Background note on Africa’s Current Path Energy Future to 2043

This briefing note outlines the current state and future prospects of nuclear energy in Africa, detailing existing infrastructure in South Africa, ongoing construction in Egypt, and the exploratory interests of other nations.

• South Africa is currently the only African country with a commercial nuclear power plant, the Koeberg station. Located near Cape Town, it has a capacity of 1 940 MW and provides approximately 6% of the country's electricity. While originally set for decommissioning in 2024, its operational life is being extended to 2044. Additionally, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa approved plans in 2021 to acquire another 2 500 MW of nuclear power.
• Egypt is developing a nuclear power program through a US$25 billion contract with the Russian company Rosatom. This project involves a 4.8 GW plant at El-Dabaa on the Mediterranean coast, with the first unit expected to be operational by 2028 and all four units completed by 2030.
• Several other African nations, specifically Ghana, Morocco, Uganda, and Rwanda, are exploring nuclear power options, although none have yet begun construction.
• The document notes the potential of different reactor scales: small modular reactors (SMRs) with 100 MW capacity could help balance the grid alongside renewable energy in about a decade, while larger 1 GW units would provide significant base-load capacity.

APA

Cilliers, J. (2023). Background note on Africa’s Current Path Energy Future to 2043. Institute for Security Studies. https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/guide.pdf?report=other/Energy&topic=08-nuclear

Chicago

Cilliers, Jakkie. Background note on Africa’s Current Path Energy Future to 2043. Institute for Security Studies, 2023. https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/guide.pdf?report=other/Energy&topic=08-nuclear.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cilliers |first1=Jakkie |title=Background note on Africa’s Current Path Energy Future to 2043 |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=9 November 2023 |url=https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/guide.pdf?report=other/Energy&topic=08-nuclear |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cilliers2023background, author = {Cilliers, Jakkie}, title = {{Background note on Africa’s Current Path Energy Future to 2043}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2023}, month = nov, url = {https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/guide.pdf?report=other/Energy&topic=08-nuclear}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }