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Koeberg

Nuclear power plant in Western Cape, South Africa. Approximate location -33.6737, 18.4281.

NuclearWestern CapeSouth Africa

Koeberg is a 1,800 MW nuclear power station in Western Cape, South Africa. It is operated by Eskom. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 4,054,628 homes (estimated). It ranks #12 of 122 South Africa power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1984, it is around 42 years old — long-established. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, nuclear supplies about 4.2% of South Africa's electricity; the national grid averages 699 gCO₂/kWh (17.8% low-carbon) (2025).

1,800MW installed capacity
4,054,628homes powered (est.)
1984commissioned (~42 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1000137.

Owner

Operated by Eskom. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This nuclear plant uses heat from nuclear fission to raise steam for a turbine-generator. It sits in a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 33.7°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

17.3°Cannual mean temp
705heating degree-days (base 18°C)
432cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
101 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 22 °CJF: 22 °CFM: 21 °CMA: 18 °CAM: 15 °CMJ: 13 °CJJ: 12 °CJA: 13 °CAS: 14 °CSO: 17 °CON: 19 °CND: 21 °CD22 °C

Heating degree-days here run 71% below the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 23/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

In colder climates, uninsulated hot equipment (boilers, turbines, valves, steam lines) loses proportionally more heat to ambient air — exactly the loss Inzonex modular insulation is designed to cut.

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

How it compares & nearby plants

South Africa has 1 nuclear power plant in this dataset, together about 1,800 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -33.6737, 18.4281 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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