S KOREA PULLS OUT OF COAL FIRED POWER PLANT IN SA

SOUTH Korea’s state- owned power utility, Kepco, will either cancel its investment in coal- driven South African independent power producer Thabametsi, or transition the project to gas. A statement issued on Friday by the South Africa desk of the Global Strategic Communications Council ( GSCC), an international network in the field of climate and energy, said Kepco announced on Thursday night that it would no longer invest in overseas coal projects, a move which would also impact the Sual 2 venture in the Philippines. The move comes 10 days after Kepco approved the acquisition of a stake in the controversial Vung Ang 2 coal power project in Vietnam. Friday’s GSCC statement said Kepco chief executive officer Kim Jong- gap stated in an annual governmental audit hearing by the Korean national assembly that the utility planned to cancel or convert to liquefied natural gas, two remaining overseas coal power projects in its pipeline, namely Sual

2 and the 630 megawatt Thabametsi plant. Environmentalists in South Africa have been working for several years to discourage the development of new coal- fired power stations, which they say would have a high pollution impact, be economically costly and raise greenhouse gas emissions. South Africa already derives the bulk of its electricity from coal, via Eskom. In a victory for the environmental groups, a landmark decision by South Africa’s Water Tribunal in August confirmed that water licensing authorities must consider the impact of climate change when deciding whether or not to grant water use licences to coalfired power stations. Coal- fired electricity, however, remains solidly in South Africa’s energy mix. | African News Agency ( ANA)