Podcast: Necsa plays a key role in shaping South Africa’s energy landscape
In this interview, Loyiso Tyabashe, Group CEO of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa), speaks with ESI Africa’s Editor-in-Chief about the role of nuclear energy in South Africa’s energy mix.
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“We can do it as a country. Let us embark on making this country a formidable country – a country of nuclear prominence globally.”
Tyabashe says what they’ve seen around the world is that many countries have started including nuclear energy in their clean energy taxonomy. Clean in the sense of no carbon emissions and no sulphur emissions.
“It is a technology that gives us carbon-free energy. The European Union has declared nuclear energy a clean source of energy alongside gas. But they did not declare it green.
“And I believe that as a country, we need to be clear in terms of what we want to achieve, because if you look at countries that have managed to decarbonise their electricity systems, it’s primarily countries that have hydro or they have nuclear or a combination of both,” he said.
He adds that, as a water-scarce country, “it puts us in a position whereby we can use our uranium resource to have nuclear power.”
Tyabashe will be a speaker on the panel Building Consensus: Regional Transmission Projects at Enlit Africa 2025.
