Komati power station

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Komati power station is a retired power station in Middleburg, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Komati power station	Middleburg, Mpumalanga, South Africa	-26.09078, 29.47446 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

• Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4, Unit 5, Unit 6, Unit 7, Unit 8, Unit 9: -26.09078, 29.47446

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology	Start year	Retired year
Unit 1	retired	coal - bituminous	100	subcritical	1961	2022
Unit 2	retired	coal - bituminous	100	subcritical	1962	2022
Unit 3	retired	coal - bituminous	100	subcritical	1962	2022
Unit 4	retired	coal - bituminous	100	subcritical	1963	2022
Unit 5	retired	coal - bituminous	100	subcritical	1963	2022
Unit 6	retired	coal - bituminous	125	subcritical	1964	2022
Unit 7	retired	coal - bituminous	125	subcritical	1964	2022
Unit 8	retired	coal - bituminous	125	subcritical	1964	2022
Unit 9	retired	coal - bituminous	125	subcritical	1964	2022

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name	Owner
Unit 1	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd (Eskom) [100.0%]
Unit 2	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd (Eskom) [100.0%]
Unit 3	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd (Eskom) [100.0%]
Unit 4	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd (Eskom) [100.0%]
Unit 5	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd (Eskom) [100.0%]
Unit 6	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd (Eskom) [100.0%]
Unit 7	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd (Eskom) [100.0%]
Unit 8	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd (Eskom) [100.0%]
Unit 9	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd (Eskom) [100.0%]

Background

The Komati power station was built between 1961-1964 with nine units; units 1-5 of 100 MW each and units 6-9 of 125 MW each, totaling 1000 MW capacity. In 1988, three units at Komati were mothballed, one was kept in reserve, and the other five were only operated during peak hours. In 1990 the complete station was mothballed until 2008, when unit 9 was the first to be recommissioned under Eskom's return to service project.

A total of 700 MW (4 units at 125 MW and 2 units at 100 MW) were commissioned by 2013. The final 3 units were planned to be recommissioned and commercially operational by 2014. The last unit went into operation by July 2014.

The units were recommissioned in the following years:

• Unit 9: December 2008
• Unit 8: March 2009
• Units 3 and 7: 2010
• Unit 4: 2011
• Unit 5: February 2012
• Units 6 and 2: 2013
• Unit 1: 2014

In April 2016 the Eskom Board said it approved the commencement of a pre-feasibility study for renewal options for four of its oldest power stations: Komati, Camden, Hendrina, and Arnot. The pre-feasibility study would take 18 months to complete, and would include looking at options such as plant life extension.

In March 2017 Eskom said that it would hold meetings with the government and labour to discuss its plans to decommission five power stations over the next five years: Komati Power Station, Hendrina Power Station, Kriel Power Station, Grootvlei Power Station, and Camden Power Station. Eskom said the stations are old and unneeded, given the country's plans for new power capacity by independent power producers (IPPs).

In 2017, two older coal-fired units from Eskom's Grootvlei Power Station, one older unit from Eskom's Hendrina Power Station, and two older units from Eskom's Komati Power Station were placed into coal reserve because their running costs were higher than other units. A government spokesman said that the old stations were expected to remain uneconomical to run, even if refurbished, compared to renewable energy IPP power options and the company's newer stations at Medupi and Kusile.

In 2019, it was reported the plant's nine units were planned for retirement in 2021. However, in April 2020, Eskom listed the retirement dates for the units between 2024 and 2028.

According to Eskom's 2020 Annual Report, all units at the power station except units 4 and 9 "have been placed in reserve storage or extended inoperability and their capacity removed from the nominal base... due to technical and/or financial constraints."

In October 2021, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment granted Eskom with positive environmental compliance postponement decisions for Komati as it was scheduled to shut down in 2022.

In 2021, Eskom's Integrated Report showed a nominal capacity at the Komati plant of only 114 MW. With only one unit in operation, it could be assumed that it was unit 9, which had an initial installed capacity of 125 MW.

