Koeberg nuclear power plant is the only nuclear power station in South Africa and the entire African continent. It is located 30 km north of Cape Town, near Melkbosstrand on the west coast of South Africa. Koeberg is owned and operated by the country's only national electricity supplier, Eskom. The two reactors at the station form the cornerstone of the South African nuclear program.

Koeberg nuclear power plant contains two uranium pressurized water reactors based on a design by Framatome of France. Koeberg supplies power to the national grid so that over-capacity can be redistributed to the rest of the country on an as-needed basis. Koeberg is rated at 1,800 MW, its average annual production is 13,668 GWh and it has two large turbine generators (2 × 900 MW).

The Koeberg nuclear power plant was constructed near Cape Town to be the sole provider of power in the Western Cape after fossil fuel power stations were deemed too small and too expensive to be viable. Nuclear power was considered because it was more economical than transporting coal to the existing fossil-fuel power stations, and construction of new fossil-fuel power-stations, which would have required 300 m tall chimneys to comply with clean-air legislation. Athlone Power Station in the city was too small to provide Cape Town's needs, and the Paarden Island power station (itself too small) has been demolished.

The reactor at Koeberg is cooled by cold water from the Atlantic Ocean pumped through an isolated circuit at 80 tons a second. Low and intermediate level waste from Koeberg is transported by road in steel and concrete containers to a rural disposal site at Vaalputs, 600 km away in the Kalahari Desert. The grounds of the nuclear plant form a 22 km² nature reserve open to the public containing more than 150 species of birds and half a dozen small mammal species.

The power plant was originally located outside the metropolitan area, whose growth has far-exceeded expectations in the intervening 20 years, so that the power plant is now close to suburban housing. The plant administration enforces maximum housing density regulations in case of evacuation, which precludes the construction of high rise buildings.

Koeberg Nuclear Power Plant
Country	South Africa
Locale	Western Cape
Status	Operational
Construction began	1976
Commission date	1984
Owner(s)	Eskom
Operator(s)	Eskom
Reactor information
Reactors operational	2 x 900 MW
Reactor type(s)	Pressurized water reactor
Reactor supplier(s)	Framatome
Power generation information
Annual generation	13668 GW·h