Eskom defends pollution record, saying it’s spending billions
South Africa’s State power utility, stung by reports about the health impacts of emissions from burning coal, said it’s spending billions of dollars to reduce them and has an ambitious target to reduce output of one of its most dangerous pollutants.
Eskom Holdings said it’s committed to a R67-billion plan to cut emissions and by 2035 aims to reduce its output of particulate matter by 70%.
Last week, the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air said a government proposal to delay the closure of the plants in a bid to bolster energy security could result in the death of tens of thousands of people from respiratory diseases, heart attacks and strokes. Eskom, which is based in Johannesburg, said it has already shut down one coal-fired plant and a number of units at others.
“Eskom has developed station specific recovery plans for each station and these include emission-improvement plans which are being implemented and are beginning to show success,” the company said in a response to queries.
Still, in the six months to Sept. 30 the company’s particulate emissions were at a 31-year high and 42 times the level of plants in China, the world’s biggest producer of power from coal.
The company’s emissions are becoming a threat to its operations. It’s been charged criminally for breaching emission limits at its Kendal power plant and Environment Minister Barbara Creecy is currently considering an appeal against an order from the government that it comply with limits at a number of plants or shut down 16 gigawatts of generating capacity.
Greenpeace said in a report last month that the company operates five of the world’s biggest single source nitrogen-dioxide emission sites and two of the worst sulfur-dioxide sites. Both gases cause a range of at times fatal ailments. Eskom has questioned the methodology used by Greenpeace.
Comments
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation