South Africa

IEEFA Research

IEEFA Pakistan: Coal gasification and liquefaction harmful to economy

IEEFA Pakistan: Coal gasification and liquefaction harmful to economy

There is no second life for coal

6 May 2021 (IEEFA Pakistan): Pakistan’s intention to use coal for power production through gasification and liquefaction technologies is likely to cause harmful economic impacts and a subsequent increased reliance on fossil fuels in Pakistan, finds a new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). Pakistan’s intention to explore a second […]

and May 6, 2021 Read More →

IEEFA Japan: ¥26 billion loss on Australian coal power plant raises questions for Sumitomo and its investors

Sumitomo’s coal policies are lagging its trading house peers and the Japanese government

23 November 2020 (IEEFA Japan): As the government of Japan’s energy policy shifts significantly and Japanese trading houses exit coal projects overseas, Sumitomo Corporation continues to develop coal power projects and has seen its thermal coal output grow according to a new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). The report, […]

and November 24, 2020 Read More →
IEEFA: Pakistan’s new 27-year power plan risks locking in long-term overcapacity, leaving imported coal and LNG plants stranded

IEEFA: Pakistan’s new 27-year power plan risks locking in long-term overcapacity, leaving imported coal and LNG plants stranded

Wind and solar, the country’s cheapest source of new generation, also overlooked

3 September 2020 (IEEFA Pakistan): Pakistan risks locking itself into building more power capacity than it needs as a result of over-optimistic energy demand growth forecasts that do not take into account the impact of COVID-19, according to a new IEEFA report. Pakistan’s state-owned National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) published its latest long-term power […]

and September 3, 2020 Read More →

IEEFA report: Transition planning a must as South Africa’s export markets pivot away from thermal coal

New energy technology replacing coal-fired power faster than predicted

16 September 2019 (IEEFA South Africa) ‒ South African coal exports are approaching long-term decline, finds a new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) out today. Author of the report Simon Nicholas, energy finance analyst with IEEFA, says the sector needs to come to terms with the prospect of fading […]

, and September 16, 2019 Read More →

IEEFA update: South Korea takes further steps away from thermal coal

Implications for Australian coal exports and the Bylong Coal mine proposal

(IEEFA Australia) – The South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has tabled a new draft energy master plan that increases the nation’s ambition to move away from coal and towards renewable energy, according to a briefing note released today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). The briefing note, South Korea Shifting […]

and April 23, 2019 Read More →

IEEFA Japan: Marubeni’s coal exit announcement a good first step but increased commitment needed

Investors still exposed to risk as Marubeni fails to swiftly adapt to changing energy technologies

March 12, 2019 (IEEFA Japan) – Despite announcing a coal exit, Japanese conglomerate Marubeni still has around twelve gigawatts of coal-fired power proposals in development, exposing investors to continued risk as the world moves away from coal. A new briefing note by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), ‘Marubeni Update: Continuing Coal-fired […]

, and March 12, 2019 Read More →

IEEFA Global: A $51 Billion Gap (and a $51 Billion Opportunity) in BRICS Nations’ Renewable Energy Development

How to Meet the Goal? Through "Blended Finance" Where Public Funds Unleash Private Money

Here, in one chart, is an IEEFA picture worth a thousand words. While some $130 billion was invested last year in renewable-energy development in the BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—billions more are required if these countries are to meet their commitments to climate-change mitigation policies. The four countries, in all, have announced […]

October 17, 2016 Read More →

Coal Won’t Solve the Energy Poverty Problem

Times Have Changed; Old Electricity-Generation Models Don’t Work Anymore

Coal-fired electricity is no longer the economy builder its proponents say it is. Time was when coal in fact did contribute to growth in many economies, but times have changed. Today governments and private interests worldwide concede—even emphasize—the economic and environmental dysfunction of coal. We’ve just published an IEEFA Briefing Note (“Energy Poverty, Then and […]

