S.Africa State Nuclear Corporation To Submit Amendments To Gov't Energy Plan - Spokeswoman

The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa), a state-owned company, welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the government's draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), and will submit amendments to the plan which abandons previous objectives to increase nuclear energy use in the country, Nikelwa Tengimfene, the general manager for corporate communications and stakeholder relations at Necsa, told Sputnik on Thursday.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th August, 2018) The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa), a state-owned company, welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the government's draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), and will submit amendments to the plan which abandons previous objectives to increase nuclear energy use in the country, Nikelwa Tengimfene, the general manager for corporate communications and stakeholder relations at Necsa, told Sputnik on Thursday.

On Monday, South African Energy Minister Jeff Radebe released the draft IRP, which outlined that the country would forgo the plans of former President Jacob Zuma to increase the use of nuclear energy by 9,600 megawatts by 2030 with the construction of eight new reactors, on top of the installed capacity of South Africa's only nuclear power station at 1,860 megawatts.

"The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) welcomes the release of the Draft IRP for public consultation. Necsa is studying and analyzing the document, with the intention to contribute its inputs during the public consultation process," Tengimfene said.

The draft IRP is open for comments from interested persons and organizations within 60 days of its publication. Apart from nuclear energy, the draft IRP also outlines the plans for installed capacity for the country's other energy sources. South Africa plans to increase its reliance on renewable energy and gas, while decommissioning coal plants by 2030.