Up to 72 000 Energy Transition Jobs Could Be Created in Mpumalanga by 2030, Study Shows

SOUTH Africa’s Mpumalanga province can compensate for a large share of the job losses that will arise in its declining coal sector and lay the foundations for the creation of a new clean-energy hub for the country by scaling up investments in renewable energy and accelerating coal decommissioning, a new study shows.

Published by the COBENEFITS project, which is financed via the International Climate Initiative, the study assesses the co-benefits of a transition from coal to renewable energy.

Using analysis conducted by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Enertrag, Prime Africa, and Navitas Energy, the report includes various transition scenarios for the province and outlines the potential for job creation and local value creation, as well as skill requirements and opportunities for gender-inclusiveness.

Under the most ambitious scenario, dubbed the ‘Super H2igh Road’, up to 72 000 direct, indirect and induced jobs could be created in Mpumalanga by 2030, the