World Bank funds $497 million S.African clean energy project
On Friday, the World Bank announced that a $687 million loan will be granted to South African state-owned power utility Eskom for its project of decommissioning and repurposing one of its coal-fired power plants for electricity generation using renewable energy.
The World Bank has declared that the decommissioning and repurposing of the Komati coal-fired plant can be used as a model for future fossil-fuel assets in South Africa and around the world, by serving as a reference on how to transition fossil-fuel assets. The statement was distributed by the National Treasury of South Africa.
According to Eskom’s CEO, the company appears to be expecting a World Bank decision on funding before the COP27 summit this month. At this summit, the company is expected to present its own proposal.
This funding is separate from an $8.5 billion package of funds that have been offered by wealthy countries to help South Africa reduce its carbon emissions. These emissions are among the highest in the world since coal is the main fuel it relies on to generate electricity.
There were 497 million dollars invested in this project, which is comprised of a World Bank loan of $439.5 million, a $47.5 million concessional loan from the Canadian Clean Energy and Forest Climate Facility, and a $10 million grant from the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program of the World Bank.
Source- Reuters
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