If a week is a long time in politics, then in SA long-term energy planning starts to take the form of science fiction. But it’s safe to say that coal power is dead. The last kicks of a particularly stubborn mule were seen in the Integrated Resource Plan of 2019, which proposed a further 1,500MW of coal-fired electricity.
Last week, a high court handed down a ruling that should surprise no-one who has been paying attention — it declared the plan was unconstitutional. The court found a “clear indication” the department had wilfully ignored “the effect upon the environment and the health of the nation, and in particular that of children”. It’s appealable but, in truth, would be a waste of time and taxpayers’ money.
Eskom and the state have a terrible record on coal power. Their newest plants, Kusile and Medupi, were eight years behind schedule and costs ballooned by an astonishing R300bn. Adding insult to injury, they are filthy — one has no flue-gas desulphurisation and the other has had to bypass the process after a duct collapsed.
The court has done us a favour; we can look the funders of the just energy deal in the eye. We can plan — and finance — a future in a global tax environment that includes the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and similar laws coming in the UK, the US and Canada.
In time we will phase out our ageing coal fleet, but let’s not forget the most satisfying prospect: the collapse of the shadowy, corrupt economy that clings to Eskom’s coal supply chain. We are long overdue that particular justice.
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