Elitheni power station

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Elitheni power station is a cancelled power station in Indwe, Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Elitheni power station	Indwe, Eastern Cape, South Africa	-31.466, 27.333 (approximate)

The map below shows the approximate location of the power station.

Loading map...

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Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology
Unit 1	cancelled	coal: bituminous	75	subcritical
Unit 2	cancelled	coal: bituminous	75	subcritical
Unit 3	cancelled	coal: bituminous	75	subcritical
Unit 4	cancelled	coal: bituminous	75	subcritical

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name	Owner	Parent
Unit 1	IPSA Group PLC [100%]	IPSA Group PLC [100.0%]
Unit 2	IPSA Group PLC [100%]	IPSA Group PLC [100.0%]
Unit 3	IPSA Group PLC [100%]	IPSA Group PLC [100.0%]
Unit 4	IPSA Group PLC [100%]	IPSA Group PLC [100.0%]

Background

In 2008, IPSA Group agreed that it would develop a 250 megawatt (MW) power plant at Strategic Natural Resources’ (SNR) Elitheni mine mouth. The contract included a 20 million tonne off-take - with 1 million tonnes per year for 20 years.

In 2010, IPSA said it could not proceed with the coal plant due to set-backs relating to South Africa’s public utility group Eskom, which was delaying contracts for power generation.

SNR said it was exploring other options for the sale of coal from its 150 million tonne Elitheni mine, which had completed a feasibility study.

In 2013, SNR CEO Gabriel Ruhan said the company would be advancing a power station plan at the mine in the following year.

By 2015, SNR was sold and the Elitheni mine closed. Plans for the coal plant are likely cancelled.

Molteno-Indiwe Coalfields

The Council of Geosciences and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy are bringing the Molteno-Indiwe coalfields back into focus.

In November 2020, the Council of Geosciences noted that the extraction of Eastern Cape coal should be done in a “responsible” manner while furthering experimentation with “clean coal technology.” The organization’s chief executive, Mosa Mabuza, said: “I am proposing that we put up a power station there, extract this coal and turn it into gas, which is more climate change friendly, and generate electricity as a source of development.” The Aurecon Group found that the low-grade seam has become commercially attractive for power generation applications.

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.