In October the 1,000MW Komati power station near Middelburg in Mpumalanga will become the first of Eskom’s old coal-fired fleet to shut down for decommissioning. Next in line are Hendrina, Camden and Grootvlei power stations, with combined capacity of about 4,700MW, to be shut down on a piecemeal basis over the next five years.
Through the decommissioning of end-of-life coal-fired power plants Eskom will retire about 22,000MW of generation capacity (about half of current installed capacity of about 45,000MW) by 2035.
The state-owned power utility is hoping, however, to create new opportunities for workers at these power stations and to replace some of the lost megawatts with renewable power generation projects.
Its “just energy transition” plans will be tested for the first time at Komati, where Eskom has launched several projects to see generation and labour activity continue at the power station after its imminent shutdown date.
This is the second time in Komati’s history that it will be shut down. After coming online for the first time in 1961, the power station was completely “mothballed” in the early 1990s because SA had too much generation capacity at the time, said Komati GM Jurie Pieterse. However, between 2008 and 2011 the station was brought online again as it became clear that the building of the Medupi and Kusile power stations would take longer than anticipated, steering SA towards a generation capacity deficit.
The decommissioning, “repowering and repurposing” of the Komati plant will be the flagship project in Eskom’s just energy transition programme through which it will aim to provide new opportunities for those workers who are now employed at coal-fired power stations or at coal mines supplying Eskom, said Mandy Rambharos, Eskom GM for a just energy transition, at an event held last week to mark the shutdown of Komati.
The plans for Komati, to accommodate some of the about 200 full-time Eskom employees at the plant, include a manufacturing plant for mobile, renewable energy “micro-grids”, the generation of renewable energy and the launch of a training facility where workers will be “reskilled” for employment in the renewable energy sector.
Skills shortage
Rambharos said SA had a serious skills shortage in meeting the jobs and job requirements that will be created through the renewable energy value chain.
The training centre at Komati, which is being done in collaboration with the Cape Peninsula University of Technology’s SA Renewable Energy Technology Centre, will offer opportunities for skilled artisans to be trained to work as technicians on the solar and wind installations.
This training centre will later be replicated at other coal power stations that are due for decommissioning.
The facility is being funding by the Global Energy Alliance for People and the Planet (GEAPP).
GEAPP vice-president Joseph Nganga said they viewed SA “as a priority country for showcasing the road map towards a just energy transition”.
The organisation, Nganga said, will provide about $2m of grant funding over two years to build the training facility and get it up and running.
Rambharos said they were hoping that the renewable energy industry will consider donating equipment for the training centre that can be used as teaching materials.
Meanwhile, she said, Eskom is in talks with the World Bank for the funding of the decommissioning and “repowering” of Komati through the construction of renewable energy plants. Eskom could not at this stage say what the decommissioning and construction of the wind and solar projects will cost, but the first phase will comprise a 150MW solar plant and 70MW wind farm, with more capacity, as well as a battery storage plant to be added during later phases, Rambharos said.
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