Page 51 - Energize July 2022

VIEWS AND OPINION

Moving ahead with the clean energy transition

Energize staffwriter

ld, decommissioned coal-fired Development Institute, groundWork and Peta Wolpe, the managing director of Sustainability
power stations in Mpumalanga Energy Africa. The documentary was directed by Joelle Chesselet.
Ocan be converted to clean In his address, De Ruyter said that Eskom will start retiring some of its ageing coal-
power generators, André de Ruyter, fired power stations soon. The 1000 MW Komati power station will be the first to close in
Eskom’s CEO says. This would benefit September this year.
the local community by addressing Overall, 22 GW will be decommissioned by 2035. This will be achieved in two tranches
poor air quality issues and making the of 11 GW each, with the first 11 GW shutting down in 2030. De Ruyter said that by retiring
existing transmission network available to almost half of the power utility’s fleet of coal-fired power stations, Eskom would reduce its
independent power producers. CO2 emissions by about 62%.
He said this in his keynote address at He added that an additional 50 or 60 GW of new generation capacity will be needed
the launch of a new documentary, Voices to drive the economy in the coming decades. Furthermore, an additional 8000 km of
from under a dark cloud: Towards a transmission lines will be needed. He estimates that the electricity supply industry will need
Just Transition in the coalfields of South to invest an extra R1,2-trillion by 2035.
Africa. Through interviews with affected Regarding the transition to renewable energy, de Ruyter said that although the best
people and interested organisations, this wind and solar resources are found far from Mpumalanga, there is a limit to what the
30-minute video discusses the challenges transmission system can carry there. The cheapest and quickest way to make renewable
and opportunities associated with the energy available to the grid is to connect it where the transmission system is already fed
ending of the use of coal for power from.
generation in the province. Therefore, it makes sense, de Ruyter said, to use the existing grid for new wind and solar
The documentary was produced by PV installations which are to be built at old power station sites in Mpumalanga when they
the Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies are shut down. Eskom wants to do this at Komati which is to be decommissioned at the end
(TIPS), the National Labour and Economic of September.

Matla Power Station

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