THE World Bank has started an investigation into its $3,75bn loan to Eskom after a complaint by two local environmental groups on behalf of the Lephalale community, where the Medupi power station is to be built.

Although the investigation is not expected to affect the granting of the loan, it could influence the way some of the money is spent.

Roberto Lenton, chairman of the World Bank’s inspection panel — the body leading the probe — yesterday said the investigation related to allegations of violations of the bank’s operational policies and procedures.

The inspection panel is an independent body that monitors the bank’s accountability and compliance with its social and environmental policies. It is a forum for parties aggrieved by bank policies and procedures.

Tristen Taylor, Earthlife Africa energy policy officer, yesterday said the Lephalale community was concerned about carbon and sulphur emissions from the 4800MW Medupi power station which the loan will fund.

Mr Lenton recently led a team on an “eligibility” visit to SA to investigate the Lephalale community’s concerns. In a statement to the bank’s board, Mr Lenton said he was “struck” by the level of concern about the project.

The panel decided on an investigation because the complaint by Earthlife Africa and Groundwork “raises issues of compliance and harm that can be addressed in the context of an investigation”.

Mr Lenton said his panel did not have the mandate to question board decisions, indicating that the loan would not be affected.

He said the panel would also not investigate SA and Eskom as the borrower. The panel could, however, make recommendations to the World Bank board “about project implementation, including the disbursement of funds for the project”.

In a statement yesterday, the World Bank office in Pretoria said that previous findings of the inspection panel had been taken into account in improving the design and implementation of projects.

However, the bank’s local officials declined to comment on the investigation. “The inspection panel is beginning its investigation and World Bank staff cannot comment on the specifics of ongoing investigations,” it said.

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Source: http://www.businessday.co.za/

Pic: Wikimedia Commons

Compiled by the Government Communication and Information System
Date: 03 Aug 2010
Title: Electricity plan to be released by year end
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Cape Town – South Africa will have a clearer picture on the future of its electricity mix and supply by the end of the year, said the Department of Energy’s Ompi Aphane, Acting Deputy Director-General of Electricity, Nuclear and Clean Energy.

Aphane was briefing Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Energy today, on the public comments received by the department on the Second Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).

He said the plan is to promulgate the IRP2 – which will present various scenarios for the country’s future energy policy – by November.

Leading up to this, the department plans to next month release a draft of the IRP2 for public comment and public hearings would be held with the National Energy Regulator (Nersa).

The scenarios would be built using 29 parameters including the effects of climate change, water availability, price elasticity of demand, a carbon tax, distributions infrastructure and renewable energy, on the supply of electricity for the country.

The department had received 81 submissions from the public, including from non-governmental organisations, academics and consultants and industry and business, which all made various submissions based on the parameters.

Some of these comments were gathered via www.irp2010.co.za while other inputs were gathered from Nedlac.

A total of 831 specific inputs have been fed into a database and are now being used to build the various scenarios.

Many of the comments were around renewable generation and the IRP2 consultation process itself – with most of the respondents adding that they were impressed with the process itself.

Most of the respondents called for a low carbon economy and for renewable energy – such as wind, solar and geothermal – to make up between 20 percent to 75 percent of the country’s electricity mix by 2050.

Many of the respondents were strongly against coal and nuclear as future energy solutions to the country’s future and pointed out the difficulty of obtaining funding for nuclear and coal.

They also pointed out the importance for the IRP2 to consider new technologies still emerging, such as solar hydrogen technology and sugar fan fibre as renewable energy source.

Aphane said South Africa faced tough choices around the future of its energy mix, adding that the economy couldn’t grow in an energy-constrained environment.

He said at present available dispatchable capacity would not be able to keep up with future demand, meaning the threat of blackouts would increase.

Another challenge is that the costs for clean technology are high and international agreements on financing these technologies had to still be concluded, he said.

The IRP2, which is part of the department’s Integrated Energy Plan, looks at the electricity sector and plans will also be developed for liquid fuels and gas, he said.

Aphane said the IRP2 will take into consideration whether the country has enough primary energy source, skills, land and transmissions infrastructure to meet its energy needs.

The plan also needs to meet funding requirements and answer what the future costing of electricity will be, what will be required to meet the country’s energy needs and whether there is sufficient confidence from South Africans in seeing the plan through.

It must also consider how the energy needs can also help to grow the country by complementing the Department of Trade and Industry’s Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP), which was launched earlier this year and aims to vamp up the country’s industrial capacity.

Each scenario will describe the effect on the price of electricity, security of supply, multiplier effects and the effects of carbon on the environment.

Public comments on all 29 parameters of the IRP2 can be found at www.doe-irp.co.za – BuaNews

Why has Millions of South African Rands been spent in the last few years for EIA projects on nuclear power stations and to date nothing has materialised from it? Do you have any idea how much wind power could already be installed and operational right now with that wasted money? At the end of 2008 the worldwide nameplate capacity of wind-powered generators was 121.2 Gigawatts. 19% of electricity in Denmark is produced by wind generated power, 11% in Spain and Portugal and 7% in Germany and Ireland. Some countries are serious about alternative forms of energy but the South African government is hell bent on Nuclear and are quick to shun wind and solar energy.

If other countries can produce figures such as above, WHY is South Africa NOT on that list?

Wind Energy in South Africa - It's possible