Kernkraftwerk Koeberg, Südafrika Autor: Pipodesign Philipp P Egli Lizenz: CC BY 3.0

Heute vor 20 Jahren: Am 5. Dezember 2005 wurden im #Kernkraftwerk #Koeberg, Südafrika beide LHSI-Motoren aufgrund eines verringerten Motorkühlwasserdurchflusses für funktionsunfähig erklärt. Der Block musste innerhalb von 24 Stunden auf Kaltabschaltung, gebracht werden.

Africa deserves better than a nuclear push Extending the life of Koeberg, with its associated expense and waste-disposal problems, is not necessary — and nuclear energy is not clean or cost-effective

"Nuclear energy is an unsafe, high-cost and slow-to-deploy technology.

"Africa needs clean, sustainable and decentralised renewable energy that is significantly more affordable than nuclear."

🗞️ Opinion in Mail & Guardian mg.co.za/thought-lead...

#Koeberg #Nuclear #WBGMeetings #BankOnRenewables

South Africa’s nuclear energy SOE has been in meltdown for years South Africa—23 Sep 2025 # South Africa’s nuclear energy SOE has been in meltdown for years By Kimberley Kersten The board of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (NECSA) has been engulfed in turmoil over the CEO’s salary, leading to multiple resignations and the eventual dissolution of the board. Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa told Parliament that the NECSA board spent much of this year focusing on CEO Loyiso Tyabashe’s salary rather than the strategic future of nuclear energy in South Africa. The crisis began when a whistleblower alleged an unusually close relationship between Tyabashe and board chairperson David Nicholl, including overseas trips together. An internal investigation confirmed that Tyabashe had misled the board regarding salary increases, prompting his precautionary suspension. Three board members resigned, citing an unwillingness to explain the suspension, which Ramokgopa described as an attempt to avoid accountability. The minister subsequently dissolved the board, stating that a new team would be appointed by mid-October, ahead of the current board’s term ending in 2025. In the interim, governance responsibilities fall to the CEO, who has since withdrawn his resignation and been reinstated. Ramokgopa expressed confidence that the new board would be technically qualified and would focus on strategic priorities rather than personal disputes. ## Nothing new about the crisis Koeberg Nuclear Power Station in the Western Cape. Dr. Neil Overy, Research Associate in Environmental Humanities at the University of Cape Town, told _Newsday_ that there is “nothing new about NECSA’s current crisis.” “It essentially collapsed in 2018, and we have reached the same position now without a functioning board,” he said. The NECSA board was dissolved in 2018 due to an unacceptable level of financial losses. Then-Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Jeff Radebe, said this was a result of “continued ineptitude and deliberate acts of defiance.” “What is happening now is simply a repeat of these events, with Ramokgopa saying he will fire the entire board due to an ongoing governance crisis,” said Overy. Later, in 2020, the entity was again embroiled in scandal when it ran out of operating capital 7 months into the year. “It is frankly laughable that NECSA seems to think it is capable of assisting South Africa’s intended new nuclear build when it cannot even manage its own affairs, having staggered from one crisis to another.” Overy added that NECSA gets a sizeable budget from the Treasury. For 2025, this amount was R975 million. The NECSA board has been pushing its plans to build a new 4,000 MW nuclear power station in Duynefontein in the Western Cape. The association said in an August statement that nuclear technology is a safe, clean, reliable energy solution and a “crucial component of South Africa’s baseload energy mix.” Overy disputed this, pointing out that the Koeberg nuclear power plant in the Western Cape has had a disappointing Energy Availability Factor (EAF) of 59% over the last four years. Nuclear energy currently makes up 5% of South Africa’s energy mix. “This 5% could and should easily be replaced by utility-scale, distributed renewables with battery back-up,” he said. Overy added that nuclear power plant builds are particularly prone to corruption. “Given the present government’s track record when it comes to corruption, South Africans should be very worried about any new nuclear build,” he said. ## South Africa’s nuclear energy future CEO of NECSA, Loyiso Tyabashe. However, CEO of the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI, Titus Mathe, said in October 2024 that nuclear energy is the only viable solution to replace dispatchable power from coal-powered stations, which will soon be decommissioned. “Other possible options are limited. Battery storage is extremely expensive, and the country currently cannot afford to implement this technology at a large scale,” he said. “Hydropower can take around 15 years to develop, and clean coal solutions such as carbon capture technology are still in the research phase.” Nuclear power stations take about 10 years to build. NECSA began as South Africa’s Atomic Energy Board to regulate and control uranium in 1948. The board established the Pelindaba research site and installed the South African Fundamental Atomic Research Installation Materials Testing Reactor (SAFARI-1). In 1999, the Nuclear Energy Act transitioned the AEC to NECS. The entity is now expected to oversee commercial enterprises as well as nuclear research and development. Overy argues that nuclear energy has no place in South Africa’s energy mix. “Koeberg was a vanity project of the apartheid regime,” he said. He added that nuclear power plants are too expensive to build and too slow within the context of the urgency of climate change. “NECSA is simply yet another example of a failed SOE where it appears that short-term gains have been prioritised over the safety and security of South Africans,” he said. __ __ __ __ __ __

