Final reports expected on coastal power station

An independent expert Is compiling the final environmental impact assessment report for a nuclear power station with a maximum capacity of 4000MW along the coast, with Thyspunt in the Eastern Cape still the most likely location

LINDA ENSOR

Published: 2012/04/12 07:45:09 AM

An independent expert was compiling the final environmental impact assessment report for a nuclear power station with a maximum capacity of 4000MW along the coast, with Thyspunt in the Eastern Cape still the most likely location, Energy Minister Dipuo Peters said yesterday.





The final report was expected to be submitted by the end of the year to the Department of Environmental Affairs for evaluation and a decision on an environmental authorisation.





The fact that Thyspunt is still the preferred location — despite intense opposition from the local community — contradicts the view expressed by Women, Children and People with Disabilities Minister Lulu Xingwana in October that "the development will not proceed". She was minister of arts and culture at the time.





This was because the South African Heritage Resources Agency had refused to approve the heritage impact assessment report on the grounds that the proposed power station would have a negative effect on the heritage of the Khoi San.





Three possible sites have been identified: Bantamsklip, east of Hermanus; Duynefontein next to the existing Koeberg power station; and Thyspunt in the Eastern Cape, on the coast between Oyster Bay and St Francis Bay.





Thyspunt was the site that was recommended by the revised draft environmental impact report released last year on condition that it received the required authorisation and approval.





Studies of the three sites had not revealed any "fatal flaws", Ms Peters said in reply to a parliamentary question by Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Pierre Rabie. If the Thyspunt site was not approved for the first new nuclear station, it was possible that either the Bantamsklip or the Duynefontein sites may be approved.





"With respect to the Thyspunt site, issues have been raised relating to transport, the chokka (squid) industry and debris flow. These issues are being investigated by the specialists and if there are substantive changes made in the respective specialist reports, the public will be provided with the opportunity to comment on these reports. Further work is also being undertaken by the heritage specialists," she said.





Ms Peters said more than one site would be required for the programme envisaged in the integrated resource plan. The plan provides for an additional 9600MW of nuclear energy between 2010 and 2030, giving nuclear a 23% share of the total new energy build and a 20% share of the total energy mix in 2030 from its 5% in 2010.





The minister said Bantamsklip could be used for a subsequent nuclear power station if Thyspunt was used for the first one.





She said the final report from the environmental expert would take into account the public comments received on the revised draft report as well as the 28 specialist studies related to fauna and flora, wetlands, dune morphology, transport, heritage and socioeconomic activities such as the fishing industry, tourism and agriculture.





A few revised specialists’ reports would be made public in a few months’ time.




Questioned by DA MP Jacques Smalle about the planned solar park in Upington, Ms Peters said a process of appointing a consultant to conduct the feasibility study for the project was under way, though it had been delayed for a while.

Shale Gas: Economic Potential vs Status Quo

More than a year ago we indicated the potential of natural gas extracted from shale rock and that the SA Karoo basin covered in shale rock might contain a great deal of this new source of energy. In a report in the Calgary Herald, of 18 April, Peter Terzakian referred to a very recent assessment of shale gas potential in 48 basins in 32 countries released by the US Energy Information Agency. (Read his article here)

To quote the Calgary Herald: “ The numbers are staggering: over a six-fold increase in the 1,001 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas that was previously known to be “proven” reserves. According to the EIA report, over 6,600 Tcf of shale gas resources are estimated to be technically recoverable”. As the Calgary Herald explains “……..To put this in perspective, 1,000 Tcf of natural gas contains the equivalent energy to 166 billion barrels of oil – a staggering amount considering that the discovery of 10 billion barrels of conventional oil these days is a rare occurrence….”

We might add by way of comparison that the annual global consumption of oil is of the order of 87m barrels per day of which SA consumes about approximately 555 000 barrels per day.

The Calgary Herald produced a table of the largest 15 such shale gas reserves to point to the vast recoverable resource in China. But as may be seen below the estimate of the technically recoverable resource in South Africa at 500 TCF (none yet proven) is no small potatoes either- it is the fifth largest such resource and equivalent to 83 billion barrels.

