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NGOs slam government’s proposed electricity mix

29 November 2010

The government’s integrated resource plan (IRP) for this year has been heavily criticised, largely by civil society, which said it would be disastrous for the economy and the environment.

Participants in the public hearings were unhappy mainly with the fact that the plan still included coal and nuclear. The majority said they would prefer the plan to rely mainly on renewable energy.

The IRP 2010 projects a scenario that would cost R860 billion, which would take the country’s energy mix in 2030 to 48 percent coal, 16 percent renewable energy, 14 percent nuclear, 9 percent peaking open cycle gas turbine, 6 percent peaking pump storage, 5 percent mid-merit gas and 2 percent imported hydroelectricity.

Alice Thomson of Earthlife Africa said the NGO rejected the plan in its entirety as there were major problems with it.

“œThe IRP plans to increase South Africa’s generation capacity from our existing capacity of 44 000 megawatts to 85 241MW. To see this in context, one must realise that the whole of Durban and Cape Town each consume 1 300MW. We believe that we do not need to increase generation capacity, instead we can decrease the energy intensity of our economy,” said Thomson.

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