|
Thursday, March 4, 2010
South Africa is seeking the UK’s support for a $3.75bn World Bank loan for its electricity industry, the Financial Times reported.
It is reported South African electricity public utility Eskom is planning to build two large-scale coal-fired power plants. Some $3.1bn of the World Bank loan is required for one of the power plants – a 4,800MW plant at Medupi while the rest would be spent on renewables and energy efficiency projects.
South Africa is particularly keen to win support from the UK, and other powerful World Bank members such as the US, France and Germany, at a board meeting due early next month. But environmental campaigners argue that the project contributes to global warming. In a document published this month, the World Bank said the Medupi station met the environmental criteria for supporting coal projects because it would be equipped with clean coal and carbon capture technology, Financial Times reported.
According to the Site information of the power company, Eskom generates approximately 95% of the electricity used in South Africa and approximately 45% of the electricity used in Africa. (By Linkschina)
|