Were this potential output of natural gas, estimated as recoverable by the US EIA, to be captured from the Karoo shale it would be very large potatoes indeed. It would be the equivalent to about 400 years of SA consumption of oil at current rates: 365*550 00 = 202.575m per annum; (83000mb/202.575mbpa) = 402 years

These numbers derived from estimates that are as objective and scientific as any should help concentrate minds at the SA Department of Mineral Resources that has placed a freeze on rights to explore for natural gas in SA until it has formulated a policy. The benefits of discoveries of natural gas in SA of anything like this order of magnitude would very obviously be transformational for the SA economy. It would offer the prospect of much faster growth in national output and in incomes, including the incomes to be received by the SA government and of the poor to whom it may be hoped a good portion of the extra income would be distributed.

There might well be damage to the environment to be traded off for these great potential benefits. Such tradeoffs can presumably be calculated and compensation offered if necessary to those negatively affected. There is too much at stake for any other approach to be adopted.

How much actual damage to be caused will continue to be disputed. However what should be borne in mind is that the damage to the environment caused by extracting other sources of energy in SA especially open cast or even deep level coal mining, would need to be brought into the calculation. Or in other words, less damage to the Waterberg traded off for damage to the Karoo.

In many countries the prospects of shale gas have been greeted like the proverbial manna from heaven. Technically recoverable gas is being converted into proven reserves and actual output at a rapid rate. The economics of shale gas are rapidly transforming the energy equation in the US. But in SA the green movement seemed to have sounded an alarm that has deafened any account of the potential benefits. That the Karoo farmers have (recently) been denied any direct benefits from the gas under their land has no doubt added to the cacophony of protest.

Shell Oil, which appears to be well ahead in the race for Karoo gas, has argued (Business Report May 3 2011 p 17) to the contrary, that the process of extracting gas from shale “can be done without significant environmental damage”. That Shell has an interest in such arguments does not make the argument invalid. Furthermore the actual experience of damage to the environment in shale basins where gas is already being extracted in significant volumes will provide very important evidence.

The negative external effects of extraction or of any minerals in the ground do not remove the necessity to actually calculate the relevant tradeoffs as best as science will allow. Without such calculations and tradeoffs, economic development itself becomes much more difficult to realize. This is a fact of economic life well enough known to the greens who have no taste for the rising incomes and especially the rising consumption power of the masses.

Such an environmental assessment would then enable full compensation to be actually paid out to those damaged directly. The great potential extra income to be generated from natural gas available deep under the Karoo shale rock is very likely to greatly exceed the damage caused to neighbors. If this is not the case then the project should not be allowed to go ahead.

The Department of Mineral Resources should however be well aware when establishing its policy that not only will natural gas discoveries on this potential scale be transformational for the SA economy, it will prove even more transforming of the energy sector of the economy. The Department should know that transformation of this order of magnitude will naturally not only be resisted by those directly in the path of discovery. Resistance would also come from those who think they may lose the race for supremacy for natural gas from SA sources because they have been slow out the blocks. The national interest in economic growth will count for little when opposed by vested interests.

Source: Investec

See also: An incredibly bullish chart on Shale Gas Reserves, Sasol to explore Karoo for Shale Gas, and Sasol buys more Canadian Shale

Sasol pushes LPG, "green" taxis

JOHANNESBURG — In an effort to reduce carbon emissions, the Gauteng provincial government and the South African National Taxi Association Council (Santaco) have embarked on a partnership to convert minibus taxis in the province to dually operate on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as well as petrol.

Changing from petrol to gas and vice versa is manually done by the driver.

On the Gerotek high-speed oval, I could discern no visible power difference in performance as a passenger. Tests have shown a minimal difference in power output.

The R3m pilot project which was facilitated by one of Blue IQ’s automotive subsidiaries, the Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC), has converted 70 taxis operating in northern Pretoria and Tembisa.

