Summary of estimated annual externality costs relating to water resources for Kusile

The document details the environmental and social costs of coal-power generation in South Africa, specifically focusing on the Kusile power station. It highlights that water-related externalities for Kusile range from R0.95 to R1.86 per kWh, driven largely by water use in generation and mining. The text argues that the Draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2016 misrepresents the total cost of coal by ignoring these externalities. It further notes that coal mining and power generation consume 3% and 2% of South Africa's water respectively, with severe regional impacts in the Upper Olifants. The report emphasizes the long-term costs of acid-mine drainage and the disproportionate health and water-security burdens placed on poor communities, concluding that a decarbonised energy future would require four times less water by 2050 and create more jobs than the coal-reliant base case.

• A study commissioned by Greenpeace Africa estimates that the annual water-related externalities for the Kusile power station range between R0.95 and R1.86 per kWh produced (ZAR 2011).
• The primary drivers of Kusile's water externalities are water use in generation (low estimate R21,305 million; high estimate R42,357 million) and water use in mining (low estimate R5,964 million; high estimate R11,862 million).
• Coal-fired power generation is significantly more water-intensive than renewable alternatives; for example, using dry cooled coal-fired generation with FGD instead of concentrated solar power results in foregone revenue of R0.83 per kWh due to water consumption, totaling R26.7 billion annually for Kusile.
• While coal mining and power generation use 3% and 2% of South Africa's water nationally, the regional impact is higher, with power generation accounting for 37% of water use in the Upper Olifants.
• Acid-mine drainage is identified as the most severe impact on water quality, with estimated damage costs from sulphate pollution at Kusile between R4.5 million and R7.7 million annually.
• There is a significant overlap between coal mining and Strategic Water Source Areas in Mpumalanga and Limpopo; specifically, 45% of the Enkangala Drakensberg water source area overlaps with coal fields in Utrecht, Highveld, Vryheid, and Ermelo.
• The cost of treating mine water in the Upper Vaal to potable quality is estimated at a capital cost of R528.5 million and annual running costs of R55.7 million (ZAR 2011).
• A decarbonised energy future by 2050 would require four times less water than the coal- and nuclear-heavy Base Case and could create up to 331,000 jobs in the energy sector.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (n.d.). Summary of estimated annual externality costs relating to water resources for Kusile. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Water-Impacts-and-Externalities-Brochure_LAC.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. Summary of estimated annual externality costs relating to water resources for Kusile. n.d. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Water-Impacts-and-Externalities-Brochure_LAC.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=Summary of estimated annual externality costs relating to water resources for Kusile |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Water-Impacts-and-Externalities-Brochure_LAC.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrightsndsummary, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{Summary of estimated annual externality costs relating to water resources for Kusile}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Water-Impacts-and-Externalities-Brochure_LAC.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }