Weekly renewables M&A round-up (May 23-27)
May 27, 2022 17:26 CESTAugust 19 (Renewables Now) - South African utility Eskom Holdings SOC will shut down roughly 30% of its current coal-fired power generation capacity over the next decade and repurpose some of the sites for solar power production.
The utility intends to close 8,000 MW to 12,000 MW of coal-fired plants in its aging fleet in the next 10 years, it said in a Twitter post on Tuesday, pointing out that the average age of most of its facilities is 41 years. According to its website, the total power generation capacity stands at 44,171 MW, of which 36,479 MW comes from coal.
As part of the plan, the company's Komati power complex will cease operations in October 2022. Repurposing works at the site have already been initiated under a Just Energy Transition” project to build a 500-kW agrivoltaic system, and a microgrid assembly and fabrication factory. The photovoltaic (PV) plant will be coupled with 244 MWh of battery storage capacity.
Similar projects will be implemented at the Grootvlei, Hendrina and Camden stations, scheduled for retirement by 2025.
An Eskom official told Reuters this summer that the utility is seeking debt to embark on a USD-10-billion plan that will see it close most of its coal-fired plants by 2050 and replace the capacity with renewable energy.
Weekly renewables M&A round-up (May 23-27)
May 27, 2022 17:26 CESTDuke Energy equips Hawaii university with solar and storage
May 27, 2022 17:17 CESTUS stays atop EY renewables attractiveness index, Spain heads PPA chart
May 27, 2022 16:32 CESTSavannah Energy to develop up to 500 MW of renewables in Chad
May 27, 2022 16:08 CESTCelsia building 260 MW of solar farms in Colombia
May 27, 2022 15:51 CESTAgrana, RWA equip Austrian fruit juice concentrate plant with solar modules
May 27, 2022 15:36 CEST