Each conversion costs about R20000, paid for by the Gauteng provincial government. Each conversion takes about 24 hours and the driver/owner was compensated for loss of income for this period.

It was not revealed what this figure is.

Strategic relationships were established with Santaco and the South African National Energy Research Institute (Saneri).

In addition, Sasol was brought on board due to their intensive LPG programme in SA.

After a robust vehicle selection process, seventy mini-bus taxis were converted to operate dually on petrol as well as LPG over a 3 month period.

An LPG vehicle conversion specialist was appointed to conduct the conversion process, using the latest generation conversion kits, which were imported from Germany. The vehicle of choice was the Toyota Quantum. Only one type of vehicle was chosen to keep the conversions constant. It was decided to place the donut-shaped gas tank in the spare wheel well.

The project findings show an 11% reduction on the carbon dioxide (CO2) levels when switching the vehicles to LPG.

Carbon monoxide can be deadly.

Technical tests on a prototype mini-bus — sponsored by Sasol — were conducted to precisely assess the effect on carbon emissions as well as its fuel efficiency. The AIDC commissioned these tests at both the Gerotek Test Facilities in Pretoria and the SABS Laboratories in East London. The tests, the first of their kind in SA, showed that although the overall fuel consumption is higher on LPG, the lower cost of LPG balances out the effect of fuel costs for the minibus taxi driver. The cost benefits also include improved longevity of the engine and a reduction of overall maintenance costs over the lifespan of the vehicle. It is estimated that more than 100000km, which taxis can do in a 12-month period, the savings to the driver/owner would be in the region of R20 000.

Sasol erected a temporary refuelling point at Gerotek for the tests, with more permanent ones at Kruisfontein and Spartan. There is a further temporary one at Rosslyn.

The AIDC plans to roll out a second wave of 150 converted minibus taxis during the next 12 months. In light of this target, we can easily expect the sprouting of additional LPG refueling stations across Gauteng to support this growing fleet of "green" minibus taxis.

Sasol buys more Canadian shale gas assets

South African energy group Sasol [JSE:SOL] said on Tuesday it would pay $1.08bn for its second shale gas interest in Canada, in a move to expand its gas portfolio.

Sasol said it would buy a 50% stake in Talisman Energy's Cypress A acreage in the Montney Basin in Canada, where the company also bought a stake in Talisman's Farrell Creek assets last year.

The 57 000 acres of land covered by Cypress A represent an estimated contingent resource of 11.2 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas.

Sasol will pay an initial C$263m in cash, with the remaining C$787m in future development costs.

Sasol and Talisman are studying the possibility of establishing a gas-to-liquids plant in Canada. Sasol said the acquisition could allow for a scalability of the proposed plant.

See also: Prospecting for gas in the Karoo

PetroSA to Build Refinery to save R12.6bn annually

A planned crude oil refinery to be built in the Eastern Cape will save South Africa about R12.6bn a year in energy costs, President Jacob Zuma said on Thursday.

"This country stands to save... once the refinery is running, and could export oil across Africa," Zuma said in a speech prepared for his visit to PetroSA's gas liquid refinery in Mossel Bay on Thursday.

He said the project, expected to be built by 2015, would showcase South Africa's competitive ability to its global counterparts which was important for the image of the country.

It would also help the country escape from the current dependency trap where refined automotive products had to be imported, he said.

Once completed, the refinery in the Coega Industrial Development Zone near Port Elizabeth would be the biggest in Africa.

"We welcome the fact that PetroSA is making its impact, not only in job creation but in empowering the people as well. It employs close to 2000 people, while 27 500 more will be absorbed within the crude oil refinery that is planned," he said.

Zuma also welcomed the impressive growth of PetroSA from its successful merger of Mossgas, Soekor and parts of the Strategic Fuel Fund in 2002.

"To be able to reach the markets in Europe, the USA, Caribbean, Middle East and the Far East, is an important achievement.

"With the company supplying about seven percent of South Africa's liquid fuel needs, indications are that we will lessen our dependence on foreign sources of fuel," Zuma said.

