Large-Scale Gas Power Has No Role in South Africa, Study Finds
- Country’s gas development plans are outdated, Meridian says
- Government is under pressure to reduce carbon emissions
South Africa’s plan to build large-scale, gas-fired power plants as it transitions away from coal has become outdated with renewable technologies becoming cheaper and pressure mounting to curb its carbon emissions, a Meridian Economics study has found.
An energy blueprint for Africa’s most-industrialized nation released three years ago envisions as much as 3,000 megawatts of electricity being generated from natural gas -- which isn’t produced domestically in big quantities -- by 2027. That figure could rise, with proposals under consideration to use gas to add emergency supply to the grid. The government is also looking for a partner to help it start a state-owned gas trader and has taken steps toward setting up import terminals for the fuel.