South Africa’s state power utility Eskom Holdings says it needs about $10 billion to close most of its coal-fired plants by 2050. The energy company says it is currently in talks with development finance institutions to raise funds.
Eskom says that the plants may be re-purposed, and the sites used to produce power from renewable energy or natural gas, for instance, the Komati power plant could house a batter plus storage system.
Eskom currently accounts for 40 per cent of South Africa’s total greenhouse emissions as over 85 per cent of South Africa’s energy demands are met by coal. However, Eskom has struggled in recent years to maintain its ageing fleet of coal plants. This has resulted in load shedding aimed at preventing a total grid collapse.
Eskom’s plan to raise money to transition comes as South Africa adopt a 2050 net-zero emissions target.