The South African government has released its first Integrated Resource Plan for power sector spending in eight years and has abandoned plans to add 9,600 MW of nuclear power capacity by 2030. Instead, it will focus on gas-fired, wind and solar power plants. The country's domestic nuclear capacity currently stands at 1,860 MW and is expected to remain idle in the upcoming years since no new projects are underway. By 2030, the government intends to commission 8,100 MW of wind power, 8,100 MW of gas-fired power plants, 5,670 MW of solar PV panels, 2,500 MW of hydropower and 1,000 MW of coal-fired capacities.
The plan will be carried out by the Department of Energy, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) and the state-run power utility Eskom. By 2030, the country's energy mix is scheduled to comprise coal (46% of the total capacity), gas (16%), wind (15%), solar (11%), hydropower (10%) and nuclear power (2%). Several coal-fired power plants will reach their end of life by then and Eskom will close approximately 30 GW of coal-fired capacity before 2040.
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