South Africa aims to reach net zero emissions in 2050 while still building new coal-fired plants

• 4 years ago (2020-09-17)
• David Flin

Africa 320 Coal 296

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The South African cabinet has approved a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, while still planning to build 1000 MW of new coal-fired capacity by 2030. The Government described the Low Emission Development Strategy (LEDS) “the beginning of our journey towards ultimately reaching a net zero economy by 2050.”

Currently, more than 90 per cent of South Africa’s energy is generated from coal, mainly mined and burned in the northeast by Eskom . The Government wants to reduce this figure to 45 per cent by 2030 and plans to shut down and repurpose some older coal power stations to do this.

The 2019 version of South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) outlines a transition from coal generation to renewable sources, but 5000 MW of coal power capacity is forecast still to be operating in 2050. New coal power stations are under construction in Kusile and Medupi, with another 1000 MW expected to come online by 2030.