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Mr Keith Featherstone, appearing Chief Nuclear Officer on the Koeberg Nuclear Energy Plant (KNPP), was Premier Alan Winde’s visitor at his twentieth Vitality Digicon.
The facility station’s contribution to the Western Cape and South Africa’s vitality wants was the first focus of this week’s digicon. “The significance of Koeberg to the Western Cape has considerably elevated. With out Koeberg it’s not potential for transmission strains to really provide the Western Cape’s load on their very own. Our purpose is all the time to make sure greater reliability of the plant – which we’re capable of obtain – in addition to to minimise the possibility of each items being shut down on the identical time,” careworn Mr Featherstone.
From the outset, he addressed the delays skilled within the refurbishment course of, at the moment underneath means on the plant. Describing it as a “main service”, he defined that Eskom has submitted its software to the Nationwide Nuclear Regulator, together with what is known as a “security case”, requesting permission for the ability to be allowed to function for an additional 20 years. As a part of the submission, administration on the energy station recognized 3 items of apparatus that must be changed:
Reactor head at unit 2 which has already been changed
Refueling water storage tanks at each items which have additionally been changed, and
Steam turbines
Mr Featherstone stated, “I’m happy to say that in the end the three steam turbines at unit 1 have been changed. All of the mechanical work is accomplished. As soon as the unit is synchronised to the grid there may be nonetheless quite a lot of testing we have to do. Solely when all these assessments are accomplished will we contemplate the unit to be commercially out there.” The unit shall be again in operation by 3 November 2023.
Mr Featherstone added, “The unit 2 outage has now been scheduled for 7 November 2023. We’ve estimated that we’ll want longer than what we initially deliberate primarily based on the expertise from unit 1, and we shall be taking all the teachings now we have discovered from this outage into the unit 2 outage to ensure that we will do it as speedily as potential. There haven’t been vital durations the place there was a danger to the Western Cape for each items being down. We’re actively working day and night time to deliver this unit again as quickly as potential. Sadly, it has taken so much longer than what we had been initially anticipating.”
On whether or not it’s viable to develop nuclear energy in South Africa to assist meet the rising demand for vitality, Mr Featherstone detailed how that with the worldwide drive to scale back carbon emissions nuclear vitality is discovering a resurgence globally, notably for baseload provide. “We do have the expertise; we all know learn how to handle nuclear energy stations. Inside Eskom, now we have quite a lot of expertise in doing that. The expertise is viable. With the variety of initiatives beginning all around the world there should be a case to point out that it may be completed viably. I consider it’s potential. I consider we do want it as a result of now we have to transition away from coal.” He additionally supplied the peace of mind that there isn’t any danger of nuclear fallout at KNPP.
To look at a recording of this week’s digicon, please go to:
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