Rethinking the global electricity debate: why reliable power matters for economic growth

They are used in nuclear power stations but their development falls far short of their potential. There is a current debate to develop this potential on a global basis and recent articles suggest that this could drive future economic growth of the world. A recent article suggests that "Developing countries are leading the movement toward nuclear generated electricity". This article was co-authored by Ronald Stein,Dr. Robert Jeffreyand Olivia Vaughan. They point out that developing countries are spearheading the shift towards nuclear power in a world where reliable, dispatchable and sustainable electricity sources are crucial.

Wealthier nations focus on weather dependant wind turbines and solar panels for so-called renewable electricity. The choice of nuclear power generation ahead of unreliable renewables is driven by their need for dependable, low emissions electricity to meet their growing demand for industrial, mining and agricultural goods producing growth.

Despite its potential, nuclear power remains underutilized, particularly in developing economies. Yet, countries like China, Japan, Russia, and India are building nuclear power at scale, recognizing that nuclear provides the reliable, low-emission power needed to meet growing industrial and societal demands.

The Case Against Renewables

While wealthy nations invest heavily in wind and solar, these sources suffer from inherent weaknesses. Wind power is intermittent and highly variable, while solar energy is only available during the day and is weather-dependent. In South Africa, for example, wind is reliable only 35% of the time, and solar just 26%.

Moreover, renewables require extensive backup systems, often relying on fossil fuels, to ensure grid stability. This unpredictability drives up costs, making renewables significantly more expensive than coal or nuclear.

It seems incredible that there is such a powerful drive to turn the clock back and start using old electricity generation sources such as wind and solar which are known to be weak and unreliable. There seems to be a belief that modern technology and back-up will transform these forms of energy into environmentally acceptable low-cost, reliable and dispatchable sources of electricity and heat. The fact is that where they have been introduced on a large scale their high costs, have been inflationary and have weakened major economies.

Examples can be found in the United Kingdom, Germany, California and Australia for instance. All these countries are finding the transformations to renewables to have had extremely damaging impacts to their key manufacturing mining and industrial companies.

The Real Costs of Electricity

Costs of renewables are substantially higher than Coal and Nuclear.

"Many international reports prove that such electricity supply is costly due to its variability, interruptablility, inefficiency and requirement of 100% backup" in order that it can distribute dispatchable electricity.

Charting a Pragmatic Energy Future for South Africa