Water scarcity and electricity generation in South Africa.

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa has a mean annual precipitation far lower than the global average. This is afundamental constraint to development, especially when the country has already run out of surpluswater and dilution capacity. To add further pressure, southern Africa's water resources are expectedto decrease as a result of climate change. Despite the potential devastation, the country's responseto climate change has been limited. South Africa's energy sector is dominated by coal power stationsand is the country's primary emitter of carbon dioxide. Given the significantly higher water usage ofcoal-fired power plants compared to that of most renewable energy power plants, the transition to aclean energy infrastructure might be more successfully motivated by water scarcity than by thepromise of reduced carbon emissions. This article analyses more critically the impact of coal-firedelectricity generation on South Africa's water resources, by estimating a water-use figure thatextends backwards from the power plant to include water used during extraction of the coal. Thisfigure can then be compared to the water usage of alternative electricity generation options. It isthen possible to estimate how much water could be saved by substituting these alternatives in placeof additional coal-fired plants.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University