South Africa’s Eskom advances environmental studies for potential third nuclear power station

South Africa’s state-owned utility Eskom has initiated environmental impact assessment (EIA) work to evaluate two potential sites for a future nuclear power station at Thyspunt on the Eastern Cape coast and Bantamsklip in the Overberg region, according to notices issued under national environmental legislation.

The EIA represents the first step in a multi-stage regulatory process and does not constitute a procurement decision. Nuclear expansion appears in South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) as a long-term energy option, with planning scenarios referencing 2.5–3GW of additional capacity, though government timelines have repeatedly shifted.

Thyspunt and Bantamsklip were assessed during Eskom’s earlier Nuclear-1 siting studies, with Thyspunt undergoing extensive geological and environmental reviews in the 2010s. Bantamsklip lies near environmentally sensitive coastal areas, requiring detailed marine and terrestrial-impact analysis as part of the new assessment.

Eskom said the environmental process will include public participation rounds and specialist studies required under the National Environmental Management Act. In parallel, any nuclear project would require a site licence from the National Nuclear Regulator, a multi-year process that examines seismic risk, coastal hazards, emergency planning and population-density thresholds.

The EIA work comes as Eskom progresses the life-extension of its 1.94GW Koeberg plant to maintain baseload supply into the 2040s. The utility has not disclosed financing arrangements or a construction timeline for any new nuclear capacity, citing the early phase of regulatory preparation.

A previous procurement attempt involving Russia was halted in 2017 after a South African High Court ruling found the process unconstitutional, contributing to long-standing delays in new nuclear decisions.