Energy regulator Nersa has kicked a hard discussion about a licence for the controversial electricity generator down the road.
Browsing: Energy and sustainability
Despite efforts to make Eskom profitable, including a process of unbundling its divisions into separate entities, “the core problem of debt” has yet to be addressed, Futuregrowth Asset Management has said.
David Masondo, South Africa’s deputy finance minister, has suggested that investors forgive R146-billion of sovereign debt in exchange for Eskom meeting climate targets.
Eskom, South Africa’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, is evaluating the use of carbon capture at power plants as part of decarbonisation plans to transform the coal-burning utility.
South Africa faces “another era of isolation” if it persists with coal power generation, the CEO of Eskom said, arguing a pivot to cleaner energy would boost the competitiveness of the country’s exports.
Eskom is starting a pilot programme to allow businesses to buy green power. It gives businesses a mechanism to purchase clean energy from the utility without having to own a renewable energy generator.
Unit 1 at the Koeberg nuclear power station near Cape Town tripped on Monday, but Eskom – which operates the facility – said there is no reason for concern about safety.
Eskom has posted a fourth consecutive annual loss as it continued to service a mountain of debt, repaired ageing plants and lost electricity revenue because of a drop in demand.
Eskom, which supplies almost all South Africa’s electricity from coal-fired power plants, is considering spending R106-billion on wind and solar energy by 2030.
It sounds implausible: a technology that could unleash nearly unlimited clean energy. Yet sustainable nuclear fusion, long hypothesised, took a step closer to reality this month.