Koeberg
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Koeberg is located 30 km north of Cape Town, on the West coast of South Africa, next to the SA Police Training College and the suburb of Melkbosstrand.
Koeberg nuclear power station is a uranium pressurized water reactor based on a design by Framatome of France and is operated by the national power utility, Eskom. It is South Africa's only commercial nuclear reactor, (two small research reactors were operated at Pelindaba) and supplies power into the national grid. It is rated at 1800 MW, its average production is 11,480 MWh and it has the largest turbine generators (2 x 900 MW)in the Southern Hemisphere.
The plant has been in more or less continuous operation since commissioning. Construction of Koeberg began in 1976 and Unit 1 was synchronised to the grid on 4 April 1984, with Unit 2 following suit on 25 July 1985 and there have been no serious incidents.
Low and intermediate level waste from Koeberg is transported by road in steel and concrete containers to a remote disposal site at Vaalputs, 600 km away in the Kalahari Desert.
The grounds of nuclear plant contain a 22 km² nature reserve open to the public containing more than 150 species of birds and half a dozen small mammal species.
The power plant was originally created well outside the metropolitan area, but has been encroached in recent years. This is the source of some tension between residents and Eskom, as the plant enforces maximum housing density regulations in case of evacuation, precluding the construction of high rise buildings.
References
- Nuclear Tourist (http://www.nucleartourist.com/world/koeberg.htm). Includes a picture.
- Koeberg Details (http://www.eskom.co.za/index.html?level=1§ion=/heritage/main.htm). Seems to be down often.
- Evacuation modelling for Koeberg (http://www.inro.ca/pres_pap/asian/asi00/EMME2Asian.pdf)