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The process to lift South Africa's dormant pebble-bed modular reactor (PBMR) project from care and maintenance is at an advanced stage, says Minister of Electricity and Energy Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa.

The research programme into what was essentially the development of small-scale nuclear power stations was shuttered in 2010, owing to a number of reasons, including escalating costs.

Speaking at a media briefing at Windaba 2025 in Cape Town on Wednesday, Ramokgopa said he would probably approach Cabinet to lift the care-and-maintenance programme either at the end of November, or no later than the first quarter of next year.

"The Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) is preparing for the lifting." Ramokgopa described scrapping the programme as a decision "we live to regret", with other countries, such as China, having since perfected the technology.

However, he noted that it was "no use crying over spilt milk".

He said there was keen interest in Necsa taking up the project again, with "a procession of people" already knocking on the CEO's door.

"Part of the reason we need to lift the care and maintenance, is that Necsa does not currently have the legal basis to engage with a potential partner."

Going to Cabinet, however, would open the door to potential suitors.

Ramokgopa said the project would be developed off balance sheet.

"We don't have money, but we have the infrastructure, and the suitors know that. I'm confident that the financing will be fine."

Ramokgopa noted that data centres were big investors globally in small modular reactors (SMRs), with the "PBMR the underlying technology for SMRs".

"That is a huge opportunity we are seeing here. I think we can achieve a lot."

PBMR Revival Separate from IRP25 Revisiting the PBMR project will be a separate process from the proposed 5.2 GW of nuclear power to be installed by 2039 under the newly released Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2025.

The IRP 2025 promises more than 105 000 MW of new generation capacity by 2039, from combined sources, and at an expected investment of R2.2-trillion.

Ramokgopa said the IRP 2025's 5.2 GW of nuclear power was "not a function of whether we lift the care and maintenance of the PBMR."

He expected the proposed nuclear investment to be tried and tested technology, such as the pressurised water reactors at use at South Africa's only nuclear power station - Koeberg, in Cape Town.

"SMRs? I think there are two in the world in commercial operation and we don't think we'll have room for experimentation."

This said, Ramokgopa believed it would be possible to ringfence 100 MW of that 5.2 GW for SMR technology.

"We'll accept that this is really about a level of experimentation in partnership with people already in that space."

Ramokgopa cited a scarcity of skills as the biggest risk to the IRP 2025's nuclear programme.

At peak, when the PBMR had been under development, South Africa had roughly 2 000 engineers at work in the sector, with many of those individuals now employed at some of the top companies in the world, he noted.

The PBMR was a high-temperature, gas-cooled nuclear reactor that used fuel in the form of small, graphite-coated spheres called pebbles. It was developed in South Africa from 1994 to 2009, with the project put on hold in 2010.

A mega-scale wind project, which includes a 100-km self-build transmission line to connect into the national grid, is steadily advancing towards construction, which is currently anticipated to begin in the middle of 2026.

The 720 MW Nuweveld Wind Farm is sited in the upper Karoo region of the Western Cape, and is being pursued in a partnership between independent power producer (IPP) Anthem (70%) and renewables developer Red Cap (30%), with all the electricity contracted to licensed traders.

The project has been broken into three 240 MW facilities, which will be located 65-km north of Beaufort West and 30-km south of Loxton, and all three facilities have been registered with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa.

Red Cap CEO Mark Tanton tells Engineering News that, once constructed, the facility will be South Africa's largest wind farm to date, with the related grid infrastructure, which includes a main transmission substation (MTS), scaled to match Nuweveld's peak generation.

The project was initially to be developed in three entirely separate phases, but economics dictated that it be upscaled to justify the major grid investments. Here, Red Cap drew on its experience in developing a 116-km transmission line as part of its work with Enel Green Power on the Impofu Wind Farms, in the Eastern Cape.

Tanton says the powerline connecting the Nuweveld MTS to Eskom's Droerivier substation has been fully permitted, and integrated into the National Transmission Company South Africa's (NTCSA's) Transmission Development Plan.

