The cabinet approval paves the way for South Africa to leverage the $8.5 billion in funding – initially announced in 2021– in the form of grants and loans from the U.S, the UK, Germany, France and the European Union to close and re-purpose coal-fired power plants, ensure additional renewable capacity is brought online and expand the transmission grid network country-wide.
Now, with cabinet’s $8.5 billion endorsement, South Africa is one step closer to maximizing clean energy resources while fostering job creation and the up-skilling of the local workforce in line with new employment demands.
The approval of the plan follows the German government pledging an additional €355 million to support South Africa in delivering a ‘just energy transition’ as the country seeks more than $250 billion in investments through to 2050 to retire its coal systems while ensuring the reliability of its grid network.
