With the last coal-fired unit at its Komati power station in Mpumalanga closed today, Eskom marked the start of a programme to re-purpose existing sites to use renewable technologies. South Africa has only realised 6,100 megawatts since it started a government programme in 2011 to buy green energy from independent producers, and the nation requires 53 gigawatts of clean energy capacity by 2032 to make up for the closures and reach a secure level of supply, according to the state-owned power utility. 166 million solar panels will be needed to fill this need. – Sandra Laurence
Scale of South Africa’s green need: 166 million solar panels
By Paul Burkhardt
(Bloomberg) – South Africa will need to build solar and wind plants at a blistering pace over the next decade — almost nine times faster than before — to replace unreliable coal-fired power stations set for retirement.
While new generation units will include a range of renewables, the amount of capacity needed is equivalent to the output from 166 million photovoltaic panels, using an estimate for solar technology from the US Department of Energy.
The continent’s most-industrialized nation requires 53 gigawatts of clean energy capacity by 2032 to make up for the closures and reach a secure level of supply, according to state-owned power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. South Africa has only realized 6,100 megawatts since it started a government program in 2011 to buy green energy from independent producers.
Power outages — locally known as loadshedding — reached a record level this year, crimping the economy, as the utility struggles just to keep aging and new coal stations running. The country’s energy transition also involves re-skilling an industry based around the fossil fuel that supports 90,000 workers and the communities they live in.
Recent efforts by the government to step up renewable installations have uncovered additional obstacles, with some projects unable to reach financial close due to rising costs and supply-chain issues.
“On the procurement side, the government’s next move should be fairly straightforward,” including holding auctions regularly and signing contracts on time, said Emma Champion, head of regional energy transitions at BloombergNEF. South Africa may also need to “reconsider its industrial strategy, balancing its efforts to revive some of the local renewable energy value chain,” she said.
Eskom’s latest projection accounts for the shutdown of 15 gigawatts of coal-fired power during the period as well as a deterioration of the fleet’s performance, which makes less energy available, Segomoco Scheppers, company’s managing director of transmission, said in a presentation on Thursday.
The unit is concentrating on implementing projects in the next five years “which we consider extremely critical from a security of supply perspective,” he said.
(Updates with BNEF comment in sixth paragraph)
Read also:
- Eskom’s coal-powered Komati to rise from its ashes; start producing renewable energy
- What fresh hell is Eskom planning for unsuspecting users of solar power?
- ‘Power to the people’ not easy – solar expert
