Finance Minister blows hot on coal!

In an article published on government’s official online publication, "Buanews", Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan makes a very strong case as to why coal remains the best way for Eskom to generate electricity. Essentially, Minister Gordhan uses the article to make a case for Eskom to continue with plans to build the Medupi coal power station at a cost of US$3 Billion. The Minister points out that the demand for electricity has simply outstripped Eskom’s capacity to meet that demand and coal remains the only solution to closing this gap, in the immediate term. While Minister Gordhan acknowledges that there’s no denying coal’s harmfulness to the environment, he fails to make a critical point, which is that in pursuing the coal solution to South Africa’s electricity problem, measures must be put in place to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions from such power stations as Medupi. 

Carbon Capture and Storage

My challenge to government and Eskom is to ensure that the design of the Medupi power station includes a carbon capturing and storage plan. Carbon capture and storage methods effectively ensure that the carbon dioxide that would otherwise have been released into the atmosphere is instead captured and stored, usually deep under the earth's surface. Recently government, through the Central Energy Fund (CEF) launched the SA Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage (SACCCS) and to this end, I urge government to demonstrate the will to reduce SA’s overall carbon dioxide emissions by making the SACCCS an integral part of the Medupi project and any other future project to build new coal power stations.