[ad_1]
The Koeberg nuclear power station. Photo: Gallo Images
- Koeberg’s Unit 1 is back on the electricity grid after almost a year and long delays.
- Its three steam generators had to be replaced to extend Koeberg’s lifespan for another twenty years.
- Unit 2 will now be taken offline.
- For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page.
Unit 1 of the Koeberg nuclear power station near Cape Town is back online after almost a year.
On Saturday night, Eskom confirmed that the unit had been successfully synchronised to the electricity grid.
Its three steam generators needed to be replaced as part of Eskom’s application for a licence to operate the nuclear plant for another 20 years. Koeberg was designed to be operated for only 40 years. Its licence from the National Nuclear Regulator expires in July 2024.
Unit 1 was taken offline in December last year, and the work was only supposed to take six months. The entire project, which was first put out to tender in 2010, is massively behind the original schedule.
Once Unit 1 is considered stable, Unit 2 will be taken offline to have its steam generators replaced.
“Although (the) Unit 2 outage will be similar in terms of the scope, the lessons learnt from Unit 1 outage will enable the duration to be reduced, however as was the case during the Unit 1 outage, nuclear safety will not be compromised,” Eskom said in a statement.
Each unit generates 920MW – or one stage of load shedding.
During the project, Eskom and French nuclear contractor Framatome have clashed repeatedly, with Framatome having lodged around 200 claims for delays, running into billions.
When the steam generator project is completed, Eskom intends to conduct pressure tests on the buildings, requiring another 200-day outage for each unit.
It is hoped that Unit 2 will be online with new steam generators by July 2024. Unit 1 will then be taken offline for the 200-day pressure test, followed by Unit 2.
[ad_2]
Source link