South Africa: Environment Minister Says No Urgent Need to Close Coal Power Stations
It would be "counterintuitive" to shut down old coal-fired power stations amid an energy crisis, said Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Minister Barbara Creecy.
The minister was responding to questions from members of Parliament's National Council of Provinces on Tuesday.
DA member of Parliament Cathlene Labuschagne had asked about the potential impacts of Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa's proposal to extend the life of old coal-fired plants.
Citing President Cyril Ramaphosa's newsletter, issued on 24 April, Creecy noted government's continued commitment to reduce its carbon emissions by 2030. South Africa's target or Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) is the range between 350 and 420 megatonnes. It is aligned to limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
In his newsletter, Ramaphosa said that the manner in which climate commitments are met should not compromise energy security or the immediate priority to reduce load shedding. This involves re-examining the timeframes and processes to decommission coal-fired power stations.
Creecy reiterated this and statements by the president that decisions on decommissioning will be informed by a "detailed technical assessment of the feasibility of continuing to operate older plants." These decisions would also be informed by the timeframes of new capacity from other energy sources and the impact on the country's path to decarbonise the economy.
Creecy said that within the 2030 timeframe of the NDC, there is room to reconsider the decommissioning schedules of some coal-fired power stations this year or next year. Camden is one such power station, where the decommissioning of some of its units is planned for this year. It's not an "appropriate time" to decommission those particular units (of Camden), given the energy crisis, Creecy said.
"The NDC requires certain things by 2030. What it does not require, in the middle of an energy crisis - is [that we] take units operating in Camden Power Station off the grid, right now, in the middle of an energy crisis. That would be counterintuitive," Creecy said.
"We can still meet NDC targets by 2030 and make a decision to delay taking these units offline at Camden, at a later point, between now and 2030. It's not necessary for us to do it right now," she emphasised.
Creecy added that modelling would be key to determining how much it would cost to fix old coal-fired power stations and also to determine how we can meet the NDC commitments.
Creecy said that her department had communicated that greenhouse gas emissions targets, namely for carbon dioxide, sulphates, and nitrates, must be included in the modelling for the decommissioning schedule of the coal-fired power plants.
There are concerns that delayed decommissioning would compromise South Africa's Just Energy Transition Investment Plan. Wealthy nations the UK, US, Germany, France, and EU had at COP26 two years ago pledged $8.5 billion to help South Africa transition to a low-carbon economy by targeting changes in the energy sector and developing green hydrogen and electric vehicle sectors.
Responding to this, Creecy said that would not be the case. The plan recognises that there are technological changes happening across the globe and ensures that South Africa remains competitive in these emerging industries. Creecy said that a large portion of the funds would assist in improving the transmission network in order to use more power from renewables.
Creecy said the modelling exercise would also have to consider the implications of the funding meant to repurpose old coal-fired power stations, if their decommissioning is delayed.
Ramaphosa, in his newsletter, also highlighted that changing the timeframes for coal-fired technology is not a reversal on the country's position on a just energy transition.
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