South Africa Faces Challenges in Transition away from Coal

Residents of Masakhane, who live beneath one of South Africa's biggest coal-fired power plants, worry about losing their jobs if the plant is shut down as the nation switches to cleaner energy sources.

South Africa is a major polluter because it currently gets 80% of its electricity from coal, but it wants to get that down to 59% by 2030 by retiring some of its 15 coal-fired power plants and using more renewable energy. By 2050, it seeks to have no carbon emissions.

South Africa's strategy to move away from coal was largely praised at the COP27 climate conference in Egypt, when officials signed agreements for some of the loan funds, after obtaining pledges of $8.5 billion at the global climate summit held in Scotland last year.

The most developed economy on the continent will find it challenging to transition away from coal. Because the state-owned power utility, Eskom, is unable to produce sufficient supplies of electricity, South African homes and businesses already have daily scheduled power outages, which are frequently longer than seven hours.

But the transformation has begun. An announcement made this month by the World Bank stated that the Komati power station in the province of Mpumalanga has been decommissioned and that $497 million will be spent to transform it into a plant employing batteries and renewable energy sources.

Masakhane township, which is located in the same province as Mpumalanga, is strikingly situated at the foot of mountains of coal that were extracted nearby and burned in the Duvha power plant.

Residents said they are concerned about losing their jobs if the coal-fired plant closes, which is a big problem in a nation where the unemployment rate is over 30%.

The 3,600-megawatt Duvha power plant creates jobs in the transportation and food industries in addition to contract work within the facility.

Selby Mahlalela, 38, a contract worker for the state-owned power company Eskom, relocated to Masakhane in 2006 and has worked different maintenance tasks.

"Despite not being permanent employees, it is the one location that the vast majority of people from here rely on for job prospects. This frequently occurs, especially during shutdowns or maintenance, "Mahlalela stated.

Even among the members of President Cyril Ramaphosa's Cabinet, the transition is still a difficult subject.

Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said this week that the country's energy security and people's livelihoods should not be sacrificed in the pursuit of cleaner energy.

"I am one of those who believes that a change is possible. However, that coal is not only about figures; it is also about people. About 10 towns in Mpumalanga are involved "Mantashe stated.

Silindile Kheswa, who lives in one of those communities, has a job with a short-term contract at the Duvha power plant and expressed concern about the move away from coal.

The hauling of coal to various power plants is a job for some of our brothers, according to Kheswa. "So if you are saying no more coal, that means we can't put food on the table."