South Africa is closer than ever to getting gas-to-power projects off the ground, Eskom CEO Dan Marokane said on Tuesday, arguing that the country has a unique opportunity to use gas to strengthen energy security, support industrial growth and accelerate the expansion of renewable energy.
Speaking at the Africa Energy Forum in Cape Town, he said a combination of policy alignment, infrastructure planning and growing recognition of gas's role in modern electricity systems had created conditions that were more favourable than in previous attempts to establish a gas-to-power industry.
“This is the closest we have ever been to having a perfect opportunity of landing gas-to-power in the country,” Marokane said.
"It has been tried many times, and the conditions and the thinking were not ideal. We really have a lot of things on our side this time, and we dare not lose the moment.”
The optimism was echoed by Independent Power Producer Office head Precious Edward, who reported strong investor interest in South Africa's inaugural gas-to-power procurement programme.
