South Africa gets $497m for clean energy generation from defunct coal plant

The World Bank and other donors contributed $497 million to a South African coal-fired power plant that shut down its final unit this week in order to produce renewable energy on the site. This endeavour will function as a prototype for the move away from fossil fuels. According to a statement issued by the bank, "the decommissioning and repurposing of the Komati coal-fired plant is a demonstration project that can serve as a guide for future projects in South Africa and around the world."

According to Eskom, the state-owned utility, 53 gigawatts of renewable energy will be required by 2032 to replace coal-burning units closing down. The Komati site will therefore contribute towards closing the gap as it generates 150 megawatts of solar energy, an equivalent amount of battery storage, and 70 megawatts of wind energy using the existing transmission system.