While it’s no secret that mining coal and burning it in power stations uses large amounts of water, a new report from the Life After Coal campaign suggests that the associated costs to our water resources and society have been left under-counted in the country’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).

The report, entitled Water Impacts and Externalities of Coal Power, was compiled from a wide range of existing research on the cost of the impacts of coal mining and burning on water resources.

Life After Coal spokesperson Saul Roux says the Draft IRP (2016), which is South Africa’s plan for the future electricity system, provides cost estimates for different energy technologies but does not include externalities of critical importance for electricity planning.

New draft must consider full range of impacts

“This means that the costs of coal-fired power generation are significantly under-counted. South Africa is a dry country and cannot afford this.”

The report makes clear that it is critical that the new draft of the IRP, which Energy Minister Jeff Radebe says will be published shortly, considers the full range of water-related externalities and impacts in determining and costing South Africa’s future electricity supply mix.

If not, the Life After Coal campaign, together with Greenpeace Africa, have indicated that they will have no option but to challenge such a failure in court.

Urgent transition needed

Makoma Lekalakala, director of Earthlife Africa, says excluding these costs results in the misrepresentation of the costs of coal-fired power generation.

“These costs do not go away. They are borne by the environment, by society in general and especially by poor communities. Conversely, including these costs would justify a rapid shift from coal to water-efficient renewable energy. This transition is essential and urgent given South Africa’s water crisis.

“It is equally urgent that this is planned as a just transition that contributes creating a more equal society in which everyone has a place including workers who are currently employed in the coal sector,” Lekalakala concludes.