Eastern Future Vision: HDF predicts Renewable Mpumalanga's green energy could mitigate up to half of Eskom's blackout phase. Photo credit: HDF
Mpumalanga is set to become home to Africa's largest green hydrogen power project, with a French company planning to invest $3 billion in green energy in the commercial and agricultural city of Standerton in the province's east.
Hydrogen de France's ambitious plans include combining 1,500 megawatts (MW) of solar power with 3,500 megawatt hours (MWh) of hydrogen storage. The project would provide 1.9 terawatt-hours of stable electricity to the grid 24/7, reaching a peak of about 500 MW, says Nicolas Lecomte, the company's director for Southern and Eastern Africa.
“French Hydrogen [HDF] This 500MW of green energy will be [Eskom] “This project marks the completion of the load-shedding phase of a significant transition to cleaner and more reliable electricity for South Africa. The project will provide electricity to the equivalent of 1.4 million people, day and night, all year round,” Lecomte said.
“In terms of hydrogen power plants, the HDF Renewstable Mpumalanga project is the largest. The word 'power' is key. Hydrogen infrastructure projects vary greatly in nature depending on the application,” he said.
World Bank experts say South Africa has 20 green hydrogen-related projects across the country. Most of these projects are in the Western and Eastern Cape, with three under development in Mpumalanga: the Sasol Hyshift project in Secunda, the Camden Green Hydrogen and Ammonia facility in Elumeru, and the HDF Renewstable Mpumalanga development in Standerton, which will be South Africa's first HDF project.
Mpumalanga Renewable Generation is not one of nine priority projects that have been registered in the Government Gazette and identified as strategic infrastructure priority projects for the government in partnership with business and other sectors. Lecomte said HDF aims to complete the registration and permitting process for its first renewable generating unit in the first quarter of 2025.
Land lease
The project is the result of a land lease agreement signed by Eskom with an independent power producer for the commercial utilisation of plots of land near its two coal-fired power stations in the province, Tutuka and Majuba.
In April 2022, Eskom issued a request for proposals and began the selection process for a 25- to 30-year lease on 6,184 hectares of land. HDF Energy has secured 1,782 hectares to develop a green baseload power station.
HDF is a French independent power generation company specializing in hydrogen power. The company has expanded into the South African market and is developing several Green Hydrogen (GH2) projects around the world and in Africa, including in Namibia, Zimbabwe and Kenya.
Lecomte said HDF's entry into the South African market with the Renewstable Mpumalanga project was driven by several factors, including the region's abundant natural resources suitable for renewable energy production in a context of national and regional power generation shortages.
“Another factor is that the regulatory environment in South Africa and neighbouring countries is favourable for investment in renewable energy. Mpumalanga, which is at the centre of the just energy transition, is also a province with abundant renewable energy resources,” he said.
Lecomte said the Renewstable Mpumalanga project would play a role in the energy transition by supplying power to two major hubs on the grid near two local coal-fired power plants, and would also sell the power to its own customers, including commercial and industrial customers.
“What makes Renewstable different from other renewable energies such as wind and solar is that it can be adjusted around the clock to provide power that stabilises the grid. From a technology point of view, the introduction of this new type of power plant is a revolution as it addresses the main challenge associated with renewable energy sources: intermittency,” he said.
Relationship with Eskom
Commenting on Eskom's relationship with developers, the utility's media liaison said: “This is a special programme whereby Eskom leases land for a long period to renewable energy developers for the establishment of renewable energy generation. All responsibility including development, approvals and construction is the responsibility of the developer.”
Eskom expects power delivery from the Renewstable Mpumalanga project to commence from the end of 2026. “The developer will sell the power to its own customers and Eskom will manage the supply of power to its customers or its own off-take points.”
The company explained that the purpose of its relationships with independent power producers is to unlock opportunities for the private sector to rapidly deploy new generating capacity in managing a constrained power system.
“Eskom supports the deployment of cost-effective, proven commercial technologies and is also investigating green hydrogen, including potentially a small-scale demonstration plant,” the media desk said.
When asked to elaborate on the specific requirements and conditions set out in the land lease agreement regarding land use for renewable energy development and related infrastructure, the desk responded, “The specific terms of the agreement are confidential.”
“However, Eskom's intention is to give developers as much freedom as possible to create new capacity. Eskom does not procure energy and developers are free to produce products they need and can sell commercially. Sources of generation must be renewable in nature and comply with all legislation,” Eskom said.
