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.

The Integrated Resource Plan approved in October 2025 targets 5.2 GW of new nuclear capacity online by 2039. The regulator extended Koeberg unit 1's licence by 20 years in July 2024 and unit 2's in November 2025. Policy position as read on 2026-11-03: World Nuclear Association, Nuclear Power in South Africa (page dated 2026-10-26).

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.

Share of electricity from nuclear power

In South Africa, nuclear plants generated 4.2% of electricity in 2025, down from 4.9% in 2015. The share peaked at 6.8% in 1989, so it is 2.6 percentage points below its high.

Share of the country's total electricity generation that came from nuclear plants, by calendar year (1985 to 2025). Amber marks the high point, green the latest year. Source: Our World in Data from Ember and the Energy Institute, CC BY 4.0.

Data table

Year	Nuclear share, %
2025	4.2
2024	3.2
2023	3.5
2022	4.2
2021	5.0
2020	4.1
2019	5.2
2018	4.5
2017	5.6
2016	6.0
2015	4.9
2014	5.4
2013	5.5
2012	5.0
2011	4.9
2010	5.2
2009	5.1
2008	5.0
2007	4.3
2006	4.0
2005	4.6
2004	5.5
2003	5.4
2002	5.4
2001	5.1
2000	6.2
1999	6.3
1998	6.6
1997	6.0
1996	5.9
1995	6.1
1994	5.3
1993	4.2
1992	5.5
1991	5.4
1990	5.1
1989	6.8
1988	6.6
1987	4.1
1986	5.9
1985	3.7

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

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Sources

Global Nuclear Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, August 2026 release , CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-09-06
Nuclear share of electricity: Our World in Data, from Ember and the Energy Institute , CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-28

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