Small nuclear power plants for Africa

Link: https://www.esi-africa.com/industry-sectors/generation/op-ed-small-nuclearoffers-a-realistic-african-energy-solution/ Please see link above for source text, embedded hotlinks, and comments.

Small nuclear offers a realistic African energy solution Jun 25, 2021

By Dr Kelvin Kemm, a nuclear physicist and Convenor of the Stratek Nuclear Consortium

Koeberg nuclear power station, South Africa Worldwide we have witnessed intense energy discussion over the last couple of years. This has been compounded by a number of significant energy failures in various countries; a major systems failure in South Australia; an Ice Storm in Texas; gas supply issues in Europe…and the list continues.

If we pause for a moment to look back in time, a rather startling reality that emerges is that world electricity consumption has doubled over the last approximately 25 years.

Only 25 years! However, we hear a cacophony of extreme-green groups calling for a reduction in electricity use. But electrification is not only rapidly spreading across the globe, the per capita electricity consumption is also increasing. It is totally reasonable to expect such a trend. Bitcoin mining alone is now consuming more electricity than Austria, Chile, or Belgium.

1

Can one honestly imagine that world electricity consumption will reduce in the future?

All realistic indications appear to project that consumption will continue rising on the current curve. So consumption should at least double in the next 25 years. For the African region, one can expect that the increased consumption will occur even more rapidly than that.

Disturbingly, we see emotional, rather unrealistic energy debates taking place at meetings of such groups like the G7; COP26; and more. We hear of appeals to ‘flatten’ the consumption curve. A significant snag is that this all seems to be very Eurocentric in origin.

Let us be very clear; Africa is not like the rest of the world, let alone like Europe. African countries are generally very large in comparison to European countries, and in addition, there are many geographic and societal conditions that are very different. This reality is significant when contemplating electricity-generating systems. A realistic vision includes factors like; planning power lines and fuel transport, in which the distances that have to be covered are not remotely encountered in Europe. In South Africa alone the distance from Pretoria to Cape Town is the same as that from Rome to London.

So, African countries have to find workable solutions for African conditions.

Small nuclear is the answer An obvious answer is nuclear power. Furthermore, an ideal solution is small nuclear power reactors, now collectively called Small Modular Reactors (SMR). These are about 100 to 300 megawatts in output, compared to a large nuclear power station which can be 2,000 to 4,000 megawatts in output.

Energy in Uranium 2

SMRs are further divided into two significant categories; those which are water-cooled and those which are gas-cooled. The water-cooled ones need to be placed near a significant water source, but the gas-cooled ones can be placed anywhere. Gas-cooled SMRs really can be placed anywhere you like, because fuel transportation is essentially insignificant.

One SMR uses only one truckload of fuel per year. You can even fly the fuel in by helicopter if you really want to. It can also be stockpiled in quantities to last a couple of years. There is no need for conveyor belts, or railway connections running all day, as is required for a coal-fired plant; or long pipelines for gas. African countries can easily experience major rainstorms which can deliver a huge volume of water in a short time, leading to flash floods that can wash roads and rail lines away, so fuel supply security is most important.

Fuel ball containing Uranium Any African country is quite capable of running any number of gas-cooled SMRs. An SMR system will fit on a soccer field; it does not need a large area. It is also quite reasonable to plan for an SMR plus its own small radial grid, which can be only 10km or 20km in extent and need not be connected to a large National Grid.

But let us return to considering Eurocentric thinking. There is an obsession with cutting CO2 emissions. Using incorrect science this is called the ‘carbon footprint,’ even though ‘carbon’ is a lump of coal, and the issue of concern to them is the production of carbon dioxide gas, two completely different chemical entities. But putting the incorrect chemistry aside, CO2 emissions have become a major political factor in world discussion. A significant point of concern is; is it at all reasonable to be making decisions on worldwide energy production techniques affecting all countries, if these decisions are being made from a Eurocentric view, but then forced onto African countries?

In their drive to cut back on coal-fired electricity production, a bloc of countries have been pushing for electricity production options that are plain and simply not feasible or 3

practical for most African countries. When scientists and engineers, some years ago, proposed nuclear power as an alternative there was vociferous opposition from extremegreen activist groups. All sorts of spurious arguments were used, like; reactors can have devastating accidents; operating reactors leak radiation; nuclear waste is an unsolved problem; all of which is untrue for all practical considerations.

Why is it that the public is never told that during the notorious Fukushima nuclear reactor incident in Japan that not one single person was killed or even harmed by nuclear radiation? Not one! In contrast, extremists have projected Fukushima as a massive nuclear accident. It was not, it was a conventional industrial accident that cost the owners a lot of money. But the Fukushima drama was primarily driven by emotional media reports and anti-nuclear hysteria, and not by any genuine nuclear radiation harm.

Thankfully, however, the EU, US and others now appear to have come to the realisation that their CO2 reduction goals can only remotely be achieved by the introduction of large-scale nuclear power; worldwide.

Note, John Shanahan, editor of allaboutenergy.net: We fully support Dr. Kemm’s efforts to develop reliable, high-energy-density nuclear power uniquely suited for Africa. It will contribute significantly to better economies, government, education, standard of living, and peace across the continent. It will make Africa less dependent on advice and support with strings attached from North America, Europe, and Asia. Kelvin Kemm, Knox Msebenzi, and other experts working with them are an excellent source for leadership for better energy for all of Africa.

Kelvin Kemm

Knox Msebenzi

nuclear physicist

electrical engineer

Leaders for nuclear power for South Africa and the continent

4