The 400-kV powerline will traverse 39 farms owned by 20 landowners, while the wind farm itself will be built on 12 farm portions and involve five landowners.

A total of 105 turbines will be installed, with hub heights of between 80 m and 150 m, blade lengths of up to 95 m, and a nameplate capacity of 8 MW apiece.

Anthem CEO James Cumming reports that Nuweveld is progressing to a grid-connection budget quote phase, with the NTCSA having already allocated grid capacity to the project.

Once the budget quote is secured, which is anticipated in mid-2026, Anthem and Red Cap are confident that the project will advance to financial close, with funders having been identified and with negotiations well under way with turbines suppliers and engineering, procurement and construction contractors.

The Nuweveld Wind Farm is expected to come online in late 2028, which is expected to be a crucial point in South Africa's energy transition, with several coal stations scheduled for decommissioning in 2030.

"Considering the long development timeframe of power plants, projects like Nuweveld present an opportunity to firm up the energy supply gaps along the way," Tanton says, noting that development activity on the project began seven years ago.

For Red Cap the project will also mark its steady transition from pure developer to IPP, with the South African entity set to retain a 30% equity stake.

The South African boat-building industry must find an answer to the 30% tariff levied on all boats exported from South Africa to the US as from August onwards, says City of Cape Town Economic Growth MMC James Vos.

"We must act immediately and decisively to mitigate the effects of this tariff. We must diversify our export markets and seek out the opportunities presented by trade agreements such as the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement."

Vos spoke at the inaugural African Boating Conference held in Cape Town this week.

He said Cape Town's dominant boating export product were yachts - pleasure vessels - at 96% of all boat exports in 2024, with this category expanding by 217% since 2015.

The key export markets were the US, at around 30%, the Caribbean at 27%, and the EU at 25%.

"This is no small hobby - it is real jobs, real trade, but with real risks and challenges ahead," noted Vos.

The ship- and boat-building industry in South Africa offered 3 780 full-time equivalent jobs (FTEs) in 2024, with Cape Town hosting roughly 65% of these jobs and Durban 14%. (Two people working half-time count as one FTE.)

From 2015 to 2024, there had been an average of 5% growth in FTEs.

The pleasure and sport subsector - yachts and other recreational vessels - had been the biggest growth driver, with FTEs in this sector up 34% over the same period, said Vos.

Cape Town's exports of ships, boats and floating structures stood at roughly R4.3-billion in 2024, with imports at R1.8-billion.

However, while this represented a R2.4-billion trade surplus, the jump in imports were disconcerting - up 258% from the R500-million recorded in 2023.

"This tells me that parts, components and finished product imports are raising costs," said Vos.

He believed that the industry could increase employment by growing the number of local suppliers.

He added that investors, boatbuilders, tertiary institutions and government agencies had to meet regularly on how to address industry development bottlenecks, such as skills shortages.

"Cape Town has the raw materials, skilled people, existing marine yards, significant infrastructure investment by the local government, and a city leadership committed to growing the ocean economy for the benefit of all our communities."

The Industrial Gas Users Association of Southern Africa (IGUA-SA) has welcomed the focus given to gas in the Integrated Resource Plan 2025 (IRP 2025), but executive officer Jaco Human says critical supply-side questions will still have to be answered if the impending gas supply cliff is to be averted.

Describing as a significant shift the plan's target of raising the share of gas in the electricity generation mix to 11% by 2039, or to 16 000 MW from close to zero currently, Human said IGUA-SA wholeheartedly welcomed the "strategic pivot towards gas".

"We have long advocated for recognition of gas's integrated role across our economy. Gas represents the most versatile energy source available to South Africa, offering dispatchable power, industrial feedstock, and a bridge to our decarbonisation goals," Human told Engineering News.

"The IRP 2025 validates this perspective. Our analysis suggests that implementation of the IRP 2025, combined with projected industrial demand, will drive a four- to five-fold increase in South Africa's gas consumption. This transformation presents enormous opportunities for economic growth and energy security."

Nevertheless, Human noted that the supply of gas remained a critical and unresolved gap.

