KEY POINTS
- Eskom extended its nuclear site review deadline to May 25 amid heavy public documentation volume.
- Critics say 2,700 pages of reports make 21 extra days wholly inadequate for meaningful input.
- Eskom has no cost estimates yet and has not decided which nuclear technology to use.
Eskom has pushed back the deadline for public comment on its proposed 5,200-megawatt nuclear power station by three weeks. The reason: intense public interest and an unusually heavy volume of documentation. The original closing date of May 5 has moved to May 25.
The extension covers the draft Environmental Scoping Report for two candidate sites. The first is Thyspunt, on the southern Cape coastline between Oyster Bay and Cape St Francis. The second is Bantamsklip near Pearly Beach on the Overberg coast. The draft report leans toward Thyspunt. Eskom’s public participation consultant Antoinette Pietersen stressed that no site decision has been made.
“Our purpose is to listen carefully and to record all inputs,” she said at a virtual public engagement session attended by around 100 participants.
Critics push back on the timeline
The extra 21 days did not satisfy many at the meeting. One participant, who gave only her first name Jane, questioned how ordinary citizens could meaningfully engage with more than 2,700 pages of technical material.
Gary Koekemoer, a non-executive director of conservation group Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa, went further. He questioned whether the national Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment could meet its own regulatory obligations under such tight timelines. He asked the environmental assessment practitioner to request more reasonable schedules from the decision-maker.
Anthony Reed called the timelines unjust. “Each step needs to be slowed down so that we can be given a fair opportunity,” he said.
Costs, technology and blank cheques
Michele Rivarola challenged the EIA’s scope at the meeting. He argued it covered only construction costs. Decommissioning expenses, he said, could run into trillions of rands. Other countries have already learned that lesson the hard way.
Eskom senior manager for nuclear engineering Sadika Touffie confirmed that no cost figures are available yet. The utility is still evaluating funding models and potential partners.
Koekemoer raised a separate concern about technology. Eskom has not decided what nuclear technology the plant will use. Options range from conventional uranium reactors to Small Modular Reactors. Without knowing the technology, Koekemoer argued, the EIA cannot properly assess environmental risks. He described it as asking regulators to sign off on an undefined project.
