
The United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) on 22 August awarded a grant to Novo Energy Ltd, a South African natural gas company owned by Harith General Partners, for a feasibility looking at the conversion of the site of the 600MW Kelvin coal power plant in South Africa for use as a 450-600MW combined cycle gas power plant and to support the site as a gas hub for the region around the capital Johannesburg. The Kelvin coal power plant is currently scheduled to be decommissioned in December. United States’ EHS Support LLC will carry out the study.
Kelvin was built in the 1960s and has been through multiple owners since it was sold by the local government in 2001. Despite rehabilitation works, only one of the two units currently operates, generating around 250MW. It is currently owned by Anergi Holdings Ltd, a joint venture between Harrith and the African Infrastructure Investment Managers which recently became the holding companies for all of the power assets owned by both companies’ managed funds.
USTDA acting regional director for sub-Saharan Africa said that “USTDA is pleased to support this project which will help meet the growing gas demand in Gauteng province and lead to the development of the associated infrastructure.” Novo Energy chief executive Andri Hugu added that “the study will complement the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) gas industrialisation aspirations as set out in the Industrial Policy Action Plan.”
The DTI has been proactively engaging with potential gas users in an attempt to ensure that the country’s LNG-to-power programme is used to build demand for gas which can be used to anchor future investment in gas infrastructure. Although the programme has stalled over the past year, the anticipated release of the government’s Integrated Resource Plan, which sets the amount of power to be generated by different technologies, later this month is likely to bring renewed enthusiasm.
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