"While IRP 2025 articulates demand for gas, it does not adequately address supply pathways. South Africa is pivoting towards a gas-reliant economy without a clear, implementable strategy for securing that gas."

He said the looming gas cliff represented an imminent economic threat that demanded urgent attention.

"We must prioritise addressing the gas cliff as a matter of national economic security. This requires stacking demand, structuring initial liquefied natural gas (LNG) transactions strategically, and accelerating development of domestic and regional gas resources."

While arguing that the IRP 2025 had charted a destination for the country, Human said that an equally robust supply roadmap was also required and indicated that IGUA-SA looked forward to engaging with government, Eskom, and other stakeholders on developing concrete solutions.

In addition, Human argued that the unfavourable economics of LNG exposure should be limited in the medium- to long-term to protect South Africa's industrial competitiveness and energy affordability.

He, thus, called for action to open the way for the exploration for and development of regional gas sources, including West Coast gas prospects.

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa's insistence that the State will lead and the market follow in the procurement of new electricity generation, while simultaneously indicating that any new investment will be "off balance sheet" for government and, thus, funded by the private sector, has raised questions.

The Minister made the statement at a briefing held to release details of the updated Integrated Resource Plan (IRP 2025), which he argued set the policy framework and that "everyone will procure according to this policy". This, while also acknowledging that policy adjustments had been made that resulted in the plan deviating from a least-cost outcome.

In response to a question posed by Engineering News regarding the role of the soon-to-be-launched South African Wholesale Electricity Market (SAWEM) in facilitating further generation investments by independent power producers (IPPs) and Eskom Generation, Ramokgopa argued that government would not rely on the market for security of supply.

"We will not follow the market, we will lead the market. The State will never relinquish its responsibility to lead in our quest to ensure that there's energy security. That's the role of the State exclusively, and then others will participate to help the State to achieve that ambition," the Minister asserted, while restating his preference for mega-scale procurement bid windows overseen by the IPP Office.

South African Independent Power Producer Association (SAIPPA) chairperson Leoné Human questioned what this meant for the market being developed by the National Transmission Company South Africa and which is expected to be launched in 2026.

"The Minister stated that the State will lead and will not follow the market, and there will be no State funding, it will be off balance sheet and the offtaker will fund. What does this mean for SAWEM? Does this suggest that the market has already failed before it's launched?" Human asked in response to an Engineering News request for her reaction.

Emeritus Professor at UCT's Power Futures Lab, Anton Eberhard, said Ramokgopa had admitted that the State did not have the money to fund new generation, which would, thus, be financed largely by private developers and banks.

"That means what gets built must be financially competitive and sustainable, and must be bankable. Within that context, the IRP is not terribly important. It is not a least-cost plan. Some technologies have been forced into the plan. In reality, the market will fund those technologies that are competitive and bankable," Eberhard told Engineering News.

He noted, too, that the Electricity Regulation Amendment Act recognised that reality and hence referred to the IRP as an indicative plan.

"Unfortunately the Minister and his department are still in the old fashioned dirigiste mode - they consider the IRP as deterministic, [whereby the] Minister determines what should be built, how much, where, when and by whom. But the State has a very poor record in this."

Eberhard highlighted that government had tried and failed to procure new nuclear since 2008, while its various attempts to get gas going had also been poorly formulated to the point where practical investment paths had been frustrated.

"The only success we have seen in recent years with new generation investments is hundreds of billions of private investments going into solar, wind and batteries. It would be better for the Minister to accept that the plan is merely indicative, to create the enabling environment for investment, to get transmission out of Eskom so that grid expansion and access are accelerated, and to step into the planning and procurement space only when there are market failures," Eberhard argued.

Meanwhile, Human said that SAIPPA was also concerned that the IRP 2025 did not live up to its stated objective of giving energy security while also minimising the total cost of supply.

"The Minister stated that the R2.2-trillion investment plan would be off...

