The construction of new coal-fired power plants in South Africa has hit a major roadblock, with three of the biggest private banks saying they will stop funding dirty energy infrastructure developments here. Leonie Joubert reports A proposed coal-fired power plant, which was planned to be built about four hours’ drive north of Johannesburg, could be a forewarning for new coal developments in a middle-income country like South Africa, where the sun may be setting on carbon polluting infrastructure investments. The 557 megawatt Thabametsi plant, earmarked for development near the mining town of Lephalale and close to the economic heartland of the country, has been on hold for almost two years, mired in legal battles and licensing delays. But the plant’s developers, Japanese-owned firm Marubeni and the South Korean firm KEPCO, hit another hurdle recently with three of the country’s biggest private banks, which were listed as possible funders for the project, announcing they would no longer extend finance to carbon-polluting new-coal developments in South Africa. Standard Bank, FirstRand Bank Limited, and Nedbank all recently made … Continue reading South African private banks turn their backs on new domestic coal plants