NamPower is assessing small modular reactor technology capable of generating about 120 megawatts (MW) as Namibia considers nuclear power as a future source of baseload electricity.
NamPower Managing Director Kahenge Haulofu told Namibia Mining & Energy that technical teams have been studying small modular reactors (SMRs) and visiting nuclear facilities abroad, although Namibia has yet to select a technology or establish a dedicated nuclear power project.
“A small modular reactor can be 120 megawatts. 120 megawatts is a big plant for our world. It will be a very, very good base load for our plant,” Haulofu said.
He said he visited an SMR facility in China about two to three months ago, while other NamPower personnel have visited nuclear facilities and engaged engineers involved in developing the technology.
The technical assessment is taking place as the government considers nuclear energy as part of Namibia’s future generation mix, although the country still needs to establish the laws and regulatory framework required before a project can proceed.
“As we sit here today, we don’t have nuclear laws and the frameworks,” Haulofu said.
“The government has to start from somewhere to promulgate some of these laws into our national laws to be able to roll out something.”
Haulofu said responsibility for establishing nuclear policy and legislation, addressing environmental requirements and securing international approvals rests with the government, while NamPower is focusing on the technical side.
“While the government is waiting for the policies, the modalities, the laws, the environmental issues and the international approvals from the atomic organisations all over the place. NamPower cannot do that because these are state issues. So while they are doing that, we have been doing this,” he told Namibia Mining & Energy.
Despite the work being undertaken, Haulofu stressed that no reactor technology has been selected and there is no dedicated nuclear project yet.
“Up to now, there is no selection, no dedicated project yet. But it is on the horizon,” he said.
“It is in the planning as well like others, except that other projects are more advanced than the nuclear issue.”
Namibia’s large uranium mining industry has raised the prospect of eventually linking domestic uranium production with nuclear electricity generation.
However, Haulofu said Namibia does not have to wait until it has developed domestic uranium beneficiation and nuclear fuel production capacity before commissioning a reactor.
“You don’t need that. You need it in the long run. But you can start a plant if you buy the fuel elsewhere like how we buy coal from elsewhere,” he said.
“But we can start a nuclear small modular reactor in the country if that decision is made and the necessary laws are in place.”
The nuclear option is being considered as Namibia seeks additional domestic generation capacity and looks to reduce its reliance on electricity imports.
Namibia is also a major uranium producer, with Langer Heinrich, Rössing and Husab forming the backbone of the country’s uranium mining industry.
While that resource base provides a potential foundation for a longer-term nuclear value chain, Haulofu said the immediate focus remains on assessing suitable technology while government establishes the legal and regulatory conditions needed for nuclear generation to proceed.