South Africa's latest Cabinet-approved Integrated Resource Plan (IRP 2025) includes several policy adjustments that deviate from the least-cost scenario modelled, including a raising of the minimum load factor to 50% for the initial gas-to-power (GtP) plants proposed for construction by 2030.

The updated plan, which will be Gazetted by October 24, has allocated 6 000 MW to GtP by that date, a target that Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa acknowledged during a briefing would be difficult to meet.

This, owing to the absence of the import, gasification and pipeline infrastructure required for their operation, as well as reports of increasingly long lead times for gas turbines.

However, he said efforts would be made to meet the target, including through a conversion of the existing Eskom- and independent power producer-owned open-cycle gas turbines from diesel to gas.

Ramokgopa linked the decision to raise the GtP load factor to both the impending decommissioning of 8 000 MW of coal-fired capacity over the period (a schedule that is reaffirmed in the plan) and a decision to use the GtPs to "anchor" gas demand for industrial users.

Such demand is expected to facilitate the liquefied natural gas imports required to avoid an impending "gas cliff"; a supply disruption that would affect industrial users later in this decade that currently rely on natural gas imports from Sasol's depleting Pande and Temane fields in southern Mozambique.

Previously the IRP envisaged the GtP plants being used far more flexibly, in a range of between 25% to 65%, so as to cost-effectively close any gaps that might arise in the system, particularly as the share of variable renewable electricity rose.

The Minister confirmed that the high load factor outlined for the initial plants would be reviewed for subsequent GtP generators, with the IRP 2025 including a 16 000 MW allocation for the technology by 2039.

OTHER POLICY ADJUSTMENTS

The other policy adjustments integrated into the IRP2025 include the following: scope to demonstrate the viability of so-called clean-coal technology by the end of the decade; an allocation of 5 200 MW, possibly rising to 10 000 MW, for new nuclear by 2039 as part of a "nuclear industrialisation plan"; and the energy availability factor for Eskom's coal fleet remaining in a range of between 66% and 68% between 2025 and 2030.

The drafters of the IRP 2025 insisted that the cost of the gas, coal and nuclear adjustments did not result in a material deviation from the least-cost model, but did not immediately provide specifics.

Notably, the plan also did not include an electricity price path, despite rising concerns over affordability for industrial and household consumers, with a separate process reportedly under way to interrogate the future pricing of electricity.

Also not immediately provided was any update on the technology cost assumptions used to model the five scenarios used to formulate the final policy-adjusted plan.

However, a commitment was made to publishing these assumptions on the Department of Electricity and Energy's website once the plan was Gazetted.

Overall, the IRP2025 envisages the introduction of 105 000 MW of new generation capacity by 2039, including:

34 000 MW of onshore wind; 25 000 MW of utility scale solar PV;16 000 MW of distributed generation, mostly in the form of behind-the-meter solar PV;8 500 MW of storage, mainly in the form of battery energy storage systems;16 000 MW of GtP; and5 200 MW of nuclear, which could include small modular reactors (SMRs) should the technology be proved commercially over the period.

Romokgopa said the IRP2025 had a cumulative net present value cost of R2.2-trillion and argued that it would reshape South Africa's electricity supply away from its current reliance on coal towards a mix of technologies.

It was also reaffirmed that government intended reviving the pebble bed modular reactor nuclear technology, which was currently under care and maintenanc...

As the South African energy sector undergoes a profound shift from traditional, centralised power generation to a more decentralised but interconnected one, digitally integrated systems can optimise production, strengthen grid management, improve efficiency and enable real-time decision-making, consultancy EY said this week.

EY senior specialist consultant Rashid Khan unpacked the value that digital technologies could bring to electricity systems that were more demanding on the grid and required smart balancing for stability.

He discussed solutions such as advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and how it could contribute to grid stability, operational efficiency and consumer engagement during a webinar hosted by Creamer Media on October 16, which was sponsored by the South African-German Energy Partnership.

Khan mentioned that the global energy sector was becoming more interconnected through digital technologies, with power and data flowing in both directions.

"Worldwide, smart grids are enabling the evolution towards bi-directional flows through advanced communication and sensor networks that support real-time energy management."

