South Africa’s proposed energy mix, as the risks and dangers “far outweigh” the benefits, citing the events of the Fukushima and Chernobyl nuclear disasters.
Despite talk of energy source diversification and nuclear producing well over 9 000 MW of electricity, and its alleged benefits to the economy, the union did not support nuclear energy as part of the mooted mix for energy sustainability, general secretary Frans Baleni said.
Government was converting the National Nuclear and Energy executive coordinating committee of Cabinet into the Energy Security Cabinet subcommittee, which would be responsible for the executive oversight, coordination and direction of activities for the energy sector.
“Work needs to be done at a technical level on all forms of energy, especially nuclear energy and shale gas, with regards to funding, safety, exploitation and the local manufacture of components,” Zuma commented in his SoNA.