Page 8 - AsiaElec Week 46

AsiaElec COAL-FIRED GENERATION AsiaElec

Asian developers’ exit from Thabametsi

confirmed by SA government

ASIA THE Japan and South Korea-led Thabametsi which was planned to come online in 2021.
Project Company has officially informed the The Thabametsi project was already in doubt
South African government that it has withdrawn after South African financiers Nedbank, Fir-
from the 630-MW Thabametsi coal-fired power stRand and Standard Bank all withdrew from it
project. in January 2019.
The Thabametsi Project Company, led by The original proposal for Thabametsi was
Japan’s Marubeni and South Korea’s KEPCO, for a coal plant of between 600 MW and 1,200
won the right to build the power plant during MW near Lephalale, in the coal-rich Waterberg
South Africa’s 2014 Coal Baseload Independ- region of the northern Limpopo Province. The
ent Power Producer (IPP) Procurement Pro- plant was to be supplied with coal from Exxaro’s
gramme, which aims to construct a total of 2,500 EXXJ.J Thabametsi mine.
MW of coal power. However, the local and international backers
“The IPP Office can confirm that it has have reduced their exposure to coal as more and
received a request from the Thabametsi Project more investors are equating climate risk with
Company to withdraw from further participa- investment risk. The falling cost of renewables
tion in the Coal Baseload IPP Procurement Pro- means that in many cases it is now cheaper to
gramme, and the department is following due invest in renewables than new coal power, the
process in response to the request,” the Depart- IEA has said this year.
ment of Energy and Mineral Resources said, South Africa has recently slowly come round
Reuters reported. to the falling cost of renewables, with Eskom
South African environmental groups had itself having admitted that it is looking to develop
criticised the 630-MW, $2.1bn Thabametsi plant, new renewables projects as they are now cheaper
saying it would have been among the most car- than coal. The plant would also have contributed
bon-intensive coal power stations in the world to pollution, especially as the location is close to
and a drain on meagre water resources in the arid the 3,990-MW Matimba plant and the 4,765-
Limpopo province. MW Medupi power plant, which is still under
As well as the two Asian companies, South construction.
Africa’s biggest state pension fund manager, the South Africa is already Africa’s biggest CO2
Public Investment Corp. (PIC), and the Indus- emitter and is falling behind on its pledges to the
trial Development Corp. (IDC) have confirmed cut emissions.™
that they will no longer support the project,

NUCLEAR

Kyushu Electric Power restarts Sendai 1

JAPAN JAPAN’S Kyushu Electric Power has restarted approval of each plant’s engineering and con-
Unit 1 at the Sendai nuclear power plant (NPP) struction work programme.
after completing construction of a bunkered That programme is the second step in NRA’s
back-up control centre. three-step process of assessing reactor safety
The new centre was needed to meet the coun- prior to restart. The third and final stage includes
try’s revised nuclear safety regulations, World pre-operational inspections to ensure the unit
Nuclear News reported. meets the new safety requirements.
The 890-MW pressurised water reactor is the Unit 1 of the Sendai plant in Kagoshima Pre-
first unit to resume operation in the country after fecture was the first reactor to be restarted in
building such a facility. August 2015, followed by Sendai 2 in October
Bunkered back-up control centres are a that year.
requirement of new regulations introduced in The NRA approved the detailed design of the
July 2013 in response to the 2011 Fukushima units in March and May 2015 respectively. Under
disaster. the regulations, Kyushu had until 18 March and
The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) 22 May, 2020 to complete the back-up control
ruled in November 2015 that such facilities must centres at Sendai units 1 and 2, which are both
be completed within five years after regulatory 890-MW PWRs.

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 46 18•November•2020