In South Africa's case, the country has set out to modernise an aging power system, expand access to affordable electricity and integrate the rapidly growing renewable energy generation capacity.

"Digital transformation is reshaping how energy systems operate, as the electricity market becomes more open and accessible to operators, traders, independent power producers and distributors of all kinds," Khan stated.

For context, he said South Africa's electricity system became liberalised through various legislative reforms and the lifting of licensing requirements to enable private power generation over the past three years.

Soon the country will experience a new electricity market with different offtakers and distributors, each needing to comply with sustainability targets.

However, utilities, municipalities and large property companies have to enable this energy transition while maintaining network safety, stability and quality.

Smart metering was the key underlining technology that allowed for the grid to communicate with consumers and utilities, Khan pointed out.

To this end, AMI is an integrated system of smart meters, communication networks and data management systems that enable this two-way communication between utilities and consumers.

"A successful AMI programme hinges on the seamless deployment of smart meters at a customer's premises for remote meter reading, outage monitoring and tamper detection.

"It is also required that a communication network connects smart meters to head-end systems effectively, which manage data communications between smart meters and other information systems such as master data management systems, order management systems and document management systems."

Khan suggested an updated meter data management system was needed to provide a platform for validation and distribution of the meter data to other applications. "A successful AMI deployment should ultimately have a well-executed communications plan for the customer. The customer must be able to receive outage notifications, meter readings and billing reports."

AMI BENEFITS

AMI can be used to detect anomalies such as meter tampering or energy theft, which ensures accurate billing and reduced financial losses for utilities and municipalities.

It can also provide accurate data for revenue collection and load management, while increasing grid resilience and reducing blackouts owing to load reduction requests that can be sent out early by distributors to smart meter customers.

AMI further allows the transmission operator to monitor renewable-energy input at high voltage and balance supply and demand using AMI data to maintain grid reliability.

Moreover, distributors can roll out real-time pricing tariffs, enabling customers to reduce energy costs by shifting consumption to low-demand periods.

Additionally, aggregato...

Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses the changes announced this week to the boards of Eskom and Necsa, as well as Cabinet's approval of the next edition of the Integrated Resource Plan for Electricity (IRP).

South African independent power producer (IPP) Red Rocket has reached financial close on a 300 MW solar PV project, which will be built at a cost of about R5.2-billion on land leased to it by Eskom.

The Tournee Solar Park is in close proximity to the Tutuka coal-fired power station, in Mpumalanga, and construction is expected to take 24 months to complete, with commercial operation anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2027.

Discovery Green, the electricity trading business within the larger JSE-listed Discovery Group that contracts to supply wheeled green electricity to large and small companies, is the project's offtaker.

Tournee is being financed through a club deal with ABSA, Standard Bank and the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

The project is the first and only development to reach the milestone under Eskom's 2022 land lease initiative, whereby land parcels surrounding the Tutuka and Majuba power stations were made available to IPP investors eager to access grid-ready sites.

A total of 6 184 ha was set aside for the initiative that was championed by then CEO André de Ruyter.

Besides Red Rocket, Eskom entered into lease agreements with three other IPPs, namely HDF Energy South Africa, Sola Group, and Mainstream Renewable Power Developments South Africa.

Eskom has since discontinued the scheme and is, instead, planning to launch a standalone renewables business dubbed Eskom Green to pursue its renewables ambitions in partnership with IPPs.

The State-owned company has outlined plans to build 2 GW of renewables by 2026 and to increase its renewables generation to close to 6 GW by 2030.

It is also currently entertaining bids from large power users for solar electricity that will arise from projects with a capacity of 291 MW; an initiative that has raised competition concerns, particularly in relation to whether Eskom's projects could bypass the grid-access rules that IPPs need to navigate.

Red Rocket CEO Matteo Brambilla said the Tournee Solar Park demonstrated how collaboration between public and private partners could deliver large-scale, clean energy solutions in support of South Africa's energy transition.

