Kusile pollution concerns

Jan

Jan

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The dark side of the Kusile comeback — What Eskom is not telling South Africans about its big load-shedding wins

While the recent reduction in load-shedding severity due to the return to service of two Kusile coal power station units is a welcome boost to the economy and daily lives of South Africa, it comes at a high cost to those living close to the power station.

...

Based on that calculation, the availability of Eskom's three Kusile units running on the temporary stacks — potentially until March 2025 — will save South Africa's economy R640 billion.

This also directly impacts human life, leaving Eskom and South Africa to deal with a version of the trolley problem. Down one path, you endanger thousands; down the other, millions.
 
Even without the scrubbers it's still far better then the other older power stations... We can't go nuclear in this country and renewables is a farce. Great for individual homes and businesses but you cannot run a country on power of the gods
 
Lupus said:
Even without the scrubbers it's still far better then the other older power stations... We can't go nuclear in this country and renewables is a farce. Great for individual homes and businesses but you cannot run a country on power of the gods
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We've already gone nuclear. If we had a competent government then we could continue to build nuclear plants and do a better job of maintaining the existing plant.
 
They shorten the smoke stacks because the big one is ****ed. Because they are shorter and will probably not be maintained very well all that **** is dedicated to our lungs. The shot of it is they will produce power but the people working there are going to die horribly.
 
Lupus said:
Even without the scrubbers it's still far better then the other older power stations... We can't go nuclear in this country and renewables is a farce. Great for individual homes and businesses but you cannot run a country on power of the gods
Click to expand...
Be careful the solar community is rattling their pitchforks at you. HOW DARE YOU SAY renewables are a FARCE!!! hahahahaha LOL ****ing idiots.
 
catdog said:
They shorten the smoke stacks because the big one is ****ed. Because they are shorter and will probably not be maintained very well all that **** is dedicated to our lungs. The shot of it is they will produce power but the people working there are going to die horribly.
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Unfortunately it’s not just ANC voters that will suffer, decent people will also suffer.
 
Napalm2880 said:
We've already gone nuclear. If we had a competent government then we could continue to build nuclear plants and do a better job of maintaining the existing plant.
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I mean I know we've gone "nuclear" but not on the scale we need :) and if we did have a compentent government I've got a feeling we'd have followed Germany :-(
 
I visited Loy Yang coal plant in Australia last year. This was a sign at their observation point. As someone wrote on it in the coal dust, this is what you are breathing in.

IMG_0576.jpeg

IMG_0575.jpeg
 
Lupus said:
Even without the scrubbers it's still far better then the other older power stations... We can't go nuclear in this country and renewables is a farce. Great for individual homes and businesses but you cannot run a country on power of the gods
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But we are nuclear?

I assume there is way more scrutiny when it comes to building nuclear power plants

the problem is always NIMBY

we don't want to run the whole country on solar we just need enough to prevent load shedding during the day, in the short term
 
Lupus said:
Even without the scrubbers it's still far better then the other older power stations... We can't go nuclear in this country and renewables is a farce. Great for individual homes and businesses but you cannot run a country on power of the gods
Click to expand...
Modern nuclear power stations are more efficient and safer than even 20 years ago.
 
catdog said:
Be careful the solar community is rattling their pitchforks at you. HOW DARE YOU SAY renewables are a FARCE!!! hahahahaha LOL ****ing idiots.
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Solar is what is going to save south africa from shedding

Cause it is the only form of power production that can be implemented by normal people and companies

Look around it is becoming more and more common to see a businesses with their roofs covered with solar

Renewables is a farce in situations where they are claiming to go green and stopping nuclear plants like they did in germany

Leaving short term shortfalls that has to be filled by way dirtier methods than nuclear

It stuns me that the propaganda/politics can drive the land that gives us MB/BMW/porsche etc to make such a stupid change
 
Peek explained that estimates by the Finland-based Centre for Research into Energy and Clean Air (CREA) found that there would be roughly 680 deaths and 3,000 asthma emergencies due to the emissions workaround being used at Kusile.
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The problem is load shedding also causes deaths. Water treatment plants don't work. Hospitals don't work. And people resort to burning other things which also cause similar sort of respiratory problems.

Disgraceful that Kusile has to operate like this, but it is better than the alternative.
 
Thank you for informing us. Less deaths and hospital cases then over 20 years than in one normal day in South Africa due to crime.

In any case, more work for our cuban doctor friends...
 
catdog said:
Be careful the solar community is rattling their pitchforks at you. HOW DARE YOU SAY renewables are a FARCE!!! hahahahaha LOL ****ing idiots.
Click to expand...
I'm solar person but realities are that in SA case (and many other countries) nuclear for base load would be best solution. We need capacity to run energy hungry manufacturing industries.
For small scale, local project or individual housing solar can work as supplement although municipalities are not happy about revenue loss.
 
Emmissions for one year wont kill anyone. And most of the older power stations don't have FGD like Kusile, so those people have been breathing pollution for decades.
 
Gaz{M} said:
Emmissions for one year wont kill anyone. And most of the older power stations don't have FGD like Kusile, so those people have been breathing pollution for decades.
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Yup and the cancer rates have shown it ;-)
 
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