The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) announced last year by minister of mineral & energy resources Gwede Mantashe proposes a rational and nonextremist approach to energy procurement and policy in SA. This approach involves mixed energy.
The previous IRP, introduced in 2010, dedicated R250bn to renewable energy but was characterised by aggressive, irrational lobbying for the closure of coal-fired power stations.
SA’s economy requires enormous investment into the power sector to support our economic growth. Rising unemployment needs to be factored into a sober assessment of what should be done to balance our energy mix while we take care of the environment.
The Energy White Paper of 1998 was informed by this thinking. The first IRP was supportive of a mixed-energy basket which included renewable energy even before it was fashionable.
Energy security is at the core of SA’s GDP growth, just as it was key to the growth of other countries during the Industrial Revolution in Europe and North America. Economic growth in Europe was not built on expensive sources of energy. It happened on the back of affordable electricity that helped stimulate growth and reduce poverty.
SA’s low GDP and unemployment crisis will not be resolved if we opt for expensive power. Listening to the extremists who advocate a total shutdown of our coal mines and power stations could lead to millions of job losses, exacerbating poverty and increasing the risk of political instability.
Coal is the primary energy source for electricity generation around the globe and it is projected that this dominance will continue for at least a few more decades.
Coal is an abundant and relatively cheap fossil fuel. It does not require special vessels or pipelines for transportation and is a base-load energy source, which means it can be reliably used for national grids without intermittency problems.
Coal is an abundant and relatively cheap fossil fuel.
However, coal combustion for power generation generates significant environmental pollution. Therefore, the future consumption of coal for electricity generation must be cleaner and more efficient. This can be achieved by utilising a range of processes collectively known as clean coal technology (CCT).
In his IRP 2019 statement, Mantashe challenged SA’s coal industry, research institutes and academics to explore CCT as an alternative to the shutdown of coal mines and coal-fired power stations.
There is a global drive to decrease coal consumption for power generation because traditional coal-fired power plants emit high levels of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide (CO) and pollutants such as nitrous oxide, sulphur dioxide and particulates. Countries are trying to limit and reduce their coal-originated greenhouse gas emissions — widely held to contribute to global warming — but this is no easy task.
Natural gas is the most viable alternative to coal for fossil fuel-based power generation and it has relatively lower greenhouse gas emissions. However, natural gas is more expensive and will not replace coal within the next 20 to 30 years. If natural gas and renewable forms of energy will start catching up to coal only in 2040, it follows that alternative and cleaner ways to use coal for electricity generation must be explored.
Reducing coal consumption for power generation is not a solution in the short to medium term due to the increasing global thirst for energy. A more feasible solution is to make coal a less polluting fuel for power generation.
This can be done by incorporating cleaner and more efficient processes at all stages of the combustion cycle.
The US, Australia, Japan and China have made significant strides in CCT. A global review of coal-fired power plants that utilise CCT found that these are generally more efficient than the conventional versions and have lower greenhouse gas emissions. Coal gasification, considered one of the key technologies for cleaner and more efficient utilisation of coal, is integral to CCT.
Of the many technologies currently available or under development, carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been successfully utilised in the production of chemicals and fertilisers, although CCS technology is not yet economically feasible or commercially available for the large-scale operation of power plants.
CCS covers a set of emerging technologies that aim to mitigate the effects of CO generation by capturing most of it from source generators and storing it in subterranean reservoirs.
There are three main issues with existing commercial CO capture technology: lessening its effect on power-generating capacity; developing novel capture technologies for full-scale deployment; and enhancing the cost-effectiveness of novel CO capture technologies.
All these problems must be solved in order to make CCS first a key component of CCT and then a global standard for coal-fired power plants.
Various forms of CCT are now standard in developed countries but widespread implementation is hampered by high costs. Electricity generation via clean coal is more expensive and the price of the potential emission reduction must eventually be paid by the consumer, but widespread utilisation could be promoted with incentives and economic support.
By broadening their knowledge about CCT, coal companies, researchers and policymakers can help SA to design a coal-based energy future in a more sustainable manner. CCT is labour-intensive, which will help SA to preserve jobs while using coal in a way that is less environmentally harmful. The call to explore these developing technologies should be welcomed as a boost to the quest for a viable energy mix in SA.
*Phillip is CEO and executive chairman of LI Coal Clean Coal Gasification
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.