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Johannesburg - Environmental activists say government's vision for energy development is heading for disaster.
Earthlife Africa and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) say government's plans to proceed with building coal-fired power stations is out of kilter with its objective of controlling greenhouse gas emissions.
Earthlife Africa spokesperson Makoma Lekalakala says government is moreover using extortion and cheap tricks to ensure that the World Bank grants Eskom a loan, a loan that will be mainly used for additional coal-fired power generation.
The loan is said to be necessary for electricity security in South Africa. But nothing has been said about the negative impact that the conditions of a World Bank loan will have on the poor and the country's economy. In many developing countries money needed for essential projects like healthcare and education is being used to pay the interest on World Bank debt.
Lekalakala says a World Bank loan will tie South Africa to coal-fired power generation for a further 40 years.
Instead of additional coal-fired power stations and nuclear power, government should focus on renewable power projects.
The WWF has also condemned government's plan to expand South Africa's nuclear power capacity.
The organisation says government wants to increase its nuclear power capacity merely to gain more authority on the international political stage.
Richard Worthington, climate change programme manager at the WWF, says government's interest in nuclear power has little to do with the country's energy needs.
It's a question of South Africa's image abroad. One becomes a major player on the international stage if one has significant nuclear power capacity.
The nuclear power debate should be abandoned, he argues, in favour of a broader debate on how to make bigger and faster investments in renewable energy. An environment for independent power providers to access the electricity market needs to be created.
Joanne Yawitz, deputy director-general in the Department of Environmental Affairs, says while clean energy will have to play an increasing role in future, coal power will remain a very large part of South Africa?s future.
For instance, is very important to complete Medupi in time because there is a very evident looming electricity shortage. If Medupi does not proceed there will certainly be long power interruptions that could seriously damage the economy.
According to Yawitz, the department expects additional coal-fired power stations in South Africa other than Medupi and Kusile - not necessarily seven or eight, but perhaps another one or two more than those on the drawing board.
Worthington says while the WWF acknowledges the need to complete Medupi, the same cannot be said for Kusile. Studies show that South Africa has sufficient wind and solar-power potential to meet the country's electricity requirements, if enough is invested in these sources.
The World Bank will decide on the loan in April.
- Sake24.com
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