THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - NOVEMBER 2017
International News 7
Siân Crampsie
Duynefontein is likely to be the location
of a new nuclear power plant in
South Africa after the country’s government
authorised a final environmental
impact report for the site.
National utility Eskom is known to
have favoured a greenfield site at
Thyspunt in Eastern Cape province
for a new nuclear plant but a record
of decision (ROD) by the Department
of Environmental Affairs (DEA)
means that Duynefontein, next to the
existing nuclear plant at Koeberg, will
be developed.
Eskom said in a statement that it
welcomed the DEA decision, describing
it as “an important milestone in
the development process of South
Africa’s nuclear programme”.
“While we had worked on Thyspunt
being the preferred site… we have always
considered both sites equally
capable of hosting a nuclear power
plant,” Eskom said in a statement. “To
this end, we had progressed the Nuclear
Installation Site Licence (NISL) to
the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR)
for both sites.”
Under South Africa’s National Integrated
Resource Plan, around 9600
MW of new nuclear energy capacity
is scheduled to be added to the grid
by 2030, with the first unit scheduled
to be on-line by 2023. However, that
plan is currently being revised and
South Africa’s policy on new nuclear
generation will not become clearer
until next year.
Plans for new nuclear capacity in
South Africa were also thrown into
uncertainty earlier this year when the
Western Cape High Court ruled that
two governmental determinations
covering the procurement process for
new nuclear were unconstitutional
and should be set aside.
The ruling was made in response to
a case brought by Earthlife Africa and
other environmental organisations that
have campaigned to stop South Africa’s
nuclear programme.
The DEA said in its ROD that the
overall environmental impacts associated
with the Duynefontein site are
acceptable and materially lower than
those at the Thyspunt site. It also said
that Duynefontein’s proximity to the
existing Koeberg nuclear site allows
for a suite of logistical and operational
synergies.
Five sites had initially been investigated
at the scoping phase: Brazil and
Schulpfontein in the Northern Cape,
Bantamsklip and Duynefontein in the
Western Cape, and Thyspunt in the
Eastern Cape.
Following the scoping phase, Brazil
and Schulpfontein were excluded
from further detailed specialist environmental
studies for the project.
The two-unit Koeberg plant has a
generating capacity of about 1830
MWe and generates five per cent of
South Africa’s electricity.
Egypt’s green energy strategy gains momentum
Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy
Authority (NREA) is planning to
launch a digital map for solar and wind
power projects as part of a strategy to
attract investment to the sector.
The country has been successful in
attracting international investment to
its renewable energy sector and wants
to maintain this momentum, the head
of NREA, Mohamed Al-Khayat, said
at an industry event in Cairo last
month.
According to Al-Khayat, three new
solar power plants will start operation
this month under the first round of
Egypt’s feed-in tariff system (FiT),
while 20 solar power developers have
signed power purchase agreements
(PPA) with the Ministry of Electricity
to take part in the second round of the
FiT system.
A total of 34 companies have expressed
interest in developing projects
under the second phase of the FiT
system.
The FiT system and a clear regulatory
framework have helped to attract
finance, according to the European
Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(EBRD), which is backing 16
solar photovoltaic projects. The IFC
has backed a further 13 projects.
Together the two multilateral lending
institutions are supporting 1.4 GW of
capacity with over $500 million of
loans. They have also helped to attract
a further $1.3 billion of private investment
to the projects.
Last month Saudi-based alfanar said
one of its subsidiaries, Alfa Solar
Company, has signed a strategic $57
million loan deal with EBRD and Islamic
Corporation for the Development
of the Private Sector (ICD) to
fund a 50 MW solar PV project in
Egypt.
In September the African Development
Bank (AfDB) agreed to fund
three solar power plants in Egypt’s
Aswan region, while the Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank (AIIB) approved
a loan to finance new solar
capacity in the country.
AfDB said it would lend $55 million
to each of three 50 MW solar PV plants
located in the Benban solar complex.
The AAIB deal will support 11 greenfield
solar projects with an aggregate
capacity of 490 MW. It is lending $210
million to the projects.
Eskom receives
nuclear approval
Eskom has received approval for a new nuclear plant at Koeberg but the future for new
nuclear energy capacity in South Africa is far from certain.
Turkey prepares for
Akkuyu construction
n Construction permit expected in 2018
n Poland, Saudi Arabia make nuclear progress
Construction of Turkey’s first nuclear
power plant is expected to start after a
limited construction permit for the
project was issued.
The permit was issued to Akkuyu
Nuclear JSC by the Turkish Atomic
Energy Authority (TAEK) last month
and allows the start of construction and
installation works at all facilities on the
nuclear power plant, except for the
buildings and structures important for
nuclear safety.
A full construction permit is expected
to be issued in 2018 after further
evaluation of the project and site by
TAEK’s Nuclear Safety Department.
“Obtaining of the Limited Construction
Permit is a significant step forward
for the Akkuyu project implementation,”
said Yuriy Galanchuk, Chief
Executive Officer of Akkuyu Nuclear
JSC. “We are actually moving from the
preparatory stage to the construction
activities at the site.
“Our next task is to get the Construction
License. We would like to commence
construction of the entire set
of the NPP buildings and structures at
the earliest time possible. Full compliance
with all national and international
safety standards remains our
top priority.”
The World Nuclear Association
(WNA) said the permit for Akkuyu
was a positive sign that reactor construction
would start in 2018 and that
Turkey would become the latest country
to introduce nuclear energy to its
mix after the UAE and Belarus.
“It is great to see Turkey’s nuclear
energy ambitions finally mature,” said
Agneta Rising, Director General of
WNA. “Nuclear energy will help drive
economic growth in the country and
reduce reliance on imported gas.”
WNA noted that other countries
were also making progress towards
new nuclear capacity, including Poland,
which says it will begin a reactor
selection process in 2018 and Saudi
Arabia, which is expected to launch a
reactor tendering process within the
next months.
“The world is quickly adding to the
number of countries building nuclear
plants for the first time,” said Rising.
“'More than 9 GWe of new nuclear
capacity came online in 2016, the largest
annual increase for over 25 years
and global nuclear generation rose for
the fourth successive year.
“The level of new build remains high,
but the pace of new construction starts
must accelerate if we are to successfully
balance environmental goals with
human development.”
Iran signs Saga deal
Investors are eyeing Iran as a potential
new market for energy and renewables
since sanctions on the country were
eased last year.
Last month Norwegian solar panel
maker Saga Energy signed a €2.5 billion
deal with Iranian state-owned company
Amin Energy Developers to build
solar power plants in the country. The
deal follows one signed in September
by London-based investment firm
Quercus for a 600 MW solar farm.
According to Mehr News Agency, the
deal between Saga and Amin entails
the construction of 2 GW of capacity
over four to five years.
The company will rely on banks,
pension funds and Norwegian state
export guarantees to fund the plan, and
aims to recoup its investment through
a 25-year deal on electricity prices.
Iran plans to install 5 GW of renewable
capacity by 2020 and irradiation
levels make solar an obvious choice.
Earlier this year Germany’s Athos
Solar connected a 14 MW PV facility
to the grid in Kerman province, while
Iranian PV developer Mokran installed
a 20 MW plant in the same area.
International sanctions on Iran were
lifted in early 2016 after the International
Atomic Energy Authority
(IAEA) said that the country had complied
with a deal designed to prevent
it from developing nuclear weapons.
However US President Donald
Trump recently announced he would
decertify that deal saying it is not in
the interest of US national security. He
wants the US Congress to make the
deal tougher or else he will pull the US
out of the international agreement.