Emerging South

I don't need to write on the dramatic problems South African's Eskom has providing the country with electricity, that tune has been song countless times before.  The country's electricity supply is depending for 90% on... coal.  And the dramatic side of the story is that Eskom announced last week that it's coal supply only in it's power stations only accounts for 20 days now (it's winter in South Africa and these months are the peak usage months).  Not a susprise that the word is out the load shedding will soon resume.

I noticed myself for the first time a dramatic situation was upcoming when I flew into South Africa in July 2007, the news on Eskom's supply problems was already out in some sources.  But many waved my worries away, "Eskom had plans" and would soon control everything again.  I couldn't see any concrete signs of new production plans or a vision on energy sourcing.  The last year many wild speculations have been out.  Some said this was the chance for South Africa to build a 'new green energy supply system'.  The reality was and is clear: a massive shift to nuclear backed by some alternative energy sourcing is the only way out of this nightmare.

The government finally has take a decission: it will start a massive nuclear roll-out plan, with in between 24-30 HTR generation4 nuclear reactors.  You read that right: 24 to 30 !  Brazil has 2 reactors and after a year of struggling started to build a third and Belgium, not a rooky when it comes to nuclear energy has 7 reactors. 

So, South Africa is placing all its bets on sourcing its energy from Generation4 nuclear reactors.  A first test reactor would be build in 2010 in Koeberg, 35 miles west from Cape Town and the first commercial plant would be 'commissioned in 2014'. 

Now, you must know that these type 4 reactors are still in an experimental phase and every expert in the field will tell you that a commercial model before 2020 is highly unlikeable to become real.

Conclusion: Eskom's way out of the current problems is ... a set of theoretical nuclear reactor designs currently being researched?