[miningmx.com] – THE South Africa government’s updated Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) which sets down proposals for meeting the country’s future power requirements, was more flexible allowing for variables such as lower economic growth, the increased cost of nuclear, and the provision of shale gas.
BDLive, citing Omphi Aphan, deputy director-general of policy and planning in the energy department, said the plan also found no requirement for nuclear power until after 2025 while a third coal-fired power plant, known as Coal 3, would use fluidised bed combustion technology and be smaller than Medupi and Kusile at some 1,000MW-1,500MW.
“It [the updated IRP] is a robust, flexible approach based on smaller investments rather than the big lumpy ones we have got used to, so that if there is an issue around fluctuating demand, we can respond to it,” Aphane told BDLive.
“While we have aligned the plan with the NDP we want to be able to plan in a way that the planning is done but the investment decision is not triggered until we have a high degree of certainty,” he said.
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