Fears that World Bank's loan to Eskom will bring problems

'It is becoming increasingly evident to all that sustaining the environment and engaging in appropriate development go hand in hand. The collaboration between the World Bank, the government and Eskom towards the granting of this loan represents an attack on both the environment and the people,' the organisation said. Jubilee said that while the World Bank loan to Eskom was being promoted as supporting development, 'nothing could be further from the truth'. The loan was based on an intensification of coal-fired power. 'This requires the expansion of coal mining, entailing the further dispossession of people from their land,' Jubilee said. Jubilee said it opposed the loan, and called for the World Bank to be shut down. Full report in The Citizen

The US has warned SA it will be keeping a close eye on Medupi's pollution levels. A report in The Guardian notes that the US has said it intends to hold SA to its promise to act on climate change. In an appearance before Congress, Jonathan Pershing, the deputy special envoy for climate change, said the Obama administration would hold SA responsible for a rise in greenhouse gas emissions from the controversial project by the state-owned Eskom utility. But he defended the administration's decision to abstain from last week's World Bank vote to fund the Medupi power station. 'Why did we not just vote no? We did not vote no because at the end of the day there is a very clear ongoing development need in the continent,' Pershing said. Full report in The Guardian

The World Bank has specified what it expects from Medupi in terms of 'clean' technology. It has published its 'Project Appraisal' document for the loan, says an Engineering News report. A loan-package condition is that flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) technology be installed at Medupi. The technology, which will reduce sulphur-dioxide emissions, would have to be retrofitted, owing to the fact that it had not been included in the plant's original design. This would add to the project's capital cost, and its water consumption. The bank notes that the sulphur content of the coal to be used at Medupi, which is calculated at 1.4% by weight, together with the large scale of the plant, some 4 800 MW, meant that sulphur-dioxide emissions could have a 'significant adverse environmental impact'. Therefore, sulphur-dioxide emissions would have to be removed using a 'wet FGD' solution, or a gypsum process, using limestone located at Kraalhoek and Dwaalboom, some 180km from the Lephalale site. Full Engineering News report