Johannesburg - Nuclear co-operation agreements between South Africa and five countries confirm Russia’s status as the front runner for the construction of 9 600MW of new generating capacity, with China seemingly close behind, but this remains subject to this country’s law and must be ratified by Parliament.
The agreements were tabled by Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson on Friday and cover co-operation in fields that include construction, research, the exchange of technology and material, as well as questions of non-proliferation, safety and confidentiality.
While the deals signed with the US, France and Korea set out the areas of co-operation in generic terms, and have some sections in common, the Russian agreement specifies that co-operation would apply to the “development of a comprehensive new build” programme.
Article 3 of the agreement says the parties would “create the conditions for the development of strategic co-operation and partnership” in areas that would include”the design, construction, operation and decommissioning of (new nuclear power plant) units based on the VVER reactor technology… with total installed capacity of about 9.6 gigawatts”.
This refers to Russian nuclear firm Rosatom’s pressurised water reactors.
The agreement outlines co-operation in support of South Africa’s industrial base, localisation of the manufacturing of components and the integration of manufacturing capacity for the joint marketing of products to third countries.
None of this detail is contained in the other agreements, although that with China also refers to South Africa’s planned 9 600-megawatt nuclear build programme and the aims of facilitating ”localisation for industrialisation, economic and social development”.
Localisation and financing will be important considerations when South Africa begins the procurement process. The willingness of Russia and China to assist in both areas suggests they are ahead on points at this stage.
When news of the agreement with Russia was first reported in that country, it was reflected as a done deal that it would be building the full 9 600MW.
However, South Africa denied this was the case and said at the time the agreement was just one among those to be concluded with other potential vendor countries in preparation for a procurement process, now expected to get under way this year.
Department of Energy officials said the agreement could not be made public as it contained sensitive information that should not be shared with other potential bidders.
There have since been “vendor parades” in which would-be suppliers have demonstrated their ability to meet South Africa’s requirements.
President Jacob Zuma said in his State of the Nation address in February that the first nuclear power from the new build was to come online by 2023.
That Russia is further down the track in preparing its bid is also clear from details given on the potential siting of new power stations.
These are not included in the other agreements.
The Russian agreement says the parties would collaborate in the construction of two new units with a total capacity of up to 2.4GW at Koeberg, Thyspunt or Bantamsklip, with a further 7.2GW to be built at sites yet to be identified.
Like the other agreements, it provides for a joint co-ordinating committee to oversee its implementation and monitor progress. The Russian agreement is the only one that appears to say it would exclude the involvement of third countries in the programme unless it consented to this.
Political Bureau