Latest news with #coaltransition
News24
a day ago
- Business
- News24
Climate Investment Funds approve R47bn coal-exit plan for SA
A World Bank-linked climate fund will back South Africa's plans to decommission coal power stations. The approval by Climate Investment Funds will unlock R47 billion to boost the energy transition. The US did not oppose the approval of the funding, says an official. For climate change news and analysis, go to News24 Climate Future. A World Bank-linked climate fund has backed South African plans to cut its reliance on coal, unlocking up to $2.6 billion (~R47 billion) in financing and giving the nation's energy transition an unexpected boost. The approval of the updated plan by the Climate Investment Funds, which was stalled after South Africa last year asked to delay the closure of three coal-fired power plants to ease an energy crisis, will see the CIF disburse $500 million (~R9 billion) to the country. That clears the path for as much as $2.1 billion (~R38 billion) from multilateral lenders including the World Bank and the African Development Bank, plus other sources. 'CIF's Clean Technology Fund Trust Fund Committee approved an update to South Africa's Accelerating Coal Transition investment plan' on 11 June, the fund said in a response to queries. READ | PIC leads a R660 million pledge for green hydrogen Under the plan, it said South Africa can now put forward detailed costing for projects it had outlined and then get approval for their funding from the trust. It referred additional questions on financing to the South African government, which confirmed that the plans are still in place. At the Presidential Climate Commission quarterly meeting on Friday, Rudi Dicks of the Just Energy Transition Project Management Unit noted the CIF board's approval of the plan. The US did not oppose the approval, as that was a concern, Bloomberg previously reported. South Africa, back around September, asked to alter the plan, which had originally been endorsed in 2022. That request delayed approval until after the 20 January inauguration of US President Donald Trump and subsequent pullback by the US from a range of international climate initiatives. The actions of US representatives then thwarted an opportunity to support the South African plan in March, people familiar with the situation said at the time. 'Consensus has been reached. But however, the US has indicated that it does not as an individual country support the revised proposal that we've made…,' said Dicks. South Africa had pushed out the decommissioning schedules out to 2030, Dicks explained. He added that the CIF approval is important given that the funding is the initial drive for the just energy transition. The $500 million would have a multiplier effect to unlock a further $2.6 billion, Dicks emphasised. 'Our diplomacy has paid off in my view, and unlocking that through the CIF board has been an important step.' The financing will play an important role in South Africa's energy transition. The country relies on coal for about 80% of its electricity generation and has the most carbon-intensive economy of any country in the G20. Eskom is the recipient of the funding aimed at decommissioning Camden, Grootvlei and Hendrina in 2030. READ | Decision nears on R47bn of climate funds for South Africa Of the 15 contributors to the $12.5 billion CIF the US was the biggest as of end-2024, having provided $3.8 billion. It's closely followed by the UK at $3.6 billion. Germany, Japan and Canada have each contributed more than $1 billion. Disbursements by the CIF can be blocked if any of the nations that have contributed to the funds object or ask for more time to seek additional details on what the funds will be used for, and under what conditions. Approval can be granted if a country abstains rather than votes against the plan. It's unclear how voting went on 11 June. The US State Department referred queries to the Treasury. The Treasury didn't respond to an earlier request for comment. Earlier this year the US withdrew from plans backed by rich nations to help Indonesia, Vietnam and South Africa reduce their reliance on coal. That step cost South Africa $1 billion in loans. Shortly after his inauguration, Trump promised to yank the US out of the Paris Agreement, an international climate pact. He also cancelled a pledge of $4 billion to another international climate institute, the Green Climate Fund. Separately, relations between the US and South Africa have been strained. Trump also halted aid to the country and his top officials have boycotted G20 meetings hosted by South Africa this year.
ABC News
2 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Bayswater Power Station turns 40 as ageing infrastructure drives up energy bills
It has been 40 years since Bayswater Power Station near Muswellbrook first roared to life. At its peak, Bayswater was the largest energy supplier to the New South Wales grid. This week, past and present employees gathered to celebrate the past 40 years while staring down a future beyond coal-fired power. Bayswater will not make it to 50, with the site scheduled to power down in 2033. AGL's transformation lead Shaun Green said it could be daunting looking towards an unknown future. "If you go back a decade, we had no idea that it would look like this," he said. But he remained optimistic about the industry's future. "It is very exciting what we've got planned with our future and the transition out of coal," Mr Green said. Chris D'Hotman started at Bayswater as a mechanical engineer and is now the head of generation and revenue. He said, despite the move away from coal-fired power, the staff had immense pride in their work. "We do it because we know what we're doing is powering the economy," Mr D'Hotman said. As the 2033 closure date looms, maintenance costs continue to rise and planned and unplanned outages increase at Bayswater. It is part of a wider trend that contributes to rising power bills. AGL will spend more than $130 million and switch off one of four units for planned maintenance at Bayswater this September, which it does on a four-year cycle. Bayswater-Liddell general manager, Len McLachlan, said costs inevitably increased as infrastructure aged. "Most of the equipment was built [in the 1980s] and mainly stays the same … so we do need to fine-tune it," he said. "Definitely, ageing plants can contribute to [higher prices], but I think it's more so just the fact that the energy industry is changing so much. A report from Reliability Watch using data supplied by power station operators to the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) revealed how unreliable the power station was. One of Bayswater's four units was completely offline from October 1, 2024, until February 19, 2025. Meanwhile, there were nine other outages across the site's other three units between October and March. The Australian Energy Regulator has warned NSW customers they are in for a hefty increase to their power bills of between 7.9 to 9.7 per cent from July 1. AEMO has linked increasing outages at ageing coal-fired power stations in the final quarter of 2024 to record-high wholesale prices. Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis lead Australian electricity analyst Johanna Bowyer said that when power stations went offline for repairs and maintenance, more expensive forms of power, such as gas, were used to fill the gaps. She said this pushed up wholesale electricity prices. Bayswater has provided about 20 per cent of NSW's electricity over the past four decades. But at Bayswater's age, Ms Bowyer said its days were numbered. "We've seen coal generators over the age of 40 years decline to have an average availability of 65 per cent, so only 65 per cent of their capacity available to market," she said. With coal-fired power stations set to close, renewable projects have been emerging to take their place, including plans for a solar panel manufacturing site at nearby Liddell Power Station. Meanwhile, AGL is also pushing forward with its Hunter Energy Hub, which includes solar and wind projects as well as battery storage. Chris D'Hotman said he "often considers" if he will need to change careers by moving into the renewable industry. "Renewables are expanding at such a rapid rate," he said. "It's something that we in the coal-fired sector ought to know more about."
