Need for power coal threatens Zimbabwe national park
Monday, 28 December 2009
HWANGE, Dec 27 (AFP): Zimbabwe's already dim electricity supply faces a new threat, as the country's main power plant says it needs to dig for new coal reserves under a river inside a national park to keep running.
Hwange Colliery says it only has enough coal to power its 940 megawatt plant for three more years.
Shortages of coal and working capital, as well as ageing and broken equipment, have already forced the shutdown of three smaller power stations across Zimbabwe, causing daily blackouts that have plagued the country for years.
The company says its only viable new deposits of coal suitable for power generation lie in the heart of the Hwange national park, under a river that supplies nearby towns-including the world-famous Victoria Falls-as well as thousands of endangered animals.
Accessing the new coal would mean strip mining one of the environmentally delicate region's few water supplies.
"The coal is submerged under water, so we have to find ways of de-watering the adjacent rivers in the area," Fred Moyo, the company's managing director, told AFP.
"We only have three years left of power coal although initial indications were that we have power coal that would take us at least another 15 years."
De-watering would shift the flow of rivers to allow access to the coal, but in the process will create huge pools of polluted water.
Hwange Colliery says it only has enough coal to power its 940 megawatt plant for three more years.
Shortages of coal and working capital, as well as ageing and broken equipment, have already forced the shutdown of three smaller power stations across Zimbabwe, causing daily blackouts that have plagued the country for years.
The company says its only viable new deposits of coal suitable for power generation lie in the heart of the Hwange national park, under a river that supplies nearby towns-including the world-famous Victoria Falls-as well as thousands of endangered animals.
Accessing the new coal would mean strip mining one of the environmentally delicate region's few water supplies.
"The coal is submerged under water, so we have to find ways of de-watering the adjacent rivers in the area," Fred Moyo, the company's managing director, told AFP.
"We only have three years left of power coal although initial indications were that we have power coal that would take us at least another 15 years."
De-watering would shift the flow of rivers to allow access to the coal, but in the process will create huge pools of polluted water.