SA needs clean energy

2003-11-24 13:28

Cape Town - South Africa, presently one of the highest carbon dioxide emitters in the world, needed to consider alternative renewable energy sources because greenhouse gas emission constraints could have a "significant" impact on economy and trade.

This is according to Energy and Minerals Minister Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who spoke on Monday at the opening of the 2003 World Wind Energy Conference and renewable energy exhibition in Cape Town.

Mlambo-Ngcuka said South Africa was rich in energy resources, both fossil and renewable.

"South Africa is a world leader in converting coal to liquid fuels. However, we have negligible indigenous oil and the economy is skewed towards mining and processing industries with a high energy intensity," she said.

She said "renewables", such as solar and wind were "inexhaustible", but expensive to convert into useful forms of energy at present.

The minister said that coal was the dominant fuel source and accounted for 75% of total primary supply, with crude oil next at about 16%, followed by biomass and then amounts of gas, hydro-power, nuclear and renewables.

Most of the primary energy was transformed before it was finally used, notably by converting coal, hydro and nuclear to electricity and by converting crude oil, coal and gas to diesel, petrol and other liquid fuels.

Mlambo-Ngcuka said currently 9% of SA's energy mix was renewable energy, largely in the form of fuel wood which was harvested in an "unsustainable" manner.

"A package of energy services, for example, liquid petroleum gas and renewable energy alternatives such as hybrid mini-grids, gel fuel, solar cookers and solar water heaters, has to be employed," she said.

She said the country could possibly be short of electricity capacity by 2005/07.

"Given the time to commission a new power plant the current electricity generation could soon be viewed as vulnerable," she said.

Mlambo-Ngcuka said SA had an abundance of renewable energy resources, particularly solar energy, and recent results of the southern hemisphere's first Stirling System solar dish installed in Gauteng, were "excellent".

The country also had a fair wind resource, mostly along the coastal regions, with theoritical capacity estimated at 3000MW, excluding offshore wind energy potential.

Mlambo-Ngcuka said a few wind energy projects were being developed, as well as hybrid mini-grids for areas remote from the electricity grid.

"The hybrid mini-grid systems are serving household, water supply and purification systems. A strategy for integration and replication of hybrid mini-grids into electrification policy is being developed," she said.

- SAPA