The Minister of Energy, Mr Dikobe Ben Martins has today 3 October 2013, officially addressed the 3rd South African Carbon Capture and Storage CCS Conference 2013 which is held at the Cedar Park Hotel, Woodmead in Johannesburg.
The purpose of the conference is to provide a high-level update and discussion on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) activities in South Africa including developments with the SACCCS Pilot CO2 Storage Project (PCSP) and to deliberate lengthily into local CCS research activities.
The South African Centre for Carbon Capture and Storage is investigating the feasibility of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in South Africa. Part of this work involves the geological exploration to establish if suitable geology exists within South Africa to safely and permanently store CO2.
Over the years, South Africa developed skills that have made it possible to burn coal efficiently and economically in order to generate various products. Unfortunately, this has also led to unintended consequences of greenhouse gas emissions.
In response to this reality, the Minister said that South Africa has, as a matter of policy, subscribed to the principle that it should contribute towards limiting emissions while, at the same time, also ensuring that other national socio-economic developmental goals are met.
Cabinet has given a go ahead for the Department of Energy to pursue the Carbon Capture and Storage Initiative.
“In May 2012, Cabinet approved the Carbon Capture and Storage Roadmap. Since then, the Department of Energy has taken tangible steps to implement this mandate, working with its agency, the SA National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI), and other stakeholders in the energy industry“, said the Minister.
The 2010 Atlas on geological storage of CO2 in South Africa identified KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape as the regions with the most potential for safe and secure CO2 storage. SACCCS is now planning further exploration of this potential.
Exploration will involve establishing the geological suitability of the regions and will be supported by environmental assessments and engagement with all relevant stakeholders. Only if this exploration is successful and an appropriate site is identified, SACCCS will develop a Pilot CO2 Storage Project (PCSP) to further evaluate and build experience around the technology in a South African context.
The PCSP will enable South Africa to better understand the role of CCS in reducing CO2 emissions and meeting the challenges of climate change. The Pilot CO2 Storage Project is the next milestone in the Carbon Capture and Storage Roadmap which was endorsed by the Cabinet of South Africa on 4 May 2012. Globally, a number of CCS projects have been in operation in excess of fifteen years and are currently safely storing in the order of six million tonnes per year.
This statement is issued by the department of Energy in partnership with the South African Carbon Capture and Storage facility.
For more information about SACCCS, CCS or the Pilot CO2 Storage Project please visit the SACCCS website at www.sacccs.org.za or contact Brendan Beck – SACCCS Manager, on 010 201 4721 or on email at brenndanb@sanedi.org.za.
For Departmental related enquiries, please forward your enquiries to:
Johannes Mokobane
E-mail: johannes.mokobane@energy.gov.za or Mediadesk@energy.gov.za
