From coal to renewables in Mpumalanga: Employment effects, opportunities for local value creation, skills requirements, and gender-inclusiveness. Assessing the co-benefits of decarbonising South Africa’s power sector. COBENEFITS Executive Report

This study builds on a unique and hitherto confidential, unpublished set of employee data for Eskom and coal mines, provided by Eskom (under a non-disclosure agreement) and the Mining Quality Authority (MQA). The sourced data sets connect gender, qualification levels, and years of service, thereby enabling analysis of the skills and gender balance in the coal industry, and assessment of the potential for transferring expertise to the renewable energy sector. In addition, interviews were conducted with enterprise development (ED) managers to understand barriers and opportunities for women in the renewables sector. Based on these valuable data sets and economic modelling, the study analyses and quantifies the socio-economic implications of repurposing coal-fired plants in Mpumalanga via deployment of renewable energy. The analysis emphasises opportunities related to job creation, necessary skill development with a focus on gender questions, and regional value creation and industrial opportunities in Mpumalanga. The findings also highlight important framework conditions necessary for fully harnessing these benefits.