Programme Director, Mrs Masilela Premier of Mpumalanga, Mr Mandla Ndlovu MEC for Economic Development and Tourism, Ms M.C Masilela Mayor of Govan Mbeki Local Municipality, Mr Nhlakanipho Zuma Chairperson of the Board of Council for Geoscience, Mr Kelepile Dintwe CEO of CGS, Mr Mosa Mabuza Distinguished Guests Members of the Media
South Africa has been actively engaged in commercial coal mining since the late 1860s, with the natural resource being predominantly used to meet the country’s energy needs, including steel production, petrochemicals, cement and brick production.
Since then, coal production experienced an increase in volumes, thereby supplying Eskom’s growing fleet of coal fired power stations with the much-needed coal for energy generation.
Today, South Africa produces the largest amount of coal in Africa, and ranks amongst the top 10 coal producing countries in the world.
Despite the rail and port infrastructure challenges, at least 25% of coal produced in our country is exported to various nations for energy generation, amongst other reasons.
Given South Africa’s known reserves of coal that are equivalent to 173 times its annual consumption, at the current production and consumption levels, South Africa can produce coal for the next 150 years and beyond.
However, with the global sentiments against coal use and the growing demand for a just transition from high carbon emissions to low carbon emissions, long term investments in coal mining are declining, and in so doing, threaten the existence of coal mining in the near future.
It is in this context that, we have opted to invest in this Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) project to enhance both the efficiency and environmental acceptability of coal extraction, preparation and use.
Developed nations such as China, United States, India, Canada, and Norway are either developing or have successfully implemented CCUS projects, while African nations such as Egypt, Nigeria, and Angola have also identified CCUS as a key technology to reduce carbon emissions and meet their climate goals.
Reality of the matter is that, despite the pressure to phase-out coal, coal will continue to play a significant role in electricity generation in the foreseeable future as it is the largest base of the installed generation capacity, and it makes up the largest share of baseload energy generated, particularly in countries such as China, India, Japan, and South Africa.
Due to the design life of Eskom’s existing coal fleet and the abundance of coal resources in our country and on the African continent, it is critical for government and private sector to mobilise new investments in more efficient coal technologies, including supercritical and ultra-supercritical power plants with CCUS, to comply with climate and environmental requirements.
Having received a briefing on progress made regarding this CCUS project, we wish to, firstly, express our appreciation to the World Bank for their contribution to phase one of the project, and secondly, extend our unwavering support to our hosts, the Council for Geoscience (CGS) as the implementing agency in undertaking the scientific research intervention of reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions while simultaneously balancing economic development and astute environmental stewardship.
It is evident that South Africa’s socio-economic development relies heavily on the utilisation of fossil fuels, with the coal industry being the mainstay of our country’s energy production, and a significant employer in South Africa. That being the case, the success of this project will not only guarantee the existence of mining and production but will further go a long way in our nation realising its strategic priorities of driving inclusive growth, job creation and reducing poverty.
Although it is not ideal to applaud a fish for swimming, in view of the criticalness of access to land for this programme, we would like to express our gratitude to the Govan Mbeki Local Municipality for ceding 25 hectares of land to the CGS for the implementation of this piloting programme. We also acknowledge Sasol for not only partnering with CGS, but actively contributing towards Phase 2 of the pilot programme.
In closing, we urge all industry role players, including the coal miners and Eskom, to take an interest in the strategic partnerships between CGS and the private sector aimed at augmenting technical and financial capacity as we commence with the second phase of the project.
I thank you.