Waterberg Coal power station
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Waterberg Coal power station is a cancelled power station in Lephalale, Waterberg District, Limpopo, South Africa.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Waterberg Coal power station | Lephalale, Waterberg District, Limpopo, South Africa | -23.666667, 27.516667 (approximate) |
The map below shows the approximate location of the power station.
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | cancelled | coal - waste coal | 600 | subcritical | – | – |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner |
|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Waterberg Energy [100.0%] |
Project-level coal details
- Coal source(s): Waterberg coal field
Description
In April 2015, Waterberg Coal Company submitted an application to establish a coal-fired independent power station with an initial capacity of 600 MW. It would have supported power generation for the company's proposed Limpopo-based coal mining projects, and would have used the mine's low-grade coal. It would have been 5 km from the Waterberg mines, and 15 km from the Medupi power station. A decision was expected on the company’s application for the plant by 2016.[1]
Project Not Selected in IPP Process
In October 2016, energy minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson announced that Thabametsi power station and Khanyisa power station were the preferred bidders for round one of the country's first Coal baseload Independent Power Producer (CIPP) programme. Under the programme, Khanyisa would begin operation in December 2020 and Thabametsi would begin operation in March 2021. The winning bids were 80c/kWh for Khanyisa and 79c/kWh. The tariff would increase to R1.1c once cost of connection is included.[2]
Although it was not chosen, as of 2017, Waterberg was still describing its intention to develop a 600 MW IPP project, with an additional 600 MW at the same site in a second stage.[3][4] However, as of December 2019, the project was no longer on the company website.
New coal plants looking unlikely
On September 1, 2017, the Minister of Energy announced that all future IPP programs in the country were on hold until a proper review was done and the government assessed the amount of power capacity needed.[5]
South Africa's draft Integrated Resource Plan for Electricity (IRP), released in August 2018, contained plans for an additional 1,000 MW of new coal-fired power on top of under-construction coal plants, namely Khanyisa power station and Thabametsi power station. No other coal plants are listed.[6]
Waterberg Coal mines
The Waterberg Coal Project was to consist of eight coal tenements totaling nearly 8,000 hectares in Waterberg District, with estimated coal mineral resources of 3.4 billion tonnes. As of 2015, Waterberg Coal was doing feasibility studies to mine coal for two projects: an export project of up to 4 million tonnes of coal for a minimum of 30 years, and the Eskom Project, to supply of up to 10 million tonnes of coal per annum for a period of 30 years to Eskom for the Majuba power station. The Waterberg coal power station would have used surplus or waste coal from the mines. Waterberg Coal and Firestone Energy had a combined 70% holding in the Waterberg Coal Project; the remaining 30% was held by Sekoko Resources.[7]
Financial Constraints
The Waterberg Coal Project and Waterberg Coal Company (WCC) appeared to have been delisted from the Sydney and Johannesburg stock exchanges after the company's recapitalisation by Sibanye Gold ended in failure in 2015.[8][9]
The Waterberg Coal Company did not appear to have a working website and little information was available about the company.
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ "Waterberg Coal seeking go-ahead for 600 MW power station," Mining Weekly, April 2, 2015
- ↑ "Thabametsi and Khanyisa take first in SA coal baseload IPP," ESI Africa, October 11, 2016
- ↑ "IPP Project," Waterberg Coal Company, accessed May 2017
- ↑ "FACTS SHEET, Bid Window 1: Coal Procurement Programme," Department of Energy, October 2016
- ↑ "Life After Coal sets record straight on inaccurate statements by Colenso Power," Centre for Environmental Rights, March 20, 2018
- ↑ "Life After Coal, Greenpeace Africa slam inclusion of new coal in electricity plan," CER, August 28, 2018
- ↑ "Waterberg Coal Project," Waterberg Coal Company, accessed January 2015
- ↑ "Sekoko intends to resuscitate scaled down Waterberg project," Miningmx, June 9, 2017
- ↑ "The Waterberg Coal Company," Business News, accessed December 2021
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.
