Plans for new power station spark deadly pollution fears
It was expected to generate large volumes of toxic coal waste ash likely to pollute the uThukela
DURBAN: Plans for a new coal mine and 1 000MW power station near the small town of Colenso have raised fears about clouds of toxic air pollution and contamination of the uThukela, KwaZulu-Natal’s largest river system.
Colenso Power (Pty) Ltd is hoping to build a new coal-burning power station close to the old Eskom power station that was shut down in the early 1980s. The plan is to feed the power station from a massive new anthracite coal mine about 15km north-east of the town.
The proposed mine, also close to the uThukela River, covers about 4 000ha of land used for cattle, gameranching, eco-tourism and irrigation projects. Although the proposed 1 000MW Colenso station is smaller than the giant 4 800MW Kusile and Medupi power stations under construction in Mpumalanga and Limpopo, it is just over half the size of the Koeberg nuclear power station.
A recent information document published by Colenso Power’s environmental impact consultants suggests that electricity from the new power station would be fed into Eskom’s national electricity grid.
Large, unspecified quantities of water from the uThukela would also be needed to cool the power station and to wash coal from the mine.
The background information document, produced by Gauteng-based consultants Ecopartners, said the power station proposal would be submitted to the Department of Environmental Affairs, while the mine proposal would be handled separately by the Department of Mineral Resources.
Environmental justice watchdog group groundWork said because the new Colenso station would burn 420 tons of coal every hour (about 3.25 million tons a year), it was expected to generate large volumes of toxic coal waste ash that was likely to pollute the uThukela.
US-based group Physicians for Social Responsibility said coal ash contained arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium and selenium, which were all linked to serious health problems, including cancer.
“It is widely known that burning fossil fuels pollutes the air with deadly, toxic substances. What is less known is that the same power plants that so severely pollute the air also discharge more toxic pollution into rivers, lakes and bays than the other top nine polluting industries combined.”
GroundWork said the power company should also disclose how many people would have to be removed to make way for the coal mine.
Another serious concern was the contamination of the uThukela. It was also “outrageous” that the environmental scoping report made no reference to climate change, considering that South Africa was the single biggest emitter of human-generated greenhouse gases in Africa.
Little is known about the company, although chief executive John James states on his LinkedIn profile he “discovered, acquired and drilled” the new Colenso anthracite deposit.