The South African cabinet has officially endorsed the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) – an investment plan that will enable the country to unlock up to $8.5 billion in investment to fund the transition away from coal.
With more than 80% of South Africa’s electricity coming from coal, the plan will help kickstart and accelerate the penetration of renewable energy resources as well as the introduction of new technologies such as electric vehicles, battery energy storage systems and green hydrogen, thereby expanding the country’s energy mix and driving the transition to a clean energy future.
The cabinet approval paves the way for South Africa to leverage the $8.5 billion in funding – initially announced in 2021– in the form of grants and loans from the U.S, the UK, Germany, France and the European Union to close and re-purpose coal-fired power plants, ensure additional renewable capacity is brought online and expand the transmission grid network country-wide.
Now, with cabinet’s $8.5 billion endorsement, South Africa is one step closer to maximizing clean energy resources while fostering job creation and the up-skilling of the local workforce in line with new employment demands.
The approval of the plan follows the German government pledging an additional €355 million to support South Africa in delivering a ‘just energy transition’ as the country seeks more than $250 billion in investments through to 2050 to retire its coal systems while ensuring the reliability of its grid network.