Just Energy Transition (JET) plans

Repurposing & Repowering Proposal

As of February 2021, Eskom was preparing a Request for Proposal for the repowering and repurposing of the Komati power station and was planning to launch bidding in Spring 2021. In 2021, social impact studies were completed for Eskom's Komati, Hendrina, Grootvlei, and Camden power stations to assess what impact the closure of the power stations would have on direct, indirect, and induced employment, as well as on large and small businesses in the areas surrounding the plants. The company also evaluated the various responses received to a request for expressions of interest for the repowering of the stations, using renewable-energy and storage solutions, or possibly switching their fuel sources to either gas or hydrogen. In addition, it received various repurposing proposals, ranging from the creation of training facilities to the development of agricultural activities on the sites.

In April 2021, Eskom was still preparing the Request for Proposals. However, it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with development financier Agence Française de Développement (AFD) that included a specific objective of creating a framework for cooperation and collaboration on Eskom’s evolving ‘just energy transition’ strategy. Eskom established a Just Energy Transition Office to oversee the repowering and repurposing, and the MoU makes specific reference to facilitating dialogue between the company and strategic stakeholders around the Komati power station. Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter highlighted in a statement that Komati would be among those coal-fired power stations that it hoped to use as a showcase of a “more sustainable future under the just energy transition strategy”. He also noted that it was “non-negotiable” that the strategy of growing investment in renewable technologies at the sites be coupled with a positive impact on both the country’s electricity industry and on stimulating a local market and increased job creation in the country’s coal regions.

Eskom's Integrated Report released in October 2021 and a November 2021 visual essay described repowering activities.

In September 2022, Eskom announced a JET partnership with the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) and the South African Renewable Energy Technology Centre (SARETEC). With plans to close the coal-fired plant by the end of the next month, the Komati power station was slated to become a new training center for renewable energy. The project would also be repowered with 150 MW of solar, 70 MW of wind, and 150 MW of batteries. In addition, a containerized micro-grid assembly factory would also be developed, making the Komati facility "one of the largest coal-fired power plant decommissioning, repowering, and repurposing projects globally".

In June 2023, South Africa's pro-coal Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy reportedly criticized the transition project at Komati, claiming that it hadn't provided the same number of jobs as the coal plant. Later in August, the Minister again criticized the coal unit closures, claiming that Eskom had decommissioned the Komati power station "because of commitments in the Paris Agreement" and that its closure contributed to load shedding. Eskom disputed these claims and said that seven of the nine units were closed for technical and financial reasons as they would have required "significant investment". In response to the claim that Komati's closure contributed to load shedding, Eskom said that from March to October 2022, the only operating unit had contributed just 75 MW on average to the grid.

In late September 2023, a member of South Africa's Presidential Climate Commission told a meeting of the commission that Eskom's plan for decommissioning Komati was developed too late, with a lack of proper consultation with the local community and timely development of new employment opportunities.

In October 2023, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) called on the South Africa government to suspend the Just Energy Transition Partnership. The NUM, which is the largest union representing staff employed by Eskom, said in a statement that they wanted "further consultations on the transition plan because of the threat it poses to as many as 51,000 jobs."

In November 2023, the South African government approved the US$8.8 billion Just Energy Transition Investment Plan. The final deal was expected to be revealed at the upcoming COP28 climate conference. South Africa's Minister for Forestry, Fisheries and Environment said that part of the funding would support initiatives in Mpumalanga province, which is "currently heavily dependent on coal."

Coal units retiring

In August 2021, Eskom said that the Komati power station in Mpumalanga would be completely retired in October 2022. The South African electric utility said that it had commenced repurposing work at the Komati Power Station this month. The company was preparing the location for a 500kW agrivoltaic plant, a fabrication factory, and a micro grid assembly. Komati was planned to be repowered by using a solar photovoltaic (PV) plant supported by 244MWh battery storage. The electric utility said that the Komati Power Station was positioned ideally to be a flagship Just Energy Transition (JET) project for subsequent repowering projects.

In May 2022, Eskom reported that the repurposing project had been initiated following "extensive" socioeconomic impact studies and community engagement. The company began three project phases in tandem:

• A containerized microgrid developed using a repurposed shipping container
• A 500 kW agrivoltaic pilot plant, which combines solar voltaic technology with agricultural activities
• A training facility on the property, in connection to South African renewable industry associations, to provide three to four year courses for Eskom employees and members of the surrounding community

As of June 2022, plans appear on track for all coal units to be retired later in the year. In October 2022, the final unit went offline, and the power station was officially retired.

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.