RUS | ENG | All
Enter the email or login, that you used for registration.
If you do not remember your password, simply leave this field blank and you will receive a new, along with a link to activate.

Not registered yet?
Welcome!

2023-06-02 06:20:00

SOUTH AFRICA'S ENERGY COLLAPSE

SOUTH AFRICA'S ENERGY COLLAPSE

BLOOMBERG - May 30, 2023 - South Africa’s Presidential Climate Commission has advised the country, which relies on coal for most of its electricity, to forsake using the fossil fuel for future power generation and to only use a minimal amount of gas.

The commission, in a set of recommendations on how South Africa should structure its electricity system, said a review of the country’s Integrated Resource Plan, or IRP, a blueprint for its energy industry, should include 50 gigawatts to 60 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030. Only three to five gigawatts of plants to be used at times of peak demand should be built, the commission said, mentioning that these could be gas but could also be other technologies.

“There should be no new coal and gas should be kept to the role of peaking support,” the commission said in the report released Tuesday.

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed the commission in 2020 to advise him on how the country’s power industry should be developed as it moves to reduce its reliance on coal. South Africa is the world’s 14th-biggest emitter of climate warming gases, a large proportion of which are generated from burning fossil fuels.

The recommendations come at a time when South Africa is suffering its worst ever power cuts, with blackouts of more than 10 hours a day and a slowing economy, and is opening up the electricity generation industry to private operators.

The commission warned against investment in coal and nuclear power plants because they aren’t “least cost.” Reliance on fossil fuels in the future could reduce the competitiveness of South African export industries as they could be penalized for the carbon-intensiveness of their products, it said. Instead solar, wind and hydro power should be invested in as well as batteries for storage, it said.

“Electricity planning should be anchored on least-cost pathways. All models reviewed showed that a least-cost energy model would be made up of investment in variable renewable energy,” the commission said. None of the models build new coal or nuclear or have gas at high utilizations.”

The IRP should also include detail on how the national grid will be strengthened and where, it said. The weakness of the grid, especially in undeveloped provinces with the best wind and solar potential, has slowed the adoption of renewable energy.

The commission recommended that the president order an independent study into how electricity is priced in the country. The study should explore how the national power utility, Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., would be able to recover its costs. It should also recommend how municipalities could modernize their electricity models to allow the purchase of electricity produced from rooftop solar panels and other privately owned plants.

The commission said it “understands” that the updated IRP, will detail how the electricity industry could be developed until 2050 and will, unlike previous editions, detail what’s needed in terms of expanding the transmission grid.

-----


Earlier:

SOUTH AFRICA'S ENERGY COLLAPSE
2023, February, 10, 12:20:00
SOUTH AFRICA'S ENERGY CRISIS
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a state of disaster to enable the government to accelerate its response to an ongoing energy crisis, and said he’ll appoint a minister in his office who will focus on boosting the power supply.
SOUTH AFRICA'S ENERGY COLLAPSE
2023, February, 8, 12:30:00
ФИНАНСОВЫЕ ПРИОРИТЕТЫ БРИКС
Ряд стран отметили важность укрепления сотрудничества в рамках Нового банка развития, который является флагманским проектом БРИКС.
SOUTH AFRICA'S ENERGY COLLAPSE
2023, January, 16, 12:20:00
SOUTH AFRICA'S GREEN REVOLUTION
It is no secret that the coal industry has a powerful presence in South Africa. The state-owned utility Eskom is the largest contributor to our country's greenhouse gas emissions.
SOUTH AFRICA'S ENERGY COLLAPSE
2022, November, 18, 10:55:00
S.AFRICA'S NUCLEAR CHALLENGES
South Africa's electricity generation is dominated by coal - Koeberg supplies about 5%.
All Publications »
Tags: SOUTH AFRICA, ENERGY, POWER