"We are proud of our continued partnership with Eskom, and to be the first and only IPP to bring a project from the 2022 innovative land lease initiative to life," Brambilla said in a statement.

Eskom group executive for renewables Rivoningo Mnisi congratulated Red Rocket on the milestone, which he said exemplified the potential for public-private collaboration to add generation capacity and accelerate the transition to cleaner energy.

"Eskom Green is dedicated to cooperating with the private sector in developing and promoting renewable-energy technologies," Mnisi added.

Red Rocket head of development Sharief Harris reported that the project would be developed on a parcel of land in Standerton that is equivalent in size to 800 rugby fields.

The project will comprise 463 000 bifacial PV modules on single-axis trackers and the facility will be connected to the grid by means of a 132 kV overhead power line.

Once fully operational, the plant is expected to generate an average of 720-million kilowatt-hours yearly over its 20-year lifespan, which Red Rocket describes as enough energy to power about 224 000 standard South African homes each year.

The South African Independent Power Producer Association (SAIPPA) expects to meet with Eskom later this month to discuss its concern that the State-owned entity's proposed renewables projects may not be subjected to the same grid-access rules that are currently applied to independent power producers (IPPs).

The association has also written to the Competition Commission highlighting the risk for market-dominance abuse should Eskom be allowed to bypass the prevailing Interim Grid Connection Allocation Rules (IGCAR) when moving to develop new renewables assets in close proximity to coal stations that are scheduled for retirement in the coming years.

Eskom has outlined plans to build 2 GW of renewables by 2026 and increase its renewables generation to close to 6 GW by 2030, and also intends establishing a standalone business known as Eskom Green in the coming year.

At its recent results presentation, it said that 43%, or R139.5-billion, of its planned capital expenditure of R320-billion for the coming five years would be directed towards Eskom Generation, including R18.5-billion for renewables and gas projects.

In a letter to the commission, SAIPPA chairperson Leoné Human says the association supports fair competition and welcomes the participation in the market of all generators, including Eskom Generation.

"Nonetheless, such competition must take place on equal and impartial terms. To achieve this, it is essential that Eskom Generation is subject to the same grid-allocation rules, requirements, and timelines that are applied to IPPs."

She notes that the IGCAR rules have been pursued by Eskom to address the shortage of adequate grid connection and evacuation capacity through a 'first-ready, first-served' approach.

"In the context of Eskom's programme to develop renewable energy generation facilities at existing power stations, it appears to be assumed that the associated grid-connection capacity is automatically available to them.

"We do not believe this assumption is justified. Once the term of a power purchase agreement has ended, the grid connection previously allocated to an IPP is no longer reserved for that facility. Accordingly, the same grid allocation rules should be applied consistently across all entities, including the various divisions of Eskom."

SAIPPA's concerns follow on from the release, on August 19, of an Eskom request for proposals inviting large power users to procure solar electricity from Eskom projects with a capacity of 291 MW.

The solar generators will be built in line with its repowering and repurposing strategy on land in close proximity to coal stations, with the earliest project expected to reach commercial operation by 2027.

Eskom has also insisted that the grid-connection application process will be non-discriminatory and tells Engineering News that all applications, including Eskom's, are being subjected to the same requirements.

Nevertheless, SAIPPA is concerned about the potential risk for market dominance, describing the functional separation of the National Transmission Company South Africa as insufficient to ensure a genuine level playing field.

Human tells Engineering News that the Competition Commission has confirmed receipt of its submission, and that a separate letter has been directed to Eskom, in which SAIPPA has also requested a meeting at which it intends raising its concerns directly.

Eskom has also responded to the letter and it is anticipated that SAIPPA will meet with Eskom Grid Access Unit head Seetsele Seetswane, and possibly other senior executives, before the end of October.

"We have a good relationship with Eskom and they responded positively to our request to engage on our concerns," Human tells Engineering News.

She also notes that the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) is busy finalising the Grid Connection Allocation Rules and SAIPPA, thus, intends approaching the regulator after its meeting with Eskom to ensure that the interim rules are being followed....