SA should target 50% renewable energy by 2030 - WWF
By: Christy van der Merwe
17th August 2010
One-half of South Africa's electricity generation could come from
renewable energy sources by 2030, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
said in a new report on Tuesday.
"Renewable energy is not just an environmental issue anymore. It is about
assessing the health of our economy going forward," said WWF climate
change programme manager Richard Worthington.
He said that reaching the 50% renewable energy target by 2030 was
distinctly feasible, despite the country's heavy reliance on coal to
produce electricity, and added that it was necessary to ensure low-carbon
reindustrialisation, which would be required under emission reduction
commitments in the climate change arena.
The report, entitled �Renewable energy in a just transition to sustainable
electricity supply', argued that South Africa had the potential to rapidly
upscale its use of renewable energy, and with a combination of
energy-efficiency measures, this would result in cheaper electricity over
the medium term.
The report also introduced the sustainable national accessible power
planning (Snapp) tool, which was commissioned by the WWF, and was freely
available on the Internet. The Snapp tool allowed for interrogation of
government's proposed energy plan, and allowed for the modelling of
different energy scenarios, depending on the different inputs made.
The WWF noted that the report aimed at encouraging broad stakeholder
participation in South Africa's policy processes that were currently under
way, such as the development of a provisional integrated resource plan,
dubbed IRP2010, as well as the review of the renewable energy policy and
targets. Both were due by November 2010.
"South Africa faces critical choices around future power generation. The
need for increased electricity capacity to meet development objectives
coincides with growing awareness of the short-term and long-term
implications these decisions will have on the economy, society and the
environment," Worthington stated.
The WWF was also advocating that the construction of Kusile, Eskom's
coal-fired power station to be built after the Medupi power station, be
stopped. "At least until the full costs and impacts have been properly
evaluated in the Integrated Energy Planning process scheduled for 2011,"
said the WWF.
"How we meet baseload demand is ultimately a product of how the whole
electricity supply system is designed and managed, in conjunction with
demand management measures, and should be addressed through comprehensive
integrated energy planning. Insisting that a particular type of generation
plant, such as nuclear, is essential to meeting baseload demand is an
anachronism," emphasised the report.
Edited by: Creamer Media Reporter
________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org
To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp
No comments:
Post a Comment