Dr. Conca reports that on March 31st, the Department of Energy in the Republic of South Africa finishes its public comment period on how the country plans to move away from coal and towards low-carbon sources like nuclear and renewables. This is not a simple move. Generation of electricity in South Africa is overwhelmingly dominated by coal, particularly low-grade coal, and the country uses coal to generate a third of its liquid fuels as well. Over 90% of electricity comes from coal, with only 3% from nuclear, 3% from natural gas and 2% combined from conventional and pumped hydroelectric.
Despite a very successful Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Program (REIPPP), which has resulted in 79 projects being commissioned since 2011, renewables still make up less than 2% of electricity generation. Fighting over nuclear and renewables has gummed up what should be a promising low-carbon future. Both sides fail to realize that the country needs both energy sources, and at higher levels than either understand. South Africa is one of the top ten producers of coal worldwide and is one of the leading coal export nations.
Since the government expects coal use to increase in the coming decade before it can decrease, it has an ambitious commitment to addressing climate change through a determined effort to implement a carbon tax, to replace its aging coal fleet with nuclear, renewables, and new coal plants outfitted with carbon capture and storage.
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