Koeberg nuclear power station
| Koeberg Nuclear Power Station | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Country | South Africa |
| Location | Western Cape |
| Coordinates | 33°40′35.2″S 18°25′55.37″E / 33.676444°S 18.4320472°ECoordinates: 33°40′35.2″S 18°25′55.37″E / 33.676444°S 18.4320472°E |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | 1976 |
| Commission date | 1984 |
| Owner(s) | Eskom |
| Operator(s) | Eskom |
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactor type | PWR |
| Reactor supplier | Framatome |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 2 x 970 MW |
| Nameplate capacity | 1,940 MW |
| Capacity factor | 80.4% |
| Annual gross output | 13,668 GW·h |
Koeberg nuclear power station is a nuclear power station in South Africa. It is currently the only one in the country, and the only one on the entire African continent. It is located 30 km north of Cape Town, near Melkbosstrand on the west coast of South Africa. Koeberg is owned and operated by the country's only national electricity supplier, Eskom. The two reactors form the cornerstone of the South African nuclear program.
Koeberg contains two pressurised water reactors based on a design by Framatome of France. Koeberg supplies power to the national grid so that over-capacity can be redistributed to the rest of the country on an as-needed basis. Koeberg is rated at 1,860 MW, its average annual production is 13,668 GWh and it has two large turbine generators (2 × 970 MW).
Each reactor delivers 970 MW (gross) and is capable of delivering 930 MW (net) to the grid.
The power station was constructed near Cape Town to be the sole provider of power in the Western Cape after fossil-fuel power stations were deemed too small and too expensive to be viable. Nuclear power was considered because it was more economical than transporting coal to the existing fossil-fuel power stations, and construction of new fossil-fuel power-stations, which would have required 300 m tall chimneys to comply with clean-air legislation.Athlone Power Station in the city was too small to provide Cape Town's needs, and the Paarden Island power station (itself too small) has been demolished.
Koeberg was one of the first nuclear power stations designed to be specifically resistant to earthquakes. The reactors at the Koeberg nuclear power station are built upon an aseismic raft designed – on the basis of a mid-1970s hazard study - to withstand a magnitude 7 earthquake at a focal distance of about 10 km, 0.3g zero period ground acceleration (ZPGA). The largest recorded earthquake in the Cape Town area has been 6.5 magnitude at Jan Biesjes Kraal in 1809.
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