Electricity and Control February 2021

ENERGY MANAGEMENT + THE INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENT

Gas-to-power options emerge in SA

As South Africa races against the clock to fill an electricity supply gap of some 2 000 MW by 2022, gas-to-power projects will play a significant role. According to Nicola Rump, Principal Environmental Scientist at SRK Consulting, the government’s risk mitigation independent power producer procurement programme (RMIPPPP) launched in late 2020 attracted the interest of a number of private sector players in the gas-to-power industry.

Nicola Rump, Principal Environmental Scientist at SRK Consulting.

“ W hile the longer-established renewable energy independent power producer procurement programme (REIPPPP) is delivering notable results in solar and wind energy generation, we are now seeing an exciting start in exploring the potential of gas in South Africa’s energy mix,” Rump says. She notes that the field of gas-fired generation in the country had previously seen little activity from private developers. This changed fast, as the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy moved towards evaluating RMIPPPP project bids at the end of 2020. With South Africa’s power system being as constrained as it is, government aims to see these projects start feeding into the national grid by mid-2022. SRK is currently conducting a number of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) for gas-to-power projects in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Key aspects of the planning process for these projects include EIAs and related licencing requirements. Within the tight timeframes envisaged, these need to be carefully managed to prevent them becoming stumbling blocks. “The introduction of strict timelines for the EIA process in recent years means that while EIAs are generally completed in less time than before, the process leaves very little time to accommodate any changes to the project design,” says Rump. It also requires that a significant amount of work must be completed before the application is lodged with the regulator. “Gas-to-power projects need to submit a final scoping study to the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF), and this must be approved before the EIA phase can begin,” she says. “Once the final environmental impact report (EIR) has been submitted, DEFF would decide on the conditions applying to the authorisation.” While an important attraction of gas is its lower carbon footprint than coal, SA’s dominant fuel source for energy, it is not without its environmental impacts. These include carbon emissions, for which projects would require an air emission licence before proceeding. “Climate change impacts are also becoming an

increasingly important consideration in these assessments,” Rump cautions, “especially in the light of South Africa’s commitments to international agreements on combating global climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions – with specific emissions reduction targets in place.” Other impacts include noise and traffic as well as effects on marine ecology of of those projects that require offshore infrastructure. Currently, gas-to-power projects tend to be close to ports to facilitate the supply chain from sea-borne liquefied natural gas (LNG). Rump notes that over the short-term, projects will need to overcome South Africa’s lack of gas pipeline infrastructure, basing their viability on LNG sources being shipped in. However, among the advantages of developing a fledgling gas-to-power sector through the RMIPPPP is that this would contribute to the growth of local

gas markets – helping pave the way for the installation of costly gas infrastructure. This, in turn, could reduce the cost of gas as a fuel and spur the uptake of it as a cleaner option in South Africa’s energy landscape. □ Current projects will have to overcome South Africa’s lack of gas pipeline infrastructure.

SRK is an independent, global network of consulting practices operating in over 45 countries on six continents. Its experienced engineers and scientists work with clients in multi-disciplinary teams to deliver integrated, sustainable technical solutions across a range of sectors – mining, water, environment, infra- structure and energy. For more information visit: www.srk.co.za

Electricity + Control FEBRUARY 2021

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