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No, R2D2 has not had massive growth. What you’re looking at is Eskom’s latest and greatest purchase – the first of six 380-ton replacement steam generators that are scheduled to extend the operational life of the Koeberg nuclear power plant by 20 years.
Eskom is overjoyed to have received the generator to help realize its 2010 ambition to bolster Africa’s only nuclear power plant, something they say is the most expensive and intensive maintenance company a nuclear plant can embark on.
New Eskom generators will extend Koeberg’s service life by 20 years
in a statement launched on Wednesday September 30, Eskom explained the challenge they faced in ensuring the safe delivery of the new steam generator.
“They are being transported by road from the port of Cape Town over a period of eight hours by steam generator, covering a distance of approximately 40 kilometers,” they said. “The trailer used to transport the steam generator is the longest in South Africa, measuring 42 meters long and requiring four trucks to transport each of the steam generators.”
They said the first three steam generators will replace the current infrastructure that has been in operation at Koeberg since the first unit was connected to the national grid in 1984. Installation of the generator in Unit 1 will take place between February and June, 2021.
“They will be housed in the Replacement Steam Generator Facility that has been built at the Koeberg site, until the old steam generators are removed from the plant during the next unit outage,” they said.
Generator replacement costs R20 billion
Eskom has faced a plethora of challenges over the past decade, including crippling financial setbacks resulting from state-organized looting by top executives. Despite this, and their continued efforts to recover the R3.8 billion that they insist were stolen from them during a decade of turmoil, they have managed to fund the R20 billion project and cannot wait to get started.
“The replacement of the steam generator is a key part of the broader program to extend Koeberg’s operational life, which was budgeted at an estimated cost of R20 billion, and will be the best investment in sustainable electricity generation infrastructure and less carbon intensive than Eskom can buy, “they said.
One can only imagine the gears beginning to turn in rival political parties, who will certainly be eager to know exactly how the lucrative project is being funded.
Eskom assured of project safety
Eskom said the project has been approved in terms of “comprehensive engineering analysis and safety studies”, which concluded that the new steam generators can be installed, commissioned and operated safely, “thus allowing the power plant continue to generate electricity beyond the 40-year operating life ”.
“The replacement of the steam generator is the most intensive and expensive project that a nuclear power plant can undertake, and several plants internationally have already done it successfully,” they said.
In addition, these analyzes and other studies are being reviewed by the National Nuclear Regulator, to approve the installation after its review and acceptance.
Old infrastructure that needs to be disposed of properly
Eskom said the installation is planned in a way that will limit the disruption of electricity generation.
“The replacement of the steam generator has been planned in Koeberg’s outage schedule and in Eskom’s generation plan.”
For old generators, the Nuclear Radioactive Waste Disposal Institute (NRWDI) will be responsible for storing them at the Koeberg site, before packaging and dismantling them for final disposal in a nuclear waste repository.
The replacement of the steam generators in Unit 2, which is currently on a refueling outage until mid-October, has also been planned to coincide with the unit’s upcoming maintenance and refueling outage to minimize the generation downtime on the unit. The replacement will occur between January and March 2022.
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