Cabinet has welcomed the addition of 800 megawatts of new generation capacity to the national grid after Eskom successfully brought Kusile Power Station’s final generation unit online.
“This will help stabilise the grid and strengthen our nation’s future energy security,” Minister in The Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said on Thursday.
This achievement marked a crucial step toward completing one of South Africa’s largest infrastructure projects.
“The Kusile Power Station is the first power station in Africa to implement Wet Flue Gas Desulphurisation (WFGD) technology, ensuring compliance with air quality standards and aligning with global best practices to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions,” Ntshavheni said.
This as Eskom announced that Unit 6 of the Mpumalanga based power station was added to the grid on Sunday, 23 March.
READ | Kusile’s Unit 6 to boost grid capacity
Meanwhile, Cabinet has approved the South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (SAREM) for implementation.
“The SAREM seeks to leverage the rising demand for renewable energy and storage technologies to promote industrialisation and localisation,” the Minister said.
The masterplan focuses on solar and wind energy, lithium-ion, battery and vanadium-based battery storage technologies and is designed to be a living document.
“Cabinet directed that additional work be done on the masterplan to incentivise investors to fund renewable energy supplier development, include the development of green hydrogen fuel in order to meet the international obligation of 5% blended fuel in aviation and maritime sectors by 2030,” she said.
Briefing member of the media following Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting, the Minister said Cabinet committed to drive structural reforms, and to implement economic growth focused programmes in order to create conducive environment for job creation.
This as Cabinet welcomed the increase in employment by 12 000 jobs to 10.64 million in the formal non-agricultural sector during the fourth quarter of 2024.
“The Stats SA’s Quarterly Employment Statistics reflected employment gains in the trade, business services, transport and the electricity sector. Despite the modest improvement, full-time employment remains lower than it was a year ago,” the Minister said. -SAnews.gov.za
