Page 8 - AfrElec Week 45

AfrElec COAL AfrElec

Siemens the next to exit coal

GLOBAL SIEMENS’ turbine manufacturing business will The decision was more or less expected, given
no longer make any bids to build new coal-fired that former Siemens AG CEO Joe Kaeser said in
power stations, although it will continue with its July that the company should develop plans to
existing coal power business and will also not exit coal-generated electricity
stop building gas-fired turbines. “The fight against climate change requires
Siemens Energy, the power plant and turbine a decisive change in power generation, as it is
business that was recently spun off from Siemens responsible for about 40 percent of global ener-
AG, is now just the latest industrial giant to move gy-related CO2 emissions,” Kaeser told an online
away from coal in an effort to improve its envi- general meeting on spinning out the power busi-
ronmental record. ness in July.
Siemens Energy, which owns 67% of wind “That is why I have asked the Managing
turbine maker Siemens Gamesa, makes 30% of Board of Siemens Energy AG to quickly present
its sales by catering to fossil-fuel power stations, a stakeholder-friendly plan to phase out coal-
mostly gas, Reuters reported. based power generation.”
Indeed, coal-fired account for a low sin- Siemens Energy said it would instead focus
gle-digit percentage of the company’s sales, or on wind farms, power transmission technol-
roughly GBP820mn ($1.083bn) based on 2020 ogy and gas-fired power generation for future
figures. It has said the business is profitable. growth. It will transition to a more sustainable,
Siemens Energy will still meet existing com- growth-oriented portfolio, new CEO Christian
mitments, including placed bids, and honour Bruch said.
service contracts for combined heat and power Rival Toshiba has also said that it will reduce
(CHP) stations. The company said it would now its emissions and move away from fossil fuels.
review the impact of its decision on employees Meanwhile, General Electric (GE) said in
and sites. September that it would stop building new coal-
“Accompanying its customers on the path of fired power stations and supplying facilities. It
energy transformation and providing the nec- said it would shift its focus from the building of
essary technologies and solutions – that is the new power stations to maintenance and other
mission of the company,” it said. services.™
“With this step, Siemens Energy continues its
transformation towards a more sustainable and
growth-oriented portfolio.”

Marubeni confirms exit for SA’s Thabametsi

SOUTH AFRICA JAPAN’S Marubeni Corp. has confirmed it will 50% stake in the $2.1bn coal plant that was to
not fund the Thabametsi coal-fired power plant be built in the Limpopo province’s Waterberg
in South Africa, following the withdrawal of region.
some South African investors this week. KEPCO CEO Kim Jong-gap told the South
Marubeni’s exit from the 630-MW Korean National Assembly in October that his
Thabametsi project project in Limpopo Prov- company planned to cancel or convert to LNG
ince also follows the withdrawal of South Korea’s two of its remaining overseas coal power projects
state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) at Thabametsi (630 MW) and at Sual 2 (1,000
last month, Reuters reported. MW) in the Philippines.
Earlier this week, South Africa’s biggest state The project was included in the South African
pension fund manager, the Public Investment government’s 2018 Integrated Resource Plan,
Corp. (PIC), and the Industrial Development which called for 2,500 MW of new coal-fired
Corp. (IDC) confirmed that they would no IPP capacity. However, the project has already
longer support the project, which was planned been criticised in South Africa for its high tar-
to come online in 2021. iffs, which the Integrated Resource Plan put at
The Thabametsi project was already in doubt ZAR1.19 per kWh.
after South African financiers Nedbank, Fir- South Africa has recently slowly come round
stRand and Standard Bank all withdrew from it to the falling cost of renewables, with Eskom
in January 2019. itself having admitted that it was looking to
In 2018, Marubeni pledged to halve its net develop new renewables projects as they are
coal power generating capacity of about 3 GW now cheaper than coal. The plant would also
by 2030 to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. have contributed to pollution, especially as the
Marubeni said this week that it was increas- location is close to the 3,990-MW Matimba plant
ingly difficult to sell its stakes in coal-fired power and the 4,765-MW Medupi power plant, which
plants overseas. is still under construction.™
Marubeni, along with KEPCO, holds a joint

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 45 12•November•2020