When Eskom switched off the last coal-fired unit at Komati Power Station in October 2022, it marked the beginning of South Africa’s most ambitious just energy transition experiment. Now, in 2026, the site is slowly transforming from a 1 GW coal plant – once the country’s oldest – into a hybrid renewable energy hub. The Presidential Climate Commission has made Komati the centrepiece of its 2026 agenda, positioning the project as proof that climate policy can drive industrial growth, create green jobs and support affected communities rather than simply shut down the old economy. Yet on the ground in Komati town, the story is more complicated: job losses still sting, redevelopment has been slower than promised, and many families feel left behind.
Drive through the small Mpumalanga town of Komati today and you will see both the ghosts of the coal era and the seeds of a new green economy. The massive cooling towers of the old power station still dominate the skyline, but next to them solar panels are rising, a training centre is humming with activity, and experimental agrivoltaics plots are growing vegetables under elevated photovoltaic arrays. This is South Africa’s flagship just energy transition pilot – the place where the country is trying to prove that decommissioning a coal plant does not have to mean abandoning the people who depended on it.
The numbers are ambitious. The original 1 000 MW coal-fired station, commissioned in 1961 and the oldest in Eskom’s fleet, was shut down in October 2022 after decades of declining performance. In its place, the Komati Repowering and Repurposing project aims to install 150 MW of solar PV, 70 MW of wind and 150 MW of battery energy storage. A containerised microgrid assembly factory is already producing small-scale solar solutions for off-grid communities, while the Komati Training Facility – a partnership between Eskom, the South African Renewable Energy Technology Centre (SARETEC) and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) – is reskilling former power-station workers and local residents in solar installation, battery maintenance, green hydrogen basics and climate-smart agriculture.
The World Bank-Backed Blueprint
The project is backed by a $497 million World Bank loan under the Eskom Just Energy Transition Project (EJETP), approved in 2022. The money is split across three pillars: safe decommissioning and site rehabilitation, installation of hybrid renewables and battery storage, and socio-economic support for workers and communities. A further $47.5 million concessional loan and $10 million grant from Canadian and other partners have helped fill gaps.
Phase 1 (outer areas of the site) is already under construction: 100 MW solar, 150 MW battery storage and initial wind turbines. Phase 2 will repurpose the old plant buildings and ash dams for an additional 50 MW solar and more wind capacity. Eskom has also converted some of the old generators into synchronous condensers to help stabilise the grid as more variable renewables come online.
Jobs, Training and the Human Side of Transition
At its peak Komati employed around 586 people directly, with thousands more in the local coal value chain. The shutdown triggered immediate job losses. The transition plan promised to create new opportunities: an estimated 2 500 temporary construction jobs and roughly 2 000 permanent roles across renewables, training, agriculture and small business development. So far, the Komati Training Facility has trained hundreds in solar PV installation, microgrid assembly and agrivoltaics. The containerised microgrid factory employs local workers producing systems for remote schools and clinics.
Agrivoltaics – growing crops under solar panels – is one of the more innovative elements. Pilot plots are already producing vegetables, demonstrating how the site can combine clean energy with food security and create new income streams for smallholder farmers. The Presidential Climate Commission highlights this as a model for other coal-dependent towns: repurpose land, retain infrastructure and build skills that last beyond the coal era.
Progress and Persistent Pain
Not everything is moving at the hoped-for speed. Community leaders in Komati say many former workers and their families are still struggling with unemployment and lost income four years after the shutdown. Redevelopment projects have faced delays in environmental approvals, procurement bottlenecks and, in some cases, local gatekeeping that has left the most vulnerable residents on the sidelines. The Presidential Climate Commission’s own 2025 review acknowledged that while technical progress on renewables is on track, the socio-economic pillar has been slower and more uneven than planned.
Eskom and the Commission insist the project is a learning curve. Lessons from Komati are already being applied to other stations such as Camden, Grootvlei and Hendrina. The goal is to turn the pain of coal plant closures into a replicable blueprint for a just transition that creates more jobs than it destroys.
Why Komati Matters for 2026 and Beyond
The Presidential Climate Commission has made Komati central to its 2026 agenda precisely because the project tests whether climate policy can be an engine of industrial growth. Success here would demonstrate that decommissioning coal does not mean economic decline. It means new manufacturing (microgrids, batteries), new skills (green hydrogen, agrivoltaics) and new investment that can be scaled across Mpumalanga and other coal regions.
For Gauteng and Tshwane families feeling the pinch of water-energy stress and fuel-price hikes, Komati’s story is a reminder that the energy transition is not abstract. It is about building resilience against the very flood-drought whiplash the region is experiencing. A successful repowering project that delivers stable renewable power, local jobs and community ownership could help stabilise electricity supply and reduce long-term costs for everyone.
The Human and Policy Test
The ultimate test of Komati will not be the megawatts installed but the lives improved. Will former coal workers and their children find meaningful roles in the new green economy? Will the town of Komati become a thriving renewable energy and skills hub rather than a symbol of decline? The Presidential Climate Commission is watching closely, using the project to refine national policy on just transition financing, community ownership models and disability-inclusive adaptation.
Komati is no longer just a power station. It is South Africa’s living laboratory for how to manage the end of coal in a way that is fair, inclusive and economically smart. The floods and droughts gripping the region make the urgency clear: the country cannot afford to get this wrong. If Komati succeeds, it could light the way for a just transition that delivers both climate resilience and real industrial growth.