South Africa’s power utility in early discussions with World Bank on nuclear financing
•
Article summary
South African civil society warns planned expansion of nuclear power could lead to increased debt and higher energy costs.
South Africa’s much-maligned state power utility Eskom (see Observer Summer 2024) is in “exploratory talks with the World Bank over funding for a multibillion-dollar nuclear programme that could be launched within 12 months,” according to a March report from Reuters.
The Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SADCEI) noted in a 21 May briefing that Eskom is currently planning significant nuclear power expansion, including 10 GW across multiple sites, despite a lack of published alternatives analysis or evidence of value for money. The SACFEI brief noted, “Civil society organisations warn that a new nuclear project could saddle South Africans with decades of unaffordable electricity costs, public debt, and unnecessary risk.”
The Bank had a long-standing moratorium on nuclear energy financing, which was lifted in June 2025, partially due to pressure from US conservatives (see Observer Winter 2024). As noted in a March article by Ecofin Agency, “In June, the institution also signed an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency to strengthen technical and financial support for nuclear projects in developing countries, particularly around small modular reactors.”
A May op-ed by Ute Koczy of Germany-based civil society group Urgewald in Enlit, marking the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine, argued against the Bank funding new nuclear projects. Koczy noted, “Nuclear energy is not economically viable, neither today nor at any point in the future. It remains significantly more expensive than renewable energy, and no nuclear project has delivered on its original promises on cost or construction time.”
