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South African utility Eskom Holdings SOC is seeking proposals on how to repurpose the Komati, Grootvlei and Camden coal-fired power plants once they reach the end of their operational life.

The proposals should support low-carbon growth, enterprise development and sustainable job creation, the invitation to submit Expressions of Interest (EoIs) says. The deadline for submissions, which have to contain high-level concepts and technical and economic overviews of the proposed solutions, is June 10.

In the next phase of the process, the submissions that meet a predetermined set of criteria will be invited to respond to a Request for Proposal (RfP).

South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan for 2010-2030 sets the framework for a diversification of the energy mix and a reduction of the use of coal. Eskom’s coal-fired power plants are approaching the end of their 50-year design life and there are several units scheduled for decommissioning over the next decade.

According to 2019 information on Eskom’s website, its total power generation capacity exceeds 44 GW, of which 36.5 GW comes from coal. The contribution of gas and nuclear power plants is 2.4 GW and 1.86 GW, respectively. The rest is mainly pumped hydro and hydropower plants.