Calls for greater participation by black professionals in the energy industry were made during public hearings into the Integrated Resources Plan (IRP), held at Parliament, on Tuesday.

The Black Energy Professionals Association, an organisation of black professionals that practice their trade within the energy sector, said there was still "inadequate participation of black people in the energy industry".

It said the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, while still a new industry sector, saw minimal black participation.

“Black people are mostly empowerment partners in a fledgling industry, while most of the participants are international engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies.”

It listed access to land and capital as challenges.

“If we do not deal with this, the National Development Plan goals of eliminating poverty and reducing inequality will not be addressed,” the association warned.

Vusumzi Vgqokomashe of the Land Rights Organisation of South Africa, meanwhile, said he was concerned about the planned new coal-fired plants, Thabametsi and Khanyisa, in light of climate change and threats to the environment.

He said climate change had already had a devastating impact on South Africa, with some 100 000 farmworkers having lost their jobs in 2017 due to the drought.

“A look at the draft IRP and the reason for the replacement of the decommissioning power stations focuses on saving the jobs of those who are employed at these power stations. But if we do not plan carefully, this dreadful figure [of 100 000] shows us that by degrading the environment we are, in fact, losing more jobs than the ones we purport to be saving.”

Vgqokomashe said the organisation was very worried about food security in South Africa and that smallholders and subsistence farmers were hardest hit by climate change. The impact on water resources in water-scarce South Africa was also a leading concern.

He said it was clear that there could be no reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions without reducing the capacity to generate power from coal.

“One would hope that South Africa would show more commitment towards shifting from these types of investments and invest more in renewable energy sources such as [solar photovoltaic] and wind. But no, this IRP suggests that we are in fact planning to increase the capacity even further and [retain] our position as the seventeenth [biggest] polluter of the environment in the world.”

The Gas Agency & Trading Exchange (GAtx), meanwhile, called for the South African Gas Utilisation Master Plan to be reviewed and finalised to ensure policy alignment. It suggested that the exploration of coal-bed methane gas should be fast-tracked.

The organisation complimented the Department of Energy for "its achievement and commitment" in publishing the IRP 2018 but raised some concerns about the decommissioning of power stations.

“Eskom cannot just simply be expected to decommission power stations without being given a part in the new build capacity.”

GAtx also suggested that the detailed socioeconomic impact analysis of communities affected by the decommissioning should be fast-tracked with all stakeholders.

“In so doing, it will prevent the creation of ghost towns, unemployment and social upheaval.”

The organisation said Eskom’s Strategy 2035 should be clear on how the land, bulk services and infrastructure of decommissioned coal-fired power plants could best be re-engineered. “If not, it must address how they intend funding the social, labour and environmental close-down processes.”