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Challenges facing the development of new nuclear capacity in South Africa

South Africa currently (2022) hosts two nuclear reactor facilities, the electricity generating Koeberg nuclear power plant, and the SAFARI - 1 reactor, which is used for medical isotope production, research, and development. With the nationwide problems of loadshedding due to a lack of operational c...

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Main Author: Makhubela, Thomas
Other Authors: Hutton, Tanya
Format: Thesis
Language:Eng
Published: Department of Electrical Engineering 2024
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access_status_str Open Access
author Makhubela, Thomas
author2 Hutton, Tanya
author_browse Hutton, Tanya
Makhubela, Thomas
author_facet Hutton, Tanya
Makhubela, Thomas
author_sort Makhubela, Thomas
collection Thesis
description South Africa currently (2022) hosts two nuclear reactor facilities, the electricity generating Koeberg nuclear power plant, and the SAFARI - 1 reactor, which is used for medical isotope production, research, and development. With the nationwide problems of loadshedding due to a lack of operational capacity, resulting in economic decline, and the climate concerns associated with fossil fuels, the addition of nuclear capacity is an appealing concept. This dissertation details several of the challenges associated with the development of new nuclear power plants (NPPs) in South Africa, from the availability of nuclear fuel and technical expertise to environmental, political, and economic issues. These challenges were explored in both national and international spheres, drawing on case studies from around the world. The long-term operation of the existing nuclear capacity was considered, alongside the viability of spent nuclear fuel re-processing in the South African context as a strategy for waste management and generation of revenue. Ultimately, political factors, and public participation and acceptance were identified as the primary challenges that have delayed the deployment of NPPs, which need to be addressed by the government when developing a rigid national nuclear energy policy to sustain South Africa's economy both for current and future generations.
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language Eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:32:46.693Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2024
publishDateRange 2024
publishDateSort 2024
publisher Department of Electrical Engineering
publisherStr Department of Electrical Engineering
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source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/40328 Challenges facing the development of new nuclear capacity in South Africa Makhubela, Thomas Hutton, Tanya Electrical Engineering South Africa currently (2022) hosts two nuclear reactor facilities, the electricity generating Koeberg nuclear power plant, and the SAFARI - 1 reactor, which is used for medical isotope production, research, and development. With the nationwide problems of loadshedding due to a lack of operational capacity, resulting in economic decline, and the climate concerns associated with fossil fuels, the addition of nuclear capacity is an appealing concept. This dissertation details several of the challenges associated with the development of new nuclear power plants (NPPs) in South Africa, from the availability of nuclear fuel and technical expertise to environmental, political, and economic issues. These challenges were explored in both national and international spheres, drawing on case studies from around the world. The long-term operation of the existing nuclear capacity was considered, alongside the viability of spent nuclear fuel re-processing in the South African context as a strategy for waste management and generation of revenue. Ultimately, political factors, and public participation and acceptance were identified as the primary challenges that have delayed the deployment of NPPs, which need to be addressed by the government when developing a rigid national nuclear energy policy to sustain South Africa's economy both for current and future generations. 2024-07-04T14:01:17Z 2024-07-04T14:01:17Z 2024 2024-07-04T13:07:12Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters MPhil http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40328 Eng application/pdf Department of Electrical Engineering Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment
spellingShingle Electrical Engineering
Makhubela, Thomas
Challenges facing the development of new nuclear capacity in South Africa
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Challenges facing the development of new nuclear capacity in South Africa
title_full Challenges facing the development of new nuclear capacity in South Africa
title_fullStr Challenges facing the development of new nuclear capacity in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Challenges facing the development of new nuclear capacity in South Africa
title_short Challenges facing the development of new nuclear capacity in South Africa
title_sort challenges facing the development of new nuclear capacity in south africa
topic Electrical Engineering
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40328
work_keys_str_mv AT makhubelathomas challengesfacingthedevelopmentofnewnuclearcapacityinsouthafrica