Loadshedding to Get Better but Pollution Worse As Eskom's Kusile Power Station Project Moves Ahead of Schedule

• South Africans can expect relief from loadshedding as Eskom's Kusile power station project advances ahead of schedule,
• Eskom embarked on building three temporary stacks that Bypass the FGD after the Kusile West stack failed
• The project comes with a cost, as the temporary solution will spike Sulphur Dioxide emissions into the environment

MPUMALANGA - An easing of the effects of loadshedding is on the horizon for South Africans. This comes after Eskom revealed that a project at the Kusile power station is ahead of schedule.

Kusile power station project moves full steam ahead

After the Kusile West stack failed, leaving three generating units decommissioned in October 2022, the power utility looked to a short-term solution. Eskom embarked on a project to build three temporary stacks without Flue Gas Delsuphurisation (FGD) plants, BusinessLIVE reported.

Read also

Brics summit: China's advice on BBBEE and tender rules sparks debate in SA

One of the power utility's generation unit senior managers, Thabiso Moirapula, revealed that one unit will be online in November and the other in December. The units will add 2 880 MW back to the grid.

Kusile project to increase pollution

There is a downside to the temporary that's coming online, however. The omission of FDG means that Kusile will be emitting more Sulphur Dixoide, further cementing Eskom's title as the world's largest emitter of the gas.

According to BusinessTech, the new stacks will increase SO2 emissions eightfold. The power utility was given a temporary pass on the Minimum Emissions Standards by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.

Eco-activists take environment minister and ArcelorMittal on

In another story, Briefly News reported that Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy and steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (Amsa) are in the line of fire over the dirty air in the Vaal.

Read also

Gauteng traffic tackles influx of Bajaj vehicles, 29 ‘Cars’ impounded for operating without proper licences

Environmental justice groups have taken on the mantel of fighting for the constitutional rights of Vaal residents who are choking on air polluted by AcerlorMittal's plants.

This comes after Creecy and the National Air Quality Officer (NAQO) allegedly gave ArcelorMittal a pass on meeting air quality standards while permitting air pollution for almost two decades, Daily Maverick reported.

Source: Briefly News