South Africa - World Nuclear Outlook Report
Projection of future nuclear capacity in South Africa in 2050
|
60-year operation (MWe) |
80-year operation (MWe) |
Under Construction (MWe) |
Planned (MWe) |
Proposed (MWe) |
Potential (MWe) |
Government target (MWe) |
Total for 2050 (MWe) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
0 |
1934 |
0 |
0 |
2500 |
0 |
0 |
4434 |
South Africa has two 900 MWe-class PWRs commissioned in 1984-85, operating at Koeberg, near Cape Town.154
Long-term operation
A licence to continue operating Koeberg 1 for another 20 years until July 2044 was approved in July 2024, following extensive maintenance. The regulator is expected to reach a decision on the long-term operation of unit 2, which has undergone similar maintenance, by early November 2025.
New capacity
Large-scale reactors
Plans for 9.6 GWe of new nuclear capacity outlined in the country’s 2010 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) have been scaled back.155 In December 2023 South Africa's Department of Mineral Resources and Energy confirmed that it would go ahead with the procurement of 2500 MWe of new nuclear capacity; however, the Ministerial Determination for the procurement process was withdrawn in August 2024 to allow for public consultation.
In August 2025, South Africa's Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment upheld a 2017 decision to grant Eskom environmental authorization to construct and operate a new nuclear power station in Duynefontein, near Eskom's existing Koeberg nuclear power plant in the Western Cape.156
