Arcelormittal South Africa is conducting feasibility studies on two potential renewable energy projects, seeking to reduce its dependence on electricity supply from the stretched national grid. The two 100 megawatt (MW) renewable energy plants are planned for Gauteng and the Western Cape provinces and are intended to supply existing facilities within the company. This is an important step in our decarbonization journey and takes advantage of the changes to legislation announced by the South African government last year, which allow private investors to build their own power plants with up to 100 megawatts of generating capacity without requiring a license.
Regular power outages implemented by state power utility Eskom have hampered business operations of many industrial companies, holding back South African economic growth. ArcelorMittal South Africa, the biggest steel producer in Africa, also said it would publish its decarbonization roadmap by the third quarter of this year. The company expects to benefit from the projects by early 2025, subject to the outcome of the feasibility studies.