- Exxaro and Eskom have signed a memorandum of understanding to leave carbon power behind.
- This will be accomplished through strategic initiatives, research, and projects in the areas of Carbon Emissions Reduction, Air Quality and Just Transition.
- To begin with, the pair will decide how to direct investments and use tech to transition to a low-carbon economy.
As Eskom’s power stations are widely fuelled by coal, it is unsurprisingly one of the largest polluters in the country. As such, Eskom needs to work hard to reduce its emissions and to do that, it has enlisted the help of Exxaro.
On Monday, the pair signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), which will focus on strategic initiatives, research, and projects in the areas of Carbon Emissions Reduction, Air Quality and Just Transition.
“Both organisations are committed to driving the transition to a more sustainable energy future while ensuring the country’s electricity supply remains secure and we wanted to bring together our decades of experience in the coal value chain to explore practical, scalable solutions. This initiative forms part of Eskom’s focus both in this country and internationally to identify the latest developments and strategies to reduce carbon emissions and other air pollutants,” Eskom Group chief executive, Dan Marokane, said in a statement.
Eskom and Exxaro have said they will hone in on measuring, managing and ultimately reducing Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. There is also potential to invest in innovative decarbonisation technology.
Together, the two partners hope to develop skills and drive job creation in green sectors and stakeholder engagement. For starters, though, the collaboration will guide the direction of investments and using technology to address the challenges with moving to a low-carbon economy.
“This collaboration marks a significant step forward in our commitment to enabling a just transition (known as an impactful transition at Exxaro) and building a climate-resilient, and low-carbon future. By leveraging our deep experience in the diversified mining and energy solutions sectors, we aim to drive innovation that not only decarbonises and reduces air pollution in our operations but also delivers meaningful socio-economic benefits for the communities we serve,” said Ben Magara, chief executive officer of Exxaro Resources.
“The collaboration with Eskom is important as we work to accelerate practical and scalable solutions that support South Africa’s energy security and environmental ambitions as part of our purpose of Powering Better lives in Africa and beyond,” he added.
The choice to partner with Exxaro makes sense. The company’s sustainable mining practices focus on key areas, including decarbonisation and climate resilience, improving air quality, rehabilitating mined land, protecting biodiversity, and enhancing energy and water efficiency.
We’re especially curious about Exxaro’s rehabilitation efforts given Eskom’s rampant pollution with its decommissioning of the flue-gas desulphurisation unit at the Kusile power station. This unit was damaged a few years ago, and since then, the Kusile power station has been pumping pollutants into the air. We recognise that rehabilitating a mine and the air supply are vastly different, but given that Exxaro mentioned it, we’re curious to see the application of its knowledge.
This transition to a low carbon operation, as well as a push to seriously invest in renewable energy, bodes well for the future of South Africa’s energy mix.
As you may recall, Rosatom said earlier this month that it was hopeful that South Africa would invest in nuclear energy as it will assist in the move away from coal-powered stations when the time comes.
