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De Ruyter has seen the potential for South Africa to create a clean energy industry. (iStock).
- Eskom is working on a plan aimed at net zero emissions by 2050.
- The power company is the largest greenhouse gas producer in South Africa and uses primarily coal to generate electricity.
- Sasol, the country’s second largest greenhouse gas producer, made a presentation on its plans this week.
Eskom, South Africa’s largest greenhouse gas producer, which uses primarily coal for electricity generation, is working on a plan aimed at net zero emissions by 2050.
Eskom “has an aspirational vision” of reaching the goal, which includes job creation, the company said in response to questions. “We are currently developing a roadmap to define this path that includes the necessary activities and enablers along the way.”
The goal marks a dramatic shift for the nearly century-old utility that uses the nation’s abundant fossil fuel for about 90% of energy production. South Africa is also seeing more strategies to tackle climate change. Sasol, the fuel and chemicals maker and the nation’s second-largest greenhouse gas producer, made a presentation on its plans this week.
Eskom’s goal comes at a time when the utility is trying to divide the business into separate units to make it profitable, and it faces roughly R484 billion in debt. Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter said last month that there is some R200 billion of green finance potentially available, although it involves complex underlying conditions. A government task force said last week that the path to a net zero emissions target should be implemented in phases.
The utility’s activities in the short term “include the reuse and recharge of energy from existing coal plants with lower carbon alternatives, allowing the deployment of renewable energy on a large scale and evaluating various storage options.” Eskom said. The pace of technological developments in the coming decades is unpredictable, he noted. “The ‘net’ in the net zero target means that we will still have residual emissions in the next few years as we work to decarbonize the grid.”
De Ruyter has noted South Africa’s potential to create a clean energy industry as coal stations are retired.
Sasol, which is the world’s largest producer of coal-based fuel, is targeting a 10% reduction in emissions by 2030. The company’s CEO, Fleetwood Grobler, also said more information is needed on options, including hydrogen, before the details of a longer-term plan are decided. . Next year he hopes to have an emissions strategy until 2050.
