For nearly twenty years, South Africans have lived with rolling blackouts that interrupt workdays, slow factories and strain households. Even though 2025 has brought fewer hours of load-shedding than previous years, reliability remains the central weakness of the national power system.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA, 2023), coal still accounts for 81.6% of electricity generation, with nuclear at 3.7% and wind at 5.1%. An ageing coal fleet increasingly struggles to match rising demand, creating a structural gap that affects the entire economy.
These pressures extend far beyond the electricity sector. South Africa’s most important exports, including platinum-group metals, gold, iron ore, coal, vehicles and machinery, rely on stable voltage to operate furnaces, smelters, processing lines and automated manufacturing. When the grid falters, productivity falls, operating costs rise and global competitiveness suffers. A reliable, diversified energy system is therefore not only a technical goal but a prerequisite for economic growth, job creation and industrial resilience.
Against this backdrop, the government’s draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP-2025), approved in October 2025, charts a new direction. The plan foresees more than 105 gigawatts of new capacity by 2039 and allocates 5.2 gigawatts to nuclear power, with the option of increasing this to 10 gigawatts. It places nuclear among the strategic pillars of long-term development, emphasising localisation of the fuel cycle, domestic industrial participation and the establishment of modern nuclear skills. As Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa noted, the question is not only how to generate electricity, but how to ensure that nuclear technologies strengthen the broader economy.
South Africa is not starting from scratch. The Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, operated by Eskom, is undergoing a life-extension and modernisation programme to ensure continued operation. Meanwhile, institutions such as the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) and the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) maintain strong scientific, technical and regulatory capacity. These organisations train personnel, undertake research and support international cooperation, providing a foundation for any expansion of nuclear technologies.
Evolving landscape
Within this evolving landscape, small modular reactors (SMRs) have emerged as one of the most discussed options. Their factory-built components shorten construction timelines, reduce the scale of on-site works and allow phased deployment. For South Africa, this modularity is particularly relevant. SMRs can be placed near industrial hubs, mining operations or transport corridors where demand for electricity, heat and steam is concentrated. Their compact footprint also makes them suitable for replacing retiring coal units on existing sites, preserving grid connections and supporting local jobs.
The coal transition carries a profound socio-economic dimension. Many of South Africa’s ageing coal stations serve as major employers and anchor local economies, and their eventual retirement raises difficult questions about jobs, skills and community stability. International experience shows that this challenge is not unique.
In the United States, a 2024 report by the Department of Energy found that repowering retiring coal plants with advanced nuclear technologies can preserve local employment and even expand it – with more than 650 high-paying permanent jobs created per site and long-term regional economic activity increasing by about $275 million annually.
Reusing existing coal-plant infrastructure can also reduce nuclear construction costs by up to 35%, and ease the transition for workers whose skills overlap with those needed in nuclear operations.
For South Africa, where coal plants are deeply embedded in local economies, SMRs offer the possibility of a just transition: replacing end-of-life coal units with clean, continuous baseload capacity while maintaining livelihoods, reusing existing grid and civil infrastructure, and providing a pathway into high-skill industrial employment.
Integrating modular reactors into the system aligns with a broader trend: combining nuclear with renewables and storage to enhance stability. South Africa is rapidly expanding wind, solar PV and battery projects, yet variable output requires firm generation that can operate around the clock. SMRs can fill this role, supporting frequency stability, maintaining industrial operations and ensuring that renewable investments realise their full potential.
Internationally, the technology landscape is evolving quickly. France’s EDF, South Korea’s KHNP and Canada’s Ontario Power Generation are developing different SMR designs tailored to regional needs. Russia’s Rosatom is also active in this field, offering small-capacity reactors of up to 55 megawatts with modular configurations suitable for diverse climatic and infrastructural conditions, including those found across the African continent. Together, these projects reflect a rapidly expanding global toolbox of dependable, year-round energy solutions.
Advanced technologies
South Africa has the capability not only to adopt advanced technologies but to shape them. With established research centres, a skilled engineering community and decades of experience in nuclear operations, the country is well positioned to become a continental leader in next-generation nuclear deployment. The IRP-2025 marks an important step in this direction, signaling that reliable, low-carbon generation will remain central to South Africa’s energy strategy.
As the country works to overcome load shedding, revitalise industry and increase energy security, small modular reactors could become a natural continuation of this path – complementing renewables, reinforcing the grid and supporting economic development.
The challenge ahead is significant, but so is the opportunity: building an energy system capable of powering a new generation of South African growth.
[Image: Hal Gatewood on Unsplash]
The views of the writer are not necessarily the views of the Daily Friend or the IRR.
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