Today in just-trust-homer: #Eskom persists in heralding new nukes when #Koeberg's availability factor is only 59% newsday.co.za/south-africa/5371/south-... #StableBaseloadMyFoot

Don't panic Eskom says after Koeberg Nuclear Power Station siren goes off | The Citizen The siren emitted a brief alarm tone.

Don’t panic Eskom says after Koeberg Nuclear Power Station siren goes off #Eskom #Koeberg #nuclear

www.citizen.co.za/news/eskom-k...

Eskom hits another nail in load shedding coffin with Koeberg Unit 2 coming online | The Citizen The Long-Term Operation (LTO) programme was designed to extend Unit 2’s operational lifespan by an additional 20 years.

Eskom hits another nail in load shedding coffin with Koeberg Unit 2 coming online #Eskom #Koeberg #Unit2 #LoadShedding

www.citizen.co.za/news/south-a...

The inside of a warehouse-like shop, in contrasty black and white. An unplastered, but painted wall dominates. There are some leather couches on the left, facing right, lit by a large window. In the top left corner is an iconic poster of James Dean, looking over his shoulder. Out of the window. Like he would prefer to be out there somewhere.

Second hand James Dean

Down #Koeberg Road, #CapeTown, #SouthAfrica
#photography #blackAndWhite #streetphotography

www.deviantart.com/africanobserver/art/1138...

Kernkraftwerk Koeberg, Südafrika Autor: Pipodesign Philipp P Egli Lizenz: CC BY 3.0

Heute vor 19 Jahren: Am 5. Dezember 2005 wurden im #Kernkraftwerk #Koeberg, Südafrika beide LHSI-Motoren aufgrund eines verringerten Motorkühlwasserdurchflusses für funktionsunfähig erklärt. Der Block musste innerhalb von 24 Stunden auf Kaltabschaltung, gebracht werden.

South African nuclear power plant gets approval to run one unit for extra 20 years South Africa's Koeberg nuclear power plant will be allowed to run one of its two units for another 20 years, the country's nuclear regulator NNR said on Monday, after deliberations by the regulator's....

Südafrikas Atomaufsichtsbehörde verlängert die Laufzeit des Reaktorblocks #Koeberg 1 von 40 auf 60 Jahre. Für #Koeberg 2 läuft das Genehmigungsverfahren noch, die aktuelle Betriebserlaubnis reicht aber auch noch bis November 2025.
www.marketscreener.com/quote/index/...

South Africa to seek bids for new nuclear power station | Reuters South Africa will launch a bidding process for an extra 2,500 megawatts (MW) of nuclear power by March, as the country attempts to tackle its worst power outages on record.

Südafrika schreibt im März neue Kernkraftwerke mit einer Leistung von 2.500 MW aus, mehr als doppelt so viel wie das KKW #Koeberg (1.900 MW). Zur Lösung der Energieprobleme des Landes würden die ersten Blöcke allerdings erst in ca. 10 Jahren beitragen.
www.reuters.com/business/ene... ⚛️

Koeberg 1 back online after milestone outage : Corporate - World Nuclear News The pressurised water reactor was synchronised to the South African energy grid on 18 November after nearly a year offline for the replacement of the plant's three original steam generators, a prerequ...

Block 1 des südafrikanischen Kernkraftwerks #Koeberg ist nach dem suboptimal verlaufenen Tausch der drei Dampferzeuger wieder am Netz. #Koeberg 2 soll für die gleiche Maßnahme abgeschaltet werden. Sie dient einer Laufzeitverlängerung um 20 Jahre.
world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Koe... ⚛️