The best chance South Africa has of ending load-shedding is through the use of coal as a weapon against loadshedding, to strengthen the country’s long-term energy needs.
The South African government is considering the prospect of prolonging the useful lives of some of its largest coal-fired power plants as a way to strengthen the country’s long-term energy security in the face of a crisis that is becoming more severe.
According to people with knowledge of the situation, Kendal and Lethabo, two power plants that jointly makeup about 5% of the capacity of the state-owned utility’s total capacity, could be contenders.
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The people claim that the authorities tasked with ending the crisis and making sure it does not happen again are considering all of their options. Due to the fact that the plans have not yet been made public, these individuals asked to remain anonymous.
A weapon against loadshedding – coal
The shutdown of units at smaller coal plants that are expected to happen in the next year or two will be delayed for the time being by the South African government and the utility. The main areas of focus, according to the utility, are Hendrina, Grootvlei, and Camden.
The African National Congress, which is currently in power, is frantically trying to find a solution to the issues brought on by an increasing number of power outages one year out from elections.
However, extending the lives of the coal-fired giants would be difficult on Eskom’s finances at a time when they are already struggling, and it would raise questions about how serious South Africa is about lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
This is despite the fact that green energy has not come to the party to cover the shortfall caused by the closure of coal-fired power stations, as they contribute very little power to the grid.
The three plants are already operating at a reduced capacity despite having a combined capacity of 4.9 gigawatts, which is significantly less than the 8 gigawatts that Kendal and Lethabo have. At one point, Camden and Grootvlei were both placed in hibernation; however, they later resumed operations.
Whether maintaining those operations for a longer period of time is more expensive than maintaining diesel-fired plants, which are typically only occasionally used during times of high consumer demand, or whether maintaining those operations is more expensive than the harm sustained outages to the economy will be determined.
The R254 billion bailout imposed restrictions on Eskom, making more ambitious extension plans financially challenging to carry out. Commercial banks are reluctant to finance coal projects because of the climate risks. Therefore, any changes made to increase the plant’s lifespan would require cash flow to be paid for.
The plants would have to pay high fees if they were not exempt from the pollution abatement requirements.
The questions posed by Kgosientsho Ramakgopa’s spokespeople went unanswered. He is the minister of electricity. The Department of Fisheries, Forestry, and the Environment also did not provide any details.
A German consortium is crossing its fingers that improving the nation’s electricity system and boosting private sector generation capacity will eliminate the need for more extensive projects. After 2035, the Lethabo and the Kendal are both slated for retirement.
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As the first step in deciding the long-term fate of the nation’s coal-fired power plants, the South African government will assess the findings of a team of German consultants.
All 14 of Eskom’s operational coal plants have been evaluated by the group, which was led by vgbe energy, according to vgbe, an expert association of energy plant operators from 34 different countries, and its report is currently being finalized.
