Coal will remain central in South Africa’s energy future: Ramokgopa

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says South Africa’s energy future will still rely heavily on coal, as Eskom looks to repurpose retiring coal-fired power stations for renewable energy generation.

Ramokgopa paid a site visit to the Eskom Research, Testing and Development Centre in Germiston to scout technologies that can slash harmful emissions from current coal operations.

Eskom’s cutting-edge Green Hydrogen technology The utility aims to blend traditional coal with renewable potential to protect industrial growth and create future-ready energy solutions.

“What is more important was for us to come and experience ourselves firsthand, the issues around how we’re going to bring down the emissions level at our existing power stations.

That is one of the major issues that is confronting Eskom is a requirement to meet the minimum emission standards and the Department of Fishers, Forestry and Environment has issued those regulations, and we’ve got every intention of being compliant.

As I’ve always made a point before that we don’t have a coal problem, we have an emissions problem.

Other jurisdictions like in China, like in Japan are far advanced with this technology.

MINISTER RAMOKGOPA VISITS ESKOM RT&D CENTRE WATCH | The Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr.

Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, on a strategic site visit to the Eskom Research, Testing and Development (RT&D) Centre in Germiston.

This high-level engagement serves as a critical… pic.twitter.com/cK2iMXJwtj — Department of Electricity and Energy (@DOEE_ZA) September 2, 2026