Nuclear power in South Africa

nuclearchain.net/countries/south-africa/ · data: Global Energy Monitor (GNPT, August 2026), CC BY 4.0 · printed from the live page

South Africa operates 2 nuclear power reactors across 2 sites, with 1.9 GW of gross capacity.

Operating

1.9 GW gross

Under construction

Planned

incl. 0 announced

Retired

2 cancelled

Operating1circle area ∝ site capacity Coastlines, borders and lakes: Natural Earth (1:10 million, public domain), which is generalised, so a coastal plant can sit a couple of kilometres off its true shoreline. Site positions: Global Nuclear Power Tracker.

Operating fleet by type: PWR (2). Principal operator: Eskom.

Operating capacity over time

First reactor online1984

Peak1.9 GW in 1985

Now1.9 GW 2 units

2026 so farno change

Gross capacity of units that had started up and not been permanently shut down by 31 December each year (2026 is to date). Amber marks the peak, green the present.

Data table

Year	Units online	GW gross	Change, GW
1984	1	0.97	+0.97
1985	2	1.94	+0.97

Only years in which capacity changed are listed.

Position in the fuel chain

Facility	Stage	Operator	Capacity / output
Moab Khotsong	mining	Harmony Gold Mining	not disclosed

All units in South Africa

Unit	Site	Status	Type	Gross MW	Online
Koeberg nuclear power plant 1	Koeberg nuclear power plant	Operating	PWR	970	1984
Koeberg nuclear power plant 2	Koeberg nuclear power plant	Operating	PWR	970	1985
Duynefontein nuclear power plant 1	Duynefontein nuclear power plant	Cancelled	-	1,650	-
Duynefontein nuclear power plant 2	Duynefontein nuclear power plant	Cancelled	-	1,650	-

Fuel supply exposure

The fuel families South Africa's operating reactors take, and the fabricators our sources document as able to make each. This is capability, not contracts: it does not say who actually supplies a given plant.

Fuel family	Units	GW gross	Documented fabricators	Note
PWR (square-lattice) fuel	2	1.9	Westinghouse Electric Company, Framatome, KEPCO Nuclear Fuel, China National Nuclear Corporation, ENUSA Industrias Avanzadas, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

See every country and who fabricates fuel.

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Sources

Global Nuclear Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, August 2026 release , CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-09-06

How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data