Coal can plug the gap

Only 50% of Eskom’s coal fleet is working. Green energy is small at less than 2GW. Gas is only 1GW. Nuclear is 2GW but Koeberg is near the end of its planned life. What beggars belief is that we are not building new coal power plants.

We could have asked China to assist, and installed scrubbers on the new plants to reduce emissions. China builds coal plants in less than three years. The fact is our coal plants are 40 years old and breaking down. They will never be fixed. They are too old. There is no country except those with huge hydro power, and France with nuclear, that are not mainly dependent on coal or gas. We don’t have gas. We do have lots of coal.

We must urgently build new coal power, and retire the oldest plants. We can persuade the international community on the basis that it is essential for our survival, and that it will reduce emissions as cleaner coal replaces dirty coal. New coal plants can later be retired when sufficient gas is procured and green energy comes on line.

Nuclear has a 15-year lead time. It can’t help us now. We must plug the gap with coal.

Willem Cronje Cape Town