By Adri Senekal De Wet and Corrie Kruger
Dr Kelvin Kemm , a nuclear physicist was appointed as chairperson of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) in 2016.
Adri Senekal De Wet Executive Editor of Business Report and Independent Analyst Corrie Kruger caught up with Dr Kemm for a most informative interview.
Koeberg is South Africa’s only nuclear power station and contributes significant amounts of electricity to the grid, with each generator producing 921MW. We asked Dr Kemm for his opinion on the state of the Koeberg Nuclear facility in the light of fake news, misinformation, prejudice and factual situations regarding the facility.
An example of fear mongering can be read into the way certain energy experts and the media convey their message.
Energy analyst Prof Hartmut Winkler, a physicist and energy analyst at the University of Johannesburg raised concerns about the delays at Koeberg, stating that Koeberg amounts to two stages of load shedding.
Already in July, the fact that one unit was off, meant that we had stage 6 load shedding.
So, it is concerning they did not do the main job, to make the changes to extend the licence for another 20 years.
Dr Kemm on the other hand explained that the Koeberg facility has supplied South Africa with the cheapest electricity at 40 cents per KW for over 40 years.
He referred to the maintenance work on the steam generators, needed for license renewal in 2024. (If the license is not renewed, Koeberg will not be allowed to operate beyond that date.) Dr Kemm explained that the so-called lifespan of Koeberg is not “strictly” the initial 40 years but was merely stated for the licencing application purpose. It is true that there are some work required.
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The units were scheduled to be offline for six months each for the refurbishment work, but the process has been hit with delays. The unit was meant to undergo a significant modification during its downtime replacing its three heat exchanges with new ones. However, the containment building had not been built in time for the work to commence.
Dr Kemm explained that the latest technology will be implemented in the maintenance program, and this will enhance the capacity of Koeberg by 10%
Dr Kemm added that South Africa was once world leaders in nuclear research especially with its research on the so-called Pebble Bed Nuclear Reactor. At one time there were over 2,000 employees working daily on developing this reactor.
Advanced new reactor designs offer the potential to transform the nuclear power industry, providing safe, carbon-free electricity that addresses the plethora of challenges arising from de-carbonization of power grids worldwide.
BUSINESS REPORT