- Addressing the Portfolio Committee on Electricity and Energy in the National Assembly yesterday, Eskom’s head of generation, Mr Bheki Nxumalo, confirmed that the decommissioning of coal power plants strategy will be decoupled from the country’s Just Energy Transition (JET) Plan.
- The power station lifecycles and the JET plan will be implemented separately, and timelines will not be synchronised.
This will not delay the development of alternative energy generation at existing coal power plants in a repowering programme using renewables, gas, green hydrogen, cleaner coal and other technologies. The plan also includes repurposing of existing power stations’ existing infrastructure like buildings, possible farmlands, mining and local community integration, reskill and upskill training, and manufacturing like brick making. The idea is to uphold the best interest of the direct and extended employment value chain taking lessons learnt from Komati Coal Power Station. Read more
Mr Rivoningo Mnisi, Eskom’s Group Executive for Renewables confirmed that 5GW of repowering projects are currently under development at six coal fired power with construction set to begin on 2GW by 2026. Most of the projects are being developed under a public-private partnership model and will be implemented in more than one phase. Mnisi explained that funding will be frontloaded for alternative power generation and repurposing citing lessons learnt from Komatipoort.
Eskom’s repowering plan leading up to 2030. Author provided
Watch the full address to the Portfolio Committee on Electricity and Energy HERE
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
