South Africa’s Koeberg nuclear plant to reach full capacity by April 2020

The waste storage at South Africas only nuclear plant, the Koeborg is almost full. Their storage capacity will be full by April 2020 and they are awaiting regulatory approval for the acquisition of new dry storage casks. The storage of high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants is a major environmental concern for the region. Despite that South Africa wants to extend the life of the Koeberg power plant for another two decades and is even considering extra power plants.

The only nuclear plant in Africa

Koeberg is situated only 35 kilometres from Cape Town. It was connected to the South African power grid in the 1980's when the country was still under apartheid. The power plant produces around 32 tonnes of spent fuel a year. The spent fuel is radioactive and can remain dangerous for thousands of years. The waste is usually cooled for a decade underwater in spent fuel pools.
Three years ago Eskom, the operator of the plant paid almost $13.60 million to US energy company Holtec International for a batch of seven dry storage casks that would keep the power plant running past 2018. Presently the Koeberg spent fuel storage is currently at over 90 per cent capacity. Koeberg contains two pressurised water reactors and supplies power to the national grid so that over-capacity can be redistributed to the rest of the country on as needed.

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Eskom has nine new unused casks on-site with another five casks that are expected to be delivered soon. With 14 casks Eskom will be able to safely operate till 2024. Eskom has also put in a tender for 30 extra casks. The anti-nuclear lobby group Earthlife Africa said that South Africa could not afford the social,  environmental and economic costs associated with Koeberg and its continued operations. Earthlife Africa's director Makoma Lekalakala said that Koeberg was a ticking bomb.

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