South Africa’s indigenous energy resource base is dominated by coal. Internationally, coal is the most widely used primary fuel, accounting for about 36 percent of the total fuel consumption of the world’s electricity production. About 77 percent of South Africa’s primary energy needs are provided by coal. This is unlikely to change significantly in the next two decades owing to the relative lack of suitable alternatives to coal as an energy source. Many of the deposits can be exploited at extremely favourable costs and, as a result, a large coal-mining industry has developed.

In addition to the extensive use of coal in the domestic economy, about 28 percent of South Africa’s production is exported, mainly through the Richards Bay Coal Terminal, making South Africa the fourth-largest coal exporting country in the world.

South Africa’s coal is obtained from collieries that range from among the largest in the world to small-scale producers. As a result of new entrants, operating collieries increased to 64 during 2004. Of these, a relatively small number of large-scale producers supply coal primarily to electricity and synthetic fuel producers.

[Source:  http://www.energy.gov.za/files/coal_overview.html]

South Africans have once again been called upon to use 10% less electricity, which had again highlighted how dependent the country is on Eskom’s coal-fired power stations.  No matter what mitigation steps are taken, coal will remain essential to electricity production for decades to come.

In terms of sales value, coal was the most valuable mineral in South Africa and was essential not only for electricity generation and poverty alleviation but also steel, cement, transport fuels and chemicals.

Even if South Africa chose to implement the most aggressive decarbonising programme imaginable, its existing fleet of coal power stations would still have to be kept going.

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Solar power, a clean alternative to both fossil fuels and nuclear power, would help alleviate the pressure on South Africa’s largely coal-based energy supply while boosting the country’s overall energy capacity and helping the country achieve its target of a 34% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020.
The government is driving a project to build a multi-billion rand solar park, a concentrated zone of solar generating plants and solar component manufacturing facilities in the Northern Cape, in partnership with private investors.

[Source:   http://bit.ly/1hbjVql]

Introducing the Shongololo – the train, whose name means millipede in Zulu.  It has the capacity to carry 200 coal wagons, is as long as eight Eiffel Towers laid end-to-end and can haul 16,800 metric tons of coal at 80 kilometers per hour (50 miles per hour) non-stop to the country’s main export port.

The Shongololo is part of a R201 billion ($18.48 billion) rail overhaul and expansion plan aimed at boosting exports of coal, manganese and other commodities from Africa’s biggest economy.

Current diesel-powered trains carry 40 wagons of coal, at top speed of 50 kilometers per hour. The Shongololo, pulling five times as many wagons, can cruise at 80 kilometers per hour!  While other coal producing countries grapple with lack of infrastructure, the South African economy is set to benefit as the Shongololo displaces trains that date back to the 1980s.

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