{"id":54649,"date":"2023-10-06T16:58:23","date_gmt":"2023-10-06T16:58:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/no-plans-to-shut-down-coal-in-south-africa-ramokgopa"},"modified":"2023-10-06T17:41:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-06T17:41:59","slug":"no-plans-to-shut-down-coal-in-south-africa-ramokgopa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/no-plans-to-shut-down-coal-in-south-africa-ramokgopa","title":{"rendered":"No plans to shut down coal in South Africa: Ramokgopa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says South Africa will look to expand the life-span of its existing coal fleet despite international pressures to decarbonise.<\/p>\n

In October last year, the coal-fired Komati power station in Mpumalanga was shut down, which was seen as a major step in South Africa\u2019s just energy transition.<\/p>\n

Many of Eskom\u2019s coal power stations are reaching their end-of-life, and the country\u2019s Integrated Resource Plan 2019 envisions many of these stations being decommissioned over time. The IRP is currently being reviewed, and the tone on decommissioning these plants has shifted, however.<\/p>\n

According to Eskom and the various energy departments, South Africa will be looking to delay decommissioning these plants as the country continues to fight its electricity crisis and load shedding.<\/p>\n

So far, only Komati has started its shutdown process \u2013 and even then, it has not yet been fully decommissioned.<\/p>\n

Responding in a parliamentary Q&A this week, Ramokgopa said that the intention at Komati is to construct solar PV, wind and battery storage, with other repurposing options being considered.<\/p>\n

The minister stressed that the plant has not been decommissioned as it still needs approval from the energy regulator, NERSA and the PFMA, with only the plant being shut down.<\/p>\n

However, despite the environmental impact of coal use and the general failure of Eskom to get its fleet to produce enough to meet demand \u2013 hence load shedding \u2013 the minister said that no other coal-fired power stations are set to be shut down.<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently, Eskom does not intend to shut down any more stations and replace them with renewables. Eskom does, however, intend to install renewable capacity at current sites while they are still operational,\u201d the minister said.<\/p>\n

He added that Eskom is currently studying the feasibility of continuing to operate older coal-fired stations, with the potential for Komati to also be returned to service.<\/p>\n

\u201cWork is continuing to investigate the cost-benefit of the extension of life and or the repurposing of the existing fleet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it is feasible to continue to use the flue stacks, cooling towers or any other infrastructure for other new technologies that might feasibly be constructed at the Komati site, the repurposing and repowering will take that into account.\u201d<\/p>\n

Global pressure<\/p>\n

Despite the global push for renewable energy over climate concerns, the minister said that coal, alongside gas, nuclear and renewable technologies, will continue to feature in South Africa\u2019s energy mix.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur National Socio-economic and Energy security requirements will dictate our investment choices and the funding thereof,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The minister\u2019s words add further fuel to the flame over the $8.5 billion climate-fiance deal that several wealthy nations, including the US, UK, and Germany, are offering South Africa.<\/p>\n

A 2022 investment plan shows that South Africa would spend 90% of the funds on decommissioning its coal-fired plants in favour of renewables, with the rest going to green-hydrogen and electric-vehicle industries.<\/p>\n

However, Ramokgopa has downplayed the impact of the finance deal, saying that South Africa has not entered into any agreements.<\/p>\n

He said that it is up to the government to decide whether it wants to meet the conditions set in terms of the deal to get access to the funds or try to raise funding on commercial terms.<\/p>\n

\u201cNotwithstanding the conditions attached to climate change funding, South Africa has not formally entered into any agreements.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is up to the lender to decide whether it is in its overall interest to comply with the conditions to access the concessionary aspects or to attempt to raise loans on commercial terms.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says South Africa will look to expand the life-span of its existing coal fleet despite international pressures to decarbonise. In October last year, the coal-fired Komati power station in Mpumalanga was shut down, which was seen as a major step in South Africa\u2019s just energy transition. Many of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":54648,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,7,377],"tags":[274,315,275],"class_list":["post-54649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","category-head-lines","category-to-homepage","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-south-africa","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nNo plans to shut down coal in South Africa: Ramokgopa - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says South Africa will look to expand the life-span of its existing coal flee ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/no-plans-to-shut-down-coal-in-south-africa-ramokgopa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"No plans to shut down coal in South Africa: Ramokgopa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says South Africa will look to expand the life-span of its existing coal flee ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/no-plans-to-shut-down-coal-in-south-africa-ramokgopa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-06T16:58:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-06T17:41:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/10\/sm_1696601424.227974.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/no-plans-to-shut-down-coal-in-south-africa-ramokgopa#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/no-plans-to-shut-down-coal-in-south-africa-ramokgopa\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"No plans to shut down coal in South Africa: Ramokgopa\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-06T16:58:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-06T17:41:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/no-plans-to-shut-down-coal-in-south-africa-ramokgopa\"},\"wordCount\":610,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/no-plans-to-shut-down-coal-in-south-africa-ramokgopa#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2023\/10\/sm_1696601424.227974.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-South-Africa\",\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\",\"head lines\",\"to-homepage\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/no-plans-to-shut-down-coal-in-south-africa-ramokgopa#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/no-plans-to-shut-down-coal-in-south-africa-ramokgopa\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/no-plans-to-shut-down-coal-in-south-africa-ramokgopa\",\"name\":\"No plans to shut down coal in South Africa: Ramokgopa - 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