Referring to the company's partnership with the University of the Western Cape for a R36m sponsorship to establish a Synthetic Fuels Research Facility at the university, Zuma said it would help bridge the gap between academic knowledge and practical involvement in the field.

"This is not only much needed skills intervention. It is also part of opening up opportunities to previously disadvantaged institutions to enable them to make a significant contribution to economic development," Zuma added.

South Africa To Get 6 New Power Plants

South Africa will get six new power stations worth R1.3 trillion in an effort to eradicate power cuts, the SABC reported on Thursday.

China, France and South Korea would help in the construction of the proposed new stations, the energy department's director general Nelisiwe Magubane said.

The power stations, which formed part of the government's new proposed energy plan, would use "different technology".

"This project has actually not yielded the required results... we need them to re-look the research projects.

"But in the meantime we are still going to need additional power plants and we are going to use what we call conventional nuclear power as we use it in Koeberg, in Cape Town," she told the broadcaster.

Source: Fin24

See also:

South Africa to halve coal dependence

"The government sees nuclear supplying 14% of the country's energy mix by 2030 and renewable energy by 16%, while the remaining capacity would come from open cycle gas turbines, pump storage schemes and imported power generated from hydroelectric plants."

More on Energy Development in South Africa:

- New Oil Pipeline (A Legacy Asset)
- Wind Power in South Africa

New Oil Pipeline - "A Legacy Asset"

"One of SA's most ambitious engineering projects is being buried and though you might never see or hear of it, it will underpin their economic lives."

"I speak of Transnet's New Multi-Product Pipeline, currently under construction from Durban to Gauteng. The 700km pipeline will move 87bn litres pa of petrol, diesel and jet fuel to fuel the interior's growing demand for fuels."

"It will cross 100 waterways, and much steep terrain. At least half of the route requires drilling and blasting through rock. The present Durban-Johannesburg pipeline is inadequate and after 45 years worn out and becoming unsafe for use. The new pipeline with four times the capacity will replace it"

…

"It is a legacy asset, an economic lifeline that should last at least 70 years."

"It will reduce the number of fuel tankers on the roads by 60%, reducing road wear and increasing safety."

…

"Transnet's new policy is to build capacity before it is actually needed. Rail expansion will absorb R54.6bn and ports R24.7bn in the next five years."

Direct Link

South Africa's Wind Power Potential

Suzlon Energy, the third leading wind turbine supplier in the world by market share, on Wednesday announced that it had set up offices in South Africa, while appointing Silas Zimu as country CEO.

Zimu was previously managing director of major utility company City Power.

Tulsi Tanti, the founder, chairman and MD of Suzlon said: "Silas Zimu is a fantastic appointment for us. With 19 years in South Africa's power sector he understands the business like nobody else in the country."

"Silas' experience is second to none and he shares with us the vision for a greener tomorrow. This announcement today underscores our belief that South Africa has huge wind potential, along with our intention to play a major role in bringing that to fruition.

"We believe that wind power can help South Africa deliver the power the country needs, along with energy security required, and create thousands of green jobs."

Zimu said: "My vision is clear. I want to see this great country of ours embracing wind for all the right reasons: closing the energy gap between what we generate currently and what we need, offering green electricity, creating many green jobs and enabling sustainability in the social, environmental and ecological spheres."

"I believe that wind has a very important place in South Africa's energy portfolio, and I am delighted to now have a strong platform with Suzlon to make that a reality," Zimu concluded.

Source: I-Net Bridge

China to Build Solar Power Plants in South Africa

Suntech Power Holdings, China's largest maker of solar panels, said on Thursday that it has signed a deal to develop solar plants in South Africa with up to 100 megawatts in capacity as the country looks to boost clean energy output.

Read more...

The Move to Alternate Energy - Wind Turbines in Port Elizabeth

The skyline of the fledgling Port of Coega north of Port Elizabeth starts changing on Tuesday as construction begins on the first of twenty five 100-metre-high wind turbines.

The first turbine will be able to generate electricity for the first game of the World Cup at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in just a month.