March 3, 2016 Read More →

More News and Commentary

China foreign coal financing halt could scratch $50 billion investment

Reuters: China’s pledge to stop building coal-fired power plants overseas could cull $50 billion of investment as it slashes future carbon emissions, analysts said, although Beijing’s own domestic coal programme is still propping up the dirty fossil fuel. Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a pre-recorded address at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday […]

September 22, 2021 Read More →

South Africa plan for 1.5 gigawatts of coal faces legal challenge

Bloomberg ($): South Africa’s energy regulator and energy department have are facing a demand from some of the country’s leading environmental groups to halt plans to allow the construction of new coal-fired power plants or face legal action. Plans for the construction of 1,500 megawatts of coal generation capacity are included in the 2019 Integrated […]

September 22, 2021 Read More →

South Africa’s FirstRand bank to end financing for new coal-fired power plants

Bloomberg Green: FirstRand Ltd., Africa’s biggest bank by market value, is ending its funding of new coal-fired power stations immediately and will halt the financing of new projects to mine the fuel over the next five years. The Johannesburg-based lender joins its peer Nedbank Group Ltd. in making such commitments as pressure mounts on banks […]

September 15, 2021 Read More →

Eskom CEO: South Africa coal use poses ‘another era of isolation’

Reuters: South Africa faces “another era of isolation” if it persists with coal power generation, the chief executive of state-owned utility Eskom said, arguing a pivot to cleaner energy would boost the competitiveness of the country’s exports. Chief Executive Andre de Ruyter made the comments in Eskom’s annual report for the year ended March 2021, […]

September 2, 2021 Read More →

Swedish investment platform plans financing for five African solar farms

ReNews.biz: Swedish-based impact investment platform Trine is collaborating with Solarise Africa, a pan-African energy leasing company, to invest in renewable projects on the continent.  The first debt financing round provided by Trine will finance five solar projects in South Africa and Kenya.  Demand for on-site renewable energy assets is growing rapidly as businesses are faced […]

September 2, 2021 Read More →

Eskom considering $7.2 billion for wind and solar by 2030

Bloomberg ($): Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., which supplies almost all South Africa’s electricity from coal-fired power plants, is considering spending 106 billion rand ($7.2 billion) on wind and solar energy by 2030. The investment plan, which Eskom could carry out by itself or in partnerships, is the most detailed demonstration yet of the utility’s ambition […]

August 31, 2021 Read More →

More than 100 projects submitted for South Africa renewable tender

PV Magazine: According to the document, 39 wind projects and 63 solar projects will compete in the tender, through which the South African authorities hope to allocate 2.6 GW of renewable energy capacity. “The fact that over 100 projects were submitted for 1 GW of solar PV, and 1.6 GW of wind, shows developers are […]

August 24, 2021 Read More →

Eskom plans 30% reduction of coal-fired power generation capacity

Afrik21: In South Africa, Eskom has announced the closure of several of its coal-fired power stations in the coming months and years. The state-owned company wants to rely on the renewable energies that have been massively produced in the country in recent years. Eskom is not definitively turning its back on fossil fuels. But the […]

August 20, 2021 Read More →

South Africa raises solar licensing threshold to 100-MW projects

PV Magazine: South Africa‘s government has officially raised the licensing threshold for embedded generation projects from 1 MW to 100 MW. The new measure – schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act [ERA] – was published in the country’s official journal on Friday. “The amendment follows President [Cyril] Ramaphosa’s announcement on June 10, 2021, that […]

August 17, 2021 Read More →

South Africa utility giant proposes funding plan for shift from coal power

Bloomberg ($): Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Andre de Ruyter laid out a funding plan to help the company, which generates the bulk of South Africa’s power from coal, transition away from the use of the dirtiest fossil fuel. De Ruyter said the company is proposing a multi lender loan facility from development […]

July 30, 2021 Read More →
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