These types of agreements can have financial implications, and Eskom would only say that there were implications related to land lease agreements, but the media desk would not go into further detail, saying this was contractually confidential.
Civil society concerns
In South Africa, the push for GH2 facilities is gaining momentum through the Green Hydrogen Commercialisation Strategy approved by Cabinet in October 2023. Natural Justice and other civil society organisations are documenting the impact of the GH2 project at two sites: Boegoevai in the Northern Cape and Ermelo in Mpumalanga.
According to a recent report by Natural Justice, the communities of Boegoevai and Ermelo said they had not been provided with information about what GH2 is, how it works, who it benefits, and how it will affect local communities. The communities said public consultations, if any, were held at all, and they were insufficient. Natural Justice believes this violates the constitutional guarantees of administrative fairness and public access to information.
Avena Jaclyn, operations director at environmental justice organisation Groundwork, said: “The GH2 agreement is a response to pressures for change, but it is not based on endogenous transition and relies heavily on local natural resources (mainly land and water) and foreign skilled human capital for the benefit of the North. Justice and open, participatory democracy are thus undermined.”
According to Jacklin, megaprojects tend to promise outcomes beyond what is achievable and exceed their allocated budgets and timescales. They inevitably cause soil and water pollution, affecting both surface and groundwater, leading not only to loss of agricultural land, but also to the displacement and relocation of communities and loss of ecosystem services, she said.
“Land users, who mainly comprise the informal economy, have not been consulted or involved at the initiation stage or in the decision-making process,” she said.
Jaclyn argued that while the GH2 project may respond to the need to decarbonise heavy industrial manufacturing and chemical processes, “the capitalist approach of megaprojects has reinforced the commodification of the natural environment through agreements that further lock us into the mineral-energy complex model that has created our current crises of inequality and poverty”.
“This form of green hydrogen is largely untested, a technological innovation driven by market share rather than meeting local need, and has already proven to be exclusionary and polluting. Market volatility and oversupply over the next 10 to 20 years could lead to a market collapse, leaving a deeply altered landscape and deepening the poverty crisis,” she added.
Land Use Rights
Lubabalo Majenge is the Communications Manager for Lekwa Municipality where the Renewable Mpumalanga projects are being developed. He explained the Municipality's role in the implementation of these projects in the area: “The primary role is to process land concession applications submitted to the municipality in line with the requirements of the Spatial Planning and Land Use Act, in conjunction with the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Bylaw of Lekwa Municipality.”
HDF's proposal submitted to the city states jobs will be created during and after construction, he said.
Majenji emphasised the importance of community involvement in projects and shared what he believes will be effective: “We will insist on the establishment of a project steering committee made up of representatives of various stakeholders to ensure that local communities are fully represented and informed about the project.”
Majenzi said several challenges may arise during the development, including inability to trace land claimants on some of the farmland, unreasonable or unrealistic expectations regarding timelines, undue pressure on city officials and fears that the introduction of renewable energy would lead to the closure of Tutuka Power Station, resulting in job losses.
“However, the municipality is already addressing these challenges through its collaboration with Eskom.”
Blessing Manale, communications officer for the Presidential Climate Commission, said it was too early to predict the future of GH2 in South Africa.
“As we move towards decarbonisation, certain challenges can only be effectively addressed by using green hydrogen – hydrogen produced from renewable energies. However, it is too early to say what will happen with hydrogen. Hydrogen is an important technology, but its cost-effectiveness and timing of introduction will depend on international research efforts and local policy decisions,” he said.
Manare said GH2 was an expensive but promising opportunity, and although most of the technical barriers had been overcome, it was unlikely to be used in power plants in the near future.
“We won't be using green hydrogen in power plants until later on in the journey to net zero, when harmful greenhouse gas emissions are balanced by the amount removed from the atmosphere,” he said.
“Burning hydrogen in power plants would be more costly than other options and would require significant additional renewable energy to produce green hydrogen.”
Thabo Molelekwa is Associate Journalist He is a graduate of Oxpeckers Investigative Environmental Journalism. #PowerTracker Professional Support and Training ProgramThe study was supported by the Africa Climate Foundation. The heart of the new economy.
You can track the progress of energy projects across Mpumalanga with the Oxpeckers #PowerTracker tool.