Appraisal of Nuclear Energy as an Alternative Option in South Africa’s Energy Scenario: A Multicriteria Analysis
South Africa is being confronted with an irregular power supply, leading to persistent load shedding due to aged and unreliable coal-fired power plants. Connected with coal as a generating source for electricity from fossil fuels are environmental concerns such as emissions of greenhouse gases and c...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/21/10349 |
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| author | Solomon Eghosa Uhunamure Ephraim Bonah Agyekum Olatunde Samod Durowoju Karabo Shale Nthaduleni Samuel Nethengwe Georges-Ivo Ekosse Ekosse Tomiwa Sunday Adebayo |
| author_facet | Solomon Eghosa Uhunamure Ephraim Bonah Agyekum Olatunde Samod Durowoju Karabo Shale Nthaduleni Samuel Nethengwe Georges-Ivo Ekosse Ekosse Tomiwa Sunday Adebayo |
| author_sort | Solomon Eghosa Uhunamure |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | South Africa is being confronted with an irregular power supply, leading to persistent load shedding due to aged and unreliable coal-fired power plants. Connected with coal as a generating source for electricity from fossil fuels are environmental concerns such as emissions of greenhouse gases and climate change impacts. Nuclear energy can allay the country’s dependence on coal as a source of energy. This article, therefore, reviews the feasibility of nuclear energy using a multicriteria analysis technique. A combination of Strengths, weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to evaluate the external and internal factors that could either positively or negatively affect the country’s nuclear energy expansion drive. From the analysis, the country’s enabling laws and regulatory framework recorded the highest score of 39.2% under the strengths for the sector. In the case of the weaknesses, the high cost of construction and long construction framework recorded the highest weight, of 50.47%. Energy export and demand under the opportunities recorded a weight of 52.09%, ranking it as the highest opportunity for the sector. Seismic events were identified as the biggest threat for nuclear power expansion in the country, and the experts assigned a weight of 42.5% to this factor. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:05:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2b455fc28c80431c877f1ffbfaf53d78 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:05:20Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-2b455fc28c80431c877f1ffbfaf53d782023-11-22T20:31:27ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172021-11-0111211034910.3390/app112110349Appraisal of Nuclear Energy as an Alternative Option in South Africa’s Energy Scenario: A Multicriteria AnalysisSolomon Eghosa Uhunamure0Ephraim Bonah Agyekum1Olatunde Samod Durowoju2Karabo Shale3Nthaduleni Samuel Nethengwe4Georges-Ivo Ekosse Ekosse5Tomiwa Sunday Adebayo6Faculty of Applied Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, P.O. Box 652, Cape Town 8000, South AfricaDepartment of Nuclear and Renewable Energy, Ural Federal University Named after the First President of Russia Boris Yeltsin, 19 Mira Street, 620002 Ekaterinburg, RussiaFaculty of Science, Engineering and Agriculture, University of Venda, P.O. Box X5050, Thohoyandou 0950, South AfricaFaculty of Applied Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, P.O. Box 652, Cape Town 8000, South AfricaFaculty of Science, Engineering and Agriculture, University of Venda, P.O. Box X5050, Thohoyandou 0950, South AfricaFaculty of Science, Engineering and Agriculture, University of Venda, P.O. Box X5050, Thohoyandou 0950, South AfricaDepartment of Business Administration, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Cyprus International University, Northern Cyprus Via Mersin 10, 99670 Nicosia, TurkeySouth Africa is being confronted with an irregular power supply, leading to persistent load shedding due to aged and unreliable coal-fired power plants. Connected with coal as a generating source for electricity from fossil fuels are environmental concerns such as emissions of greenhouse gases and climate change impacts. Nuclear energy can allay the country’s dependence on coal as a source of energy. This article, therefore, reviews the feasibility of nuclear energy using a multicriteria analysis technique. A combination of Strengths, weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to evaluate the external and internal factors that could either positively or negatively affect the country’s nuclear energy expansion drive. From the analysis, the country’s enabling laws and regulatory framework recorded the highest score of 39.2% under the strengths for the sector. In the case of the weaknesses, the high cost of construction and long construction framework recorded the highest weight, of 50.47%. Energy export and demand under the opportunities recorded a weight of 52.09%, ranking it as the highest opportunity for the sector. Seismic events were identified as the biggest threat for nuclear power expansion in the country, and the experts assigned a weight of 42.5% to this factor.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/21/10349nuclear energySouth Africamulticriteria analysisAnalytical Hierarchy ProcessSWOT analysis |
| spellingShingle | Solomon Eghosa Uhunamure Ephraim Bonah Agyekum Olatunde Samod Durowoju Karabo Shale Nthaduleni Samuel Nethengwe Georges-Ivo Ekosse Ekosse Tomiwa Sunday Adebayo Appraisal of Nuclear Energy as an Alternative Option in South Africa’s Energy Scenario: A Multicriteria Analysis Applied Sciences nuclear energy South Africa multicriteria analysis Analytical Hierarchy Process SWOT analysis |
| title | Appraisal of Nuclear Energy as an Alternative Option in South Africa’s Energy Scenario: A Multicriteria Analysis |
| title_full | Appraisal of Nuclear Energy as an Alternative Option in South Africa’s Energy Scenario: A Multicriteria Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Appraisal of Nuclear Energy as an Alternative Option in South Africa’s Energy Scenario: A Multicriteria Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Appraisal of Nuclear Energy as an Alternative Option in South Africa’s Energy Scenario: A Multicriteria Analysis |
| title_short | Appraisal of Nuclear Energy as an Alternative Option in South Africa’s Energy Scenario: A Multicriteria Analysis |
| title_sort | appraisal of nuclear energy as an alternative option in south africa s energy scenario a multicriteria analysis |
| topic | nuclear energy South Africa multicriteria analysis Analytical Hierarchy Process SWOT analysis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/21/10349 |
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