South Africa\u2019s electricity minister attacked the country\u2019s groundbreaking $8.5 billion climate finance pact with some of the world\u2019s richest nations whereby it will close some coal-fired power plants and re-purpose them to produce renewable energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kgosientsho Ramokgopa told a meeting organized by Standard Bank Group Ltd. that the closure of Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd.\u2019s Komati Power Station, the first plant to be shuttered, was \u201can injustice that is unfolding at Komati in the name of the transition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ramokgopa\u2019s observations, while chiming with earlier comments made by Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe and the concerns of labour unions, may further inflame tensions around the so-called Just Energy Transition Program, which is behind schedule. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Africa is yet to produce an implementation plan that would allow money to flow from France, Germany, the US, the UK and the European Union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf I had my way, we would go and restart the units at Komati,\u201d he said. \u201cWe closed a power station which was the best-performing power station at the time that we closed it, and because someone gave us money and said decarbonize, we are getting 217 megawatts of alternative energy, and we removed 1,000 megawatts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ramokgopa repeated comments made previously by Mantashe that South Africa was being used as a \u201cguinea pig,\u201d for the green transition. Vietnam, Indonesia and Senegal are pursuing similar JETP agreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOn the delay of the decommissioning of coal-fired power stations and our commitments we set ourselves to decarbonise the economy and move to a fossil [fuel]-free economy.\u201d#MinisterofElectricity<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/keiF2wu8Jm<\/a><\/p>— Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa (@Kgosientsho_R) July 24, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>