The South African public electricity company Eskom announced on Wednesday (July 16) its plans to transition primarily to clean energy sources by 2040, moving away from its current fleet of power generation mostly based on coal.
The company aims to have 32 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2040, compared to less than 1 GW currently, while planning to reduce its coal capacity from 39 GW to 18 GW over this period, according to a presentation on its energy sources to legislators.
Eskom highlighted that it will launch renewable energy projects through a combination of upgrading older coal power plants, which are expected to be decommissioned, and new projects.
The upgrade involves replacing old electricity generation equipment with more recent technology. The state-owned company identified several old coal plants where it will replace production units with those powered by renewable energy or gas.
Eskom will have an internal renewable energy business unit to implement projects and establish partnerships with private entities. Among the challenges to its clean energy goals, Eskom cited its debt of 400 billion rands (22.3 billion dollars), which the company says continues to hinder investment in renewable energies. It also mentioned the rising debts of South African municipalities and uncertainty over regulated energy tariffs, which are below the level needed to cover its costs.
Source: Reuters
