Information from the Fossil Fuel Foundation
Climate change, energy supply and the future for Southern African coal – the focus of global attention is now firmly placed on the twin problems of climate change and the supply of energy at acceptable prices.
Energy use and climate change are inextricably linked, according to Dave Collins, chairman of the organising committee of the recent conference on “The role of Southern African coal in the future carbon-constrained world economy” held under the banner of the Fossil Fuel Foundation (FFF). This is the first of two conferences. The second will be held on the 17 February 2010 and will provide a forum for discussion on the outcomes of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change to be held in Copenhagen this December and the resulting implications for the South African coal industry. The latest national and regional regulatory and policy development will also be presented.
Almost 90% of the world's primary energy is provided by the burning of fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas. But the more we consume fossil fuels, the more carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere and the more we contribute to greenhouse warming of the planet, according to Collins. However the era of using these cheap fossil fuels is coming to an end. At current rates of consumption reserves will last around 80 years, but with the projected increases in "Business as Usual" scenarios they will run out much sooner. This, combined with a rapidly increasing awareness of the climate change impact of fossil fuels usage, is driving the world towards a carbon-constrained economy.
All this has major implications for the future of the Southern African coal industry, in terms of both local consumption and of exports. South Africa is expected to use more coal as the economy picks up. In the context of climate change this increase represents unsustainable development unless measures are taken to offset the commensurate increase in carbon dioxide emissions, according to Dr. John Topper Director of IEA Environmental Projects Ltd and the IEA Clean Coal Centre who recently visited South Africa.
One important measure will be carbon capture and storage (CCS). The South African Centre for CCS headed by Dr. Tony Surridge was opened in March 2009. The vision of the centre is to facilitate a state of “country readiness” so that a carbon capture and storage demonstration plant could be operational in South Africa by 2020. This will include identifying suitable storage sites of porous rock which could store millions of tons of emissions from coal-fired power plants.
The technology has government support. In 2008 the Minister of Environmental Affairs, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, indicated “environmental considerations are more important than the financial cost” and added… “there will be no more power stations approved by us… without the requirement of carbon capture and storage”. International funding for CCS is on the agenda of the UN climate treaty to be examined in Copenhagen in December.
The FFF conferences are concerned with the role of the Southern African coal industry in the future world carbon-constrained economy, and the challenges it confronts. It is vital to address not just the mitigating actions based on CCS and clean coal technology, but also the business risks presented by climate change.
Alternative sources of energy must be developed. Solar and wind energies have hit the headlines recently. These renewable energies are seen as clean, freely available and inexhaustible. They will help meet the challenges of securing reliable energy sources while reducing climate changing carbon emissions. In Spain wind power produces 8% of the country's electricity consumption and is predicted to overtake coal and large hydro schemes within the next decade. (EWEA, 2006)
South Africa is looking to guarantee the production of 400 MW of wind power by independent power producers (IPPs) within the next three years, Energy Minister Dipuo Peters said recently. A solar energy park as part of the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) could contribute in the region of 5 000 MW of the country's electricity. A feasibility study is already underway to establish one or more sites for the park. The study would include land availability, solar energy, access, water and job creation.
However at present there are limits to which energy demand can be met by renewables alone. An example of this is the purchasing of five coal mines by the operators of the Three Gorges Dam in China to lessen the “hydro risk”. Dozens of new coal-fired power plants are to be installed alongside some of China's huge wind farms – to safeguard against conditions when the wind doesn't blow. Renewables are presently less reliable as an energy source than coal which can be stockpiled.
Many energy forecasts are predicting an increased role for nuclear energy in the future. While nuclear has problems such waste disposal and security, it does offer carbon-emission free energy. There is no “silver bullet”. The overall solution may lie in a set of measures including clean coal, nuclear, renewables such as solar, wind, hydro and biomass, and very importantly, developments in energy efficiency and use. In South Africa an environmental rating system (Green Star SA) rates the “greenness” of buildings by measuring their efficient energy consumption, reduction in GHGs, sustainable use of water and building materials and the management of waste.
A rapidly growing energy demand, an existing reliance on coal for power and meeting the monumental challenge of reducing carbon emissions is the scenario facing us today.
