The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment’s (DFFE) National Air Quality Officer has given Eskom permission to operate the Kusile power station without the technology required to reduce harmful sulphur dioxide emissions, thereby potentially reducing load shedding by up to two stages.
The DFFE had granted the utility a postponement under the Minimum Emission Standards (MES) pertaining to the sulphur dioxide (SO2) emission levels at Kusile.
On Saturday, Eskom said it also welcomed an updated Atmospheric Emission Licence to Kusile Power Station to reflect the postponement decision by the Nkangala District Municipality.
Kusile is Eskom’s newest coal-fired power station.
It received environmental approval in 2008 and the first unit began operating in 2017, with the final unit planned for 2024. Its six units generate 700 megawatts each, 4 200MW in total.
The station was built to comply with the strict “new plant” air quality limits and is the only station in the Eskom fleet built with sulphur dioxide removal technology via flu gas desulphurisation.
On October 23, 2022 an incident occurred on the West stack which damaged the common stack and limited the ability of the station to produce from the three units feeding into the stack and producing some 2 100MW.
The postponement was granted on June 5, 2023, while the licences were issued on June 13, 2023.
They mean that Eskom will be able to operate the three units without the use of the Flue Gas Desulphurisation plant, which is equipped with emission-abatement technology for sulphur dioxide, up to March 31, 2025, while the flue gas ducts in the permanent stack were being repaired.
The repairs are expected to be completed by December 2024, a statement said
The failure of the Unit 1 flue gas duct on October 22, 2022, had subsequently affected units 2 and 3, as the ducts for all three units are in the same stack (chimney).
The temporary stack structures for Unit 3 were due to be completed by November 2023, and for units 1 and 2, December 2023.
That would enable the return of 2 100MW, further alleviating pressure on the power system and reducing load shedding by two stages, Eskom said.
The postponement and licence were subject to several conditions, including implementation of measures to mitigate the impact of sulphur dioxide emissions on air quality, which Eskom said it would comply with.
An independent study into the potential health effects of the temporary permission given to Eskom showed that: “Considering all of the information presented in this report, the postponement application… is supported… Interim emissions associated with the operations of the temporary stacks are projected to result in a low negative impact with regard to the pollutants PM2.5 and NO2, and a medium negative impact on health due to increased emissions of SO2… However, the difference is relatively small.”
In the conclusion of its application to the DFFE, Eskom said: “The operation of the Kusile temporary stacks, for the 13 months, while the West stack is repaired, will significantly reduce load shedding and improve the economic position of the country and the socio-economic and health conditions of millions of South African citizens, including the communities around Kusile.”
* Eskom said yesterday that it had retained a broad-based BEE Level 4 status. The organisation was a Level 8 contributor prior to the 2022 financial year. The improved status had put Eskom in good standing with the B-BBEE Commission and set the tone for the prospective Eskom suppliers, a statement said.