Pretoria - South Africa will continue to explore the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in helping to curb its carbon footprint, says Energy Minister Ben Martins.
Speaking at the Carbon Capture and Storage Conference held in Johannesburg on Thursday, Martins said the country had immense mineral resources that have formed the basis of its economic and industrial development.
Over the years, coal has formed the back-bone of energy supply in South Africa for the generation of electricity, the production of synthetic liquid fuels and other industrial processes such as cement production and metal smelting.
“Over the years, South Africa developed skills that have made it possible to burn coal efficiently and economically in order to generate various products. Unfortunately this has also led to unintended consequences of greenhouse gas emissions,” said Martins.
However, the country will remain reliant on coal for its major primary energy requirements for the short to medium term. “As stated South Africa is exploring the feasibility of using carbon capture and storage as a transitional measure from fossil fuels to a renewable/nuclear future,” explained the minister.
CCS is a low carbon technology which captures carbon dioxide (CO2) from the burning of coal and gas for power generation, and from the manufacturing of steel, cement and other industrial facilities. The carbon dioxide is then transported by either pipeline or ship, for safe and permanent underground storage, that will prevent it from entering the atmosphere and contributing to climate change.
At the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 15th Conference of Parties held in Copenhagen, in 2010, President Jacob Zuma stated that: “With financial and technological support from developed countries, South Africa for example will be able to reduce emissions by 34% below ‘business as usual’ levels by 2020 and by 42% by 2025”.
Cabinet has given a go ahead for the department to pursue the Carbon Capture and Storage Initiative. In May 2012, Cabinet approved the Carbon Capture and Storage Roadmap. Since then, the department has taken steps to implement this mandate.
“A significant amount of financial resources have been set aside for the purpose, and this will increase with time as the scope of the project continues to expand. Recently, the department allocated R197 million over the next three years towards carbon capture and storage,” said Martins. -SAnews.gov.za
