OVERVIEW Energy Four
OVERVIEW Energy Four power stations will keep burning coal. A programme called energyDRIVE, which includes a mobile unit showcasing different technologies, reached 30 000 high-school pupils in Mpumalanga in May 2024. The initiative is supported by the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA), Eskom, the Danish Embassy and the Durban University of Technology. There has been a change of plan. Mpumalanga’s coal-fired power stations are not going to be closed as quickly as originally envisioned. The vast reserves of coal under the soil of the province are the reason for the concentration of power stations, which in turn is the reason for high levels of pollution from emissions in Mpumalanga. It was assumed that an urgent programme of shutting down coal-fired power stations would be a minimum requirement for South Africa to receive international funding for its transition from fossil fuels to cleaner sources. The commitment to switch power sources has not changed, but the timeframe has. The experience of closing Komati has given national planners pause. Komati power station was decommissioned in 2022 and the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) says that the sequence of steps taken to close the mine were “back to front”. By not consulting early enough and not setting up sufficient alternative economic activities, economic harm was done to locals who were dependent on the facility. SECTOR INSIGHT Wheeling is expanding. The workshops of Komati power station have been converted into a small factory for the manufacture of components for containerised microgrids, but the PCC says that more should be done. After a 2023 visit to the site, the PCC reported, “On the one hand, Eskom has taken a pioneering role in its conceptualisation of a second life of a power station, with a focus on community upliftment and social development. As MPUMALANGA BUSINESS 2024/25 36 PHOTO: SAWEA
ENERTRAG: Unlocking South Africa’s transmission grid A vision for the future Containerised mini-grids are being made on the site of an old power station. acknowledged by all stakeholders, however, there were shortcomings in the project.” The PCC is an advisory body to the President of South Africa. The decommissioning of the Camden, Grootvlei, Hendrina and Kriel power stations will now be delayed until 2030. Options to get these plants producing energy again include gas, biomass and hydrogen but it is possible they might be used for something quite different. National utility Eskom wants to be a net-zero company by 2050. With 80 000 jobs dependent on coal mining across South Africa, the need to try to ensure a “Just Transition” is a very real one. One of South Africa’s most successful investment projects, the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), suffered a setback in the period between 2015 and 2021. It has since been relaunched and investors are queuing up to take a stake in greener energy, but South Africa has now come up against the constraints of the national grid. In the most recent round of bidding for projects, the Northern Cape received fewer projects than it otherwise would have if the national grid was keeping up with increased generation potential of new projects. This gives Mpumalanga a comparative advantage. With most of South Africa’s power stations located in Mpumalanga, the issue of grid capacity does not arise. Eskom was one of the first entities to react to this opportunity to build newer, greener facilities. In July 2022, Eskom announced 18 winning bids from independent power producers (IPPs) for renewable projects on Eskom land, 4 000ha of which the utility has made An ambitious strategy is needed to transform South Africa’s existing transmission grid and integrate renewable energy more efficiently into the national grid. There is a critical need for an actionable plan that would not only hasten the integration of renewable energy sources but also refine the operational capabilities of transmission grid infrastructure. This plan should include a suite of initiatives designed to propel the country’s national grid into a more efficient and sustainable future, particularly unlocking the growth of the wind energy sector, a critical step towards a sustainable energy future. A bold grid strategy for South Africa is what is required, prioritising prompt generator connections, allowing grid oversubscription and curtailment as cost-saving measures, promoting transparency in transmission data to optimise capacity use and supporting producer autonomy in self-consumption and innovative energy shifting to future-proof the energy sector. PHOTO: SAWEA PHOTO: Eskom 37 MPUMALANGA BUSINESS 2024/25
