A notice regarding an Environmental Authorisation Process for the proposed Eskom Nuclear Power Plant at Bantamsklip has residents up in arms.
Eskom proposes the establishment of a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) generating up to 5 200 MW, with associated infrastructure, at either Thyspunt near St Francis Bay in the Eastern Cape, or Bantamsklip in the Overstrand. Bantamsklip is just over 20 km from Gansbaai and 10 km from Dyer Island. History repeats itself. About 15 years ago approximately 300 concerned residents opposed the building of a nuclear power station. They handed a memorandum to the Overstrand Municipality saying the municipality had failed to represent their interests by supporting the proposed nuclear power plant.
Most conservationists say the notice caught them off guard. “We heard rumours that the plans were back on track,” a local concerned conservationist group said in a statement, “but we were hoping that wouldn’t happen. We are totally overwhelmed by the events.” Residents also agree that the proposed nuclear plant will have a major impact on the environment. “This is a very sensitive issue,” one conservationist said. “The outcry against it last time prevailed, and it was temporally halted.”
On 22 July 2010 the Dyer Island Conservation Trust stated the proposed site is within a habitat that is unique not only to this continent, but to the whole world’s ecosystems. “There the cold Benguela system on the Atlantic side meets the warm Agulhas Indian Ocean,” a press statement pointed out. “There is no other area in the world where two such differing bodies of water mix as close to a coastline as here along Cape Agulhas.”
Conservationists said the proposed nuclear site also posed a threat to the already-endangered Black Harrier raptor. “We need to come together and, with the same energy as in the last, fight this case,” they said. “The Black Harriers are Southern Africa’s rarest endemic raptor and have been uplisted from Vulnerable to Endangered in South Africa and Namibia.”
No need for nuclear power
Peter Becker, former director of the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR), said: “All independent studies show there is no need for nuclear power in South Africa’s future. A recent example is a joint report from the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA), the National Planning Commission (NPC) and the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC), which found that both energy security and net zero-emission goals can be achieved in South Africa without nuclear power. Well-known energy analyst Clyde Mallinson calculated that the plan, which includes nuclear power plants, will cost the country R250 billion extra per year in terms of an increase in electricity prices, which will be necessary to pay for it.”
He said it is difficult to understand why the Minister of Energy and Electricity is so keen to push ahead with the nuclear plants despite overwhelming scientific evidence against them. “The only logical explanation is that there is the expectation of large-scale corrupt benefit by certain parties. Nuclear plants are mega-projects that always run way over budget, cost- and time-wise. They also require migrant labour during the construction phase, which brings socioeconomic problems, especially after the construction phase.”
Responding to an enquiry from Hermanus Times, the NNR said it did not do the Environmental Impact Assessment. “It is a National Environmental Management Act requirement administered by the Department of Environmental Affairs,” the regulator’s Gino Moonsamy said. Eskom had not responded at the time of going to press, while Overstrand Municipality said it would comment later.
