Business
South Africa must decide whether it wants coal, gas or nuclear for its energy needs
“It will take 10 years to fix the 1998 problem,” said Dames, who steps down at the end of this month. In its 20-year Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), running up to 2030, the government says coal, nuclear, hydro, shale gas and renewable energy are all options to beef up power supply.
And after the 2008 debacle, the government realizes it could pay a heavy price if it does not decide in time on the next phase of power construction when Medupi and Kusile are complete. “We are working around the clock to arrive at decisions quickly,” Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba said.
The IRP is revised every two years, the latest revision being last year. Cabinet has yet to approve the updated plan which proposes a delay in construction of more nuclear power plants and a focus instead on coal, hydro and gas. Eskom’s problems are compounded by increasing maintenance needs at its decades-old plants, and unplanned outages.
It also faces challenges relating to the quality of coal fed into its power stations. The recent blackouts were imposed after torrential rain soaked coal stockpiles and the coal could not be fed properly into the system. “I don’t think there is nearly enough attention being given to the supply of coal for Eskom. That’s an area government needs to do more work on,” said Mike Rossouw, chairman of the Energy Intensive Users Group, which represents heavy power users such as mines and factories.
Eskom’s coal stockpiles are mostly kept in the open, in part because of the high cost of storage, and so are prone to damage from heavy rain. Storage bunkers are available but not enough to protect all the coal and the problem is compounded by most of Eskom’s supply coming from exposed open-pit mines.
DIVERSIFY THE ENERGY MIX
Eskom generates most of its electricity from coal-fired plants but also has one nuclear plant, gas turbines, hydro-electric and wind facilities. Coal is likely to remain the main feed stock for base-load power, given that South Africa is a major producer and exporter of coal.
To diversify its energy sources and reduce its reliance on coal plants, South Africa started three years ago to procure renewable power from independent producers. To date, the government has signed off on 64 renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of 3,850 MW. Eskom said 19 projects had been connected to the grid to date.
