SAfrica Wants Carbon Capture at New Coal-Fired Plants
Date: 29-Jul-08
Country: SOUTH AFRICA
The move comes as South Africa -- a major emitter of harmful greenhouse gases, with some 90 percent of its electricity produced from coal-fired plants -- strives to build a low-carbon economy amid global climate concerns.
"Are we saying that from now on CCS (carbon capture and storage) will be mandatory for all new power stations? The answer is, Yes," Environmental Affairs Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk told reporters.
No power plant yet operates anywhere worldwide with CCS equipment attached, and only a handful of countries including the United States, Britain, Canada and Norway, have pledged public money to test the technology on a commercial scale.
Those demonstration plants are expected to start operating from 2012-14 at the earliest.
Van Schalkwyk said new coal-fired power stations would not be approved without carbon capture readiness, as Africa's strongest economy sought to have its greenhouse gas emissions plateau at 550 million tonnes by 2020, followed by reduced carbon dioxide emissions.
"We have to move away from dirty coal as the dominant source of energy ... Where we continue to rely on coal we want to make sure that it is cleaner coal."
Harmful greenhouse gas emissions are raising the earth's temperature with potentially devastating consequences for millions of humans who face starvation, flooding and disease, mainly in developing countries.
The CCS concept is aimed at capturing and storing vast quantities of carbon dioxide from large sources such as coal stations.
Van Schalkwyk said South Africa, which was diversifying into nuclear and renewable energy sources to counter a chronic electricity shortage, needed to build a low-carbon economy to be internationally competitive.
"If we invest one percent of our GDP in mitigation it will save us 5 percent upwards of our GDP," he said.
South Africa wanted to significantly increase tariffs on carbon use by 2050, said Van Schalkwyk, adding that it was "without foundation" that the drive towards a low-carbon economy would cause massive job losses in the country.
(Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Muchena Zigomo/James Jukwey)