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dc.contributor.author | Nkambule, Nonophile Promise![]() |
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dc.contributor.author | Blignaut, James Nelson![]() |
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dc.date.accessioned | 2017-10-07T08:32:34Z | |
dc.date.available | 2017-10-07T08:32:34Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2017-09 | |
dc.description | The research was conducted as part of N.P.N.’s PhD, which was supervised by J.N.B. (http://hdl.handle.net/2263/45866) | en_ZA |
dc.description.abstract | Coal-based electricity is an integral part of daily life in South Africa and globally. However, the use of coal for electricity generation carries a heavy cost for social and ecological systems that goes far beyond the price we pay for electricity. We developed a model based on a system dynamics approach for understanding the measurable and quantifiable coal-fuel cycle burdens and externality costs, over the lifespan of a supercritical coal-fired power station that is fitted with a flue-gas desulfurisation device (i.e. Kusile Power Station). The total coal-fuel cycle externality cost on both the environment and humans over Kusile’s lifespan was estimated at ZAR1 449.9 billion to ZAR3 279 billion or 91c/kWh to 205c/kWh sent out (baseline: ZAR2 172.7 billion or 136c/kWh). Accounting for the life-cycle burdens and damages of coal-derived electricity conservatively, doubles to quadruples the price of electricity, making renewable energy sources such as wind and solar attractive alternatives. SIGNIFICANCE : • The use of coal for electricity generation carries a heavy cost for social and ecological systems that goes far beyond the price we pay for electricity. • The estimation of social costs is particularly important to the electric sector because of non-differentiation of electricity prices produced from a variety of sources with potentially very dissimilar environmental and human health costs. • Because all electricity generation technologies are associated with undesirable side effects in their fuelcycle and lifespan, comprehensive comparative analyses of life-cycle costs of all power generation technologies is indispensable to guide the development of future energy policies in South Africa. | en_ZA |
dc.description.department | Economics | en_ZA |
dc.description.librarian | am2017 | en_ZA |
dc.description.sponsorship | National Research Foundation (South Africa) | en_ZA |
dc.description.uri | http://www.sajs.co.za | en_ZA |
dc.identifier.citation | Nkambule N.P., Blignaut J.N. Externality costs of the coal-fuel cycle: The case of Kusile Power Station. S Afr J Sci. 2017;113(9/10), Art. #2016-0314, 9 pages. http://dx.DOI.org/ 10.17159/sajs.2017/20160314. | en_ZA |
dc.identifier.issn | 0038-2353 (print) | |
dc.identifier.issn | 1996-7489 (online) | |
dc.identifier.other | 10.17159/sajs.2017/20160314 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/62596 | |
dc.language.iso | en | en_ZA |
dc.publisher | AOSIS Open Journals | en_ZA |
dc.rights | © 2017. The Author(s). Published under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence. | en_ZA |
dc.subject | Power plant | en_ZA |
dc.subject | Coal mine | en_ZA |
dc.subject | Plant construction | en_ZA |
dc.subject | Flue gas | en_ZA |
dc.subject | Desulfurisation | en_ZA |
dc.title | Externality costs of the coal-fuel cycle : the case of Kusile Power Station | en_ZA |
dc.type | Article | en_ZA |