Eskom has been granted a licence to build the country’s first coal-fired power station in over 20 years, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) announced on Monday.
The station, to be called Medupi, is located in Lephalale in Limpopo and consists of six units with a 4 500 megawatt capacity, Nersa said in a statement.
The units will be commissioned between 2011 and 2015 at nine-month intervals.
”This project will include supercritical boilers, which are able to operate at higher temperatures and pressures than older generation boilers and, more importantly, operate with greater efficiency,” Nersa said.
Eskom chief executive Jacob Maroga said appeals lodged with Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk, against the building of the station, were dismissed.
”We are delighted at the environmental authorisation and the go ahead from Nersa as this is the first step towards a much needed base-load station for South Africa,” he said. – Sapa