‘Local business group tries to keep South Africa’s coal plants alive’ 15 May 2023

The proposals of the local business association have gained support from local politicians and at least one executive in the state-run power company that currently operates the coal mines and come as South Africa’s electricity minister argues that coal plant closures should be delayed. While local communities have expressed concerns about the economic impact of the closure of coal power plants, there has also been local criticism of the coal industry itself particularly its role in causing air pollution and damaging peoples’ health. The closures are part of South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JetP), an effort to reduce the electricity sector’s greenhouse gas emissions, which made up 45% of the country’s total emissions in 2017. Largely because of its reliance on coal, South Africa’s emissions are ten times higher than the sub-Saharan African average.

…But Mtshweni, founder of non-profit organisation Womandla Community Development, said that the planned closure of Hendrina had sparked concerns on the ground. “People are in fear because they benefited from that power station, they benefited from the nearby mines and now that the power station is closing down, they just don't know what's going to happen to them, what's going to happen to their livelihoods,” she said…Ott said that if the coal industry is "responsible" and addresses local environmental impacts then "there is no problem in using coal". She claimed that there cannot be a total shift away from coal to renewables due to a requirement for baseload power. The idea is that coal provides a minimum constant level of electricity to manage the inherent variability of solar and wind farms, which produce less electricity when the sun and wind are weak.

…Thomas Mnguni, a resident of Mpumalanga and campaigner at non-profit environmental justice organisation groundWork, is concerned about the MCCI’s plans to privatise energy production. “We do not want to see our energy system in private hands,” he said. “For me it’s very critical to make sure that we get our government to begin to construct renewable energy plants that will be owned by the state and the public, not the private sector."… In recent weeks, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, South Africa’s newly appointed electricity minister, has indicated that plans to shut coal plants are likely to be delayed to stave off ongoing planned power cuts, as the supply of electricity is not consistently enough to meet demand. Ramokgopa has also expressed interest in public-private partnerships to fund solutions for the energy crisis. As an individual, as a community member, what I understand is a just transition is that – the word ‘just’ means that we're all going to benefit from it. Is it true we all are going to benefit from it? Especially looking at the fact that our area is surrounded by so many mines.” “We have an issue of water pollution in our area, and of sound [pollution] as well. There are so many trucks moving in and out, and there are so many issues related to blasting.”