South Africa’s power utility Eskom said it has obtained a concessional loan of 497 million U.S. dollars from the World Bank for the repurposing of Komati Power Station.
The loan will be guaranteed by the national treasury, said Eskom, which announced earlier this week that Komati Power Station, having been in operation since 1961, is shutting down and would be repowered and repurposed.
“This is a significant development for South Africa’s just energy transition to renewable energy as it brings the much needed funding to enable Eskom to train its employees and members of the host communities to empower them to continue playing a central role in the provision of clean energy for the country,” said Mpho Makwana, chairperson of the Eskom board.
The loan would be used for decommissioning of the power station, repurposing and repowering of the station and other elements of the just energy transition, according to Makwana.
Eskom said the first phase of the repurposing will install 150MW of photovoltaic, 70MW wind generating capacity, 150MW of battery energy storage system and synchronous condense. Enditem
