Kendal power station

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Kendal power station is an operating power station of at least 4116-megawatts (MW) in Kendal, Nkangala, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Kendal power station	Kendal, Nkangala, Mpumalanga, South Africa	-26.090285, 28.968796 (exact)

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

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

• Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4, Unit 5, Unit 6: -26.090285, 28.968796

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology	Start year	Retired year
Unit 1	operating	coal: bituminous	686	subcritical	1988	2039 (planned)
Unit 2	operating	coal: bituminous	686	subcritical	1989	2041 (planned)
Unit 3	operating	coal: bituminous	686	subcritical	1990	2042 (planned)
Unit 4	operating	coal: bituminous	686	subcritical	1991	2042 (planned)
Unit 5	operating	coal: bituminous	686	subcritical	1992	2043 (planned)
Unit 6	operating	coal: bituminous	686	subcritical	1993	2044 (planned)

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name	Owner	Parent
Unit 1	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100%]	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100.0%]
Unit 2	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100%]	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100.0%]
Unit 3	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100%]	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100.0%]
Unit 4	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100%]	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100.0%]
Unit 5	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100%]	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100.0%]
Unit 6	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100%]	Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd [100.0%]

Project-level coal details

• Coal source(s): Khutala Coal Mine

Background

The Kendal Power Station is a coal-fired station owned by the South African publicly-owned electricity utility Eskom.

The power station has an installed capacity of 4,116 megawatts (MW) comprising 6 X 686 MW units.

The plant has faced serious issues over the years. For example, in September 2021, unit 1 tripped early due to a failure of the generator transformer and caught fire, affecting and shutting down two other units.

According to South Africa's 2019 Integrated Resource Plan, the plant's 50-year Life Decommissioning is projected for 2038-2043. In April 2020, Eskom listed the unit retirement dates between 2039 and 2044.

Eskom stated in 2021 that: "Kendal has had to continue operating with damaged equipment due to generation constraints". However, since the implementation of repairs to a number of units, the station has remained in general compliance since December 2020. The company reports that the plant was operating at 3,840 MW.

In June 2022, workers at the power station staged a walk out over unfair wages and disrespect from Eskom officials.

In September 2022, three units failed and resulted in Stage 4 load shedding, which was caused by a broken conveyor belt.

In November 2022, two contracted truck drivers were arrested for allegedly stealing coal from the power station.

In September 2023, one of Kendal's units was offline as Eskom was reportedly working on upgrades for each unit at the station.

In February 2024, five units at Kendal were taken offline following a "contamination incident" at its water treatment plant. An August 2023 report by Vgbe had found that Kendal’s water treatment plant was "in a very poor condition and needs urgent maintenance and refurbishment."

According to reporting from August 2024, Kendal’s energy availability factor had increased from 39% in March 2024 to 82% in August. However, the power station had not yet met air pollution emissions standards that would go into effect in 2025.

Possible delay in retirement

In May 2023, it was reported that the government was considering delaying planned decommissioning of coal-fired power stations to help alleviate the energy crisis. While the government had confirmed that planned retirements of some of its older and smaller plants would slow down, other reports indicated that some of the larger plants, including Kendal, were also being considered for delayed retirement.

Energy analysts have reportedly warned that extending the life of aging coal plants in South Africa was likely to jeopardize access to the US$8.5 billion Just Energy Transition funding aimed at accelerating renewable energy projects in the country. Standard Chartered, one of the largest lenders in Africa, also warned that government plans to extend the life of Eskom's coal plants would make attracting investment to South Africa harder, as investors would be wary of being trapped in stranded fossil fuel assets.

Plant non-compliance

In May 2020, it was reported that South Africa's Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries ordered Eskom to stop operations at either Unit 1 or Unit 5 of the power plant after the company failed with its air emission licences. Eskom was told to carry out required maintenance and to submit an action plan to ensure compliance for Units 2, 3, 4 and 6. The ministry would decide at a later stage if operations at Unit 1 or Unit 5 could continue. Unit 5 was reportedly back online as of June 2021.

In November 2020, the Ministry revealed that summons was served on Eskom notifying it of the decision by the Senior Public Prosecutor to pursue criminal prosecution for supplying false and misleading information in reports prepared by management at Kendal power station.

In October 2021, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment partially granted an environmental compliance postponement application for the power station.

In their Integrated Report for 2022, Eskom stated that the Kendal power station had operated in non-compliance with its daily limit on particulate matter emissions on 148 days in the year. In September 2023, Reuters published an analysis that showed Matimba power station, Matla power station, and Kriel power station had also breached regulations for particulate matter emissions in the prior year.

Eskom's emissions data from January 2023 reportedly showed that Kendal emitted an average of 10- to 30-times the permissible limit of particulate matter that month.

Air Pollution Equipment

The state-owned utility’s inability to curb pollution from its plants prompted a lawsuit against the government from environmental activists because of the high pollution levels from Eskom and Sasol Ltd. in Mpumalanga. In July 2019, Eskom said pollution reduction equipment at the Kendal plant had been malfunctioning since early 2018. The equipment regulates the release of particulate matter.

Following public investigations of the plant's emissions, Eskom Audit and Forensic conducted an internal investigation on air quality compliance and reporting. In 2020, the Eskom investigation found that “allegations made by media personalities are mainly proven true,” and that Eskom Generation management should take heed of the reality of Kendal’s poor emissions performance.

Eskom's 2021 Integrated Report stated that the plant had improved performance related to emissions, but "emissions challenges at Kendal [are] not yet resolved". Further, they stated: "progress on environmental performance, particularly at Kendal Power Station, is not yet satisfactory. The high utilization of the older coal-fired power stations remains significantly above international norms, and that will have negative long-term technical consequences".

Eskom's 2022 Integrated Report stated that court proceedings regarding the company's particulate matter emissions had been postponed and the next court date was expected for February 2023. Reporting from September 2023 stated that the first hearing was now expected to take place in November 2023.

In May 2024, South Africa's Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment approved an exemption for Hendrina power station, Kriel power station, Grootvlei power station, Camden power station, and Arnot power station from a 2010 sulphur dioxide emissions control rule. The power stations were authorized to operate through 2030 without meeting the standard. In June 2024, Eskom indicated that it intended to apply for exemptions for Matla power station, Duvha power station, Tutuka power station, and Kendal power station as well.

Ash Disposal

In May 2021, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment refused an integrated environmental authorisation application by Eskom to build a new 30-year coal ash waste disposal facility at the Kendal power station on the basis of insufficient mitigation of potentially detrimental environmental impacts.

In February 2023, it was reported that a joint venture between Concor and Lubocon Civils was constructing a new ash disposal facility next to the existing facility that was nearing the end of its operational life.

Environmental impact

According to a March 2024 report on air pollution in Africa by Greenpeace, Kendal power station topped the list of Africa's largest point sources of sulfur dioxide (SO2) pollution in 2022, along with Kriel power station and Duvha power station. Three additional Eskom coal plants appeared in the top ten SO2 emissions hotspots in Africa in 2022. Kendal power station, plus eight other Eskom coal plants, also appeared in the report's list of the ten largest nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions hotspots in Africa from May 2018 to November 2021. The report noted that government data on emissions in Africa is patchy, so the authors relied on satellite measurements.

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.