Eskom launches renewable energy unit

ESKOM Holdings has formally entered South Africa’s renewable energy market with the launch of Eskom Green, said News24 on Tuesday.The publication described Eskom Green as a dedicated platform targeting utility-scale clean energy projects that will sell electricity directly to heavy industry, mines and smelters seeking to decarbonise.Rivoningo Mnisi, CEO for Eskom Renewables, is quoted as saying the unit was established to provide utility-scale renewable energy and storage projects that can be scaled at speed. Eskom Green will initially target South Africa’s top 20 energy consumers before broadening its customer base, said News24.Under Eskom’s unbundling plan, Eskom Green will become a fully owned subsidiary with its own independent board, pending regulatory approvals. The utility aims to complete the full unbundling process by 2030.Mnisi defined utility-scale as projects of at least 500MW, with identified sites capable of reaching 1GW. Early projects include a hybrid battery energy storage system and solar plant at the shuttered Komati Power Station in Mpumalanga — combining 150MW of battery storage with 70MW of solar — and an 80MW to 100MW hydro plant in the Eastern Cape. Eskom Green will co-locate infrastructure on Eskom-owned land where transmission connections already exist, giving it a structural advantage over private developers.The first 400MW to 500MW of capacity will be funded from the R11bn allocated to clean energy within Eskom’s broader R343bn five-year capital expenditure programme. As the portfolio scales toward 2GW, Eskom Green will shift to project-level financing structures designed to attract private and concessional capital.Mnisi said advanced discussions are under way with the World Bank around funding linked to the retirement of the Camden, Grootvlei, Hendrina and Kriel coal-fired power stations.He acknowledged that Eskom Green’s status as a state-owned entity creates regulatory constraints — including obligations under the Public Finance Management Act — that private competitors do not face, and said the company would seek exemptions to compete on equal terms.Group CEO Dan Marokane said the venture reflected Eskom’s adaptation to new energy technologies rather than a simple compliance exercise, describing it as “a development that South Africa can be proud of.”The post Eskom launches renewable energy unit appeared first on Miningmx.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com