Electrawinds, a major windfarm builder based in Belgium, will fund the beginnings of the windfarm itself, says local manager Emil Unger.

He adds that Electrawinds will supply at Eskom's Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff (Refit) of R1.25/kwh.

Each turbine puts out 1.8MW of power at a windspeed of 7.5 metres a second (27km/h), which is the average for the area. Each turbine puts out enough energy to power about 1.700 households

The wind turbine is a VESTAS V90 with a 95-metre tower and a 90-metre rotor.

Luc Desender, Managing Director of Electrawinds says the company has already laid the foundation work for the wind turbine. This consisted of the placement of the embedment unit and the pouring of concrete.

When completed the wind farm will generate 45MW of green power for the eastern Cape. The turbines will be built on shore.

The first wind turbine units arrived in South Africa from Denmark on Sunday, May 9 2010 on board the Red Cedar at the Port of Ngqura. A R70m special crane will be used to erect the wind turbines. It is one of only seven of its kind in the world.

Link to Press Release

India Snaps up Coal Assets

Indian conglomerate JSW appears to have outflanked rival bidders for control of suspended coal group SA Coal Mining Holdings (SACMH). An announcement released on Friday disclosed that JSW had struck a R85m agreement with various entities associated with the Royal Bafokeng Tribe and Strider Holdings, which are the major shareholders in SACMH.

SACMH is in essence a fully-fledged South African Coal producer delivering coal to Eskom and the export market through Richards Bay Coal Terminal.

Direct Link

Also:
Jet Airways first airline to fly direct between South Africa and India.

Growing Relations:
Indian makes biggest export to South Africa in 2009 - The Indian Premier League (link)

Sasol to Produce Coal-to-Liquids in China

A feasibility study of the joint coal-to-liquids project between China's top coal producer Shenhua Group and South Africa's Sasol has been completed, the top executive of Shenhua said on Wednesday.

Zhang Yuzhuo, president and chief executive officer of the group, told a news conference the scale of the project would be 93 000 barrels per day.

The project was earlier estimated at equivalent to 80 000 barrels of oil output per day.

Zhang said the project would need government approval and declined to comment on the time frame of the project.

Shenhua's other coal-to-liquids project in Inner Mongolia has already launched trial production.

The group, which has invested 80 billion yuan (R85.32 billion) in coal conversion, is also developing various coal-to-chemical plants in provinces in northern China.

"If oil prices are like today -- $84 to $85 a barrel, coal conversion projects can be very feasible," Zhang said.

Shenhua Group plans to produce over 30 million tonnes of coal-derived liquids and chemicals in the next 5 years, in addition to 800 million tonnes of coal, Zhang added.

Coal-to-liquids projects have long been controversial due to concerns over their high water consumption. But Zhang argued such projects would not necessarily be water-guzzling monsters.

"Water consumption is very, very low compared to the average industry water consumption in China," he said, arguing that compared to the average water consumption on every 10 000 yuan of added industrial value of 127 cubic metres, coal-to-liquids only consume less than 12 cubic metres of water.

More about: Coals-to-Liquids and Future Coal Fuels

South Africa, Electricity and Recovery

South Africa's second integrated resource plan (IRP2), a blueprint for the country's energy mix over the next 30 years, is close to being finalized.

Direct Link

Also:

Eskom and BHP Billiton agree to new aluminum smelter electricity pricing.

And:

New vehicle sales totaled 43 591 units in March, a 20.1% increase year-on-year.

News in the Long-Run

Is Lithium the Oil of the 21st Century?

The demand for lithium is projected to more than double by 2020. Most of the production needed to satisfy the market will come from Latin American countries like Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia which control over 75% of the world's lithium reserves. In this report we seek to analyze the lithium industry while highlighting the special relationship between China and Latin America.

Lithium is probably the source of battery power storage for the future - both in terms of vehicles (see the case of BYD), mobile devices, electronic entertainment and possibly even solar power storage. I highly recommend the White Paper by SinoLatin Capital (click for document).