South Africa’s mining firms are accelerating investment in renewable energy to diversify power sources, cut costs and meet decarbonisation targets after decades of reliance on state utility Eskom.

Anglo American and Sibanye-Stillwater are among the companies reducing their dependence on a national grid dominated by ageing coal-fired power plants that has struggled in recent years to keep Africa’s most advanced economy running.

South Africa currently generates more than 80% of its power from coal, with renewables accounting for only around 10%.

Anglo American formed a 50:50 joint venture with EDF Power Solutions in 2022 to provide renewable energy to its units Kumba Iron Ore, diamond producer De Beers and former subsidiary Valterra Platinum.

The venture, Envusa Energy, currently generates 520 megawatts of power — 280 MW from wind and 240 MW from solar — representing 30% of Anglo’s mining energy consumption.

Its project pipeline stands at 1,500 MW, with ambitions to generate 3,000 MW by 2030 for Anglo’s sites and other industrial users.

“You’re looking at somewhere between 20% and 30% cheaper on the renewable side if you’re just looking at wind and solar,” Envusa CEO Nicole Mason said. “The next projects that we are focusing on are a couple of really strong wind projects as well as a number of behind-the-meter solar plus battery projects.”

Sibanye-Stillwater, which met roughly 99% of its platinum group metals energy needs and 88% of its gold electricity demand through Eskom last year, has opted to buy renewable power through short and long-term supply deals rather than owning generation assets. It has contracted 835 MW of renewable energy capacity, of which 164 MW is currently operational.

By the end of 2028, about 64% of total energy demand at Sibanye’s South African operations is expected to be supplied from renewables, CEO Richard Stewart said, sharply cutting reliance on Eskom.

“Our secured renewable energy portfolio is not only about reducing carbon emissions and enhancing energy security; it is also a business imperative that is expected to deliver meaningful cost benefits,” Stewart said.

He added renewable power should cost 20% to 30% less than forecast Eskom tariffs. Still, Eskom will remain crucial for the foreseeable future, Stewart said. “Renewables are intermittent by nature, battery storage technology is still developing, and Eskom supplies essential baseload power.”

Coal producers are also pushing to ramp up renewables use. Exxaro Resources is pursuing revenue growth through its renewable energy subsidiary, Cennergi, which currently operates 297 MW of capacity and has a near-term pipeline of 593 MW. The group is targeting 1,600 MW of net installed capacity by 2030.

A 68 MW solar plant commissioned in April 2026 has reduced Exxaro’s flagship Grootegeluk coal mine’s reliance on the national grid by 30%, saving the company R100-million annually in electricity costs.

The R1.7 billion project, developed through Cennergi, spans 185 hectares with 129,024 solar panels and is expected to generate approximately 176 GWh of renewable electricity annually.

“Our intention as part of decarbonisation is that our mines could actually all go on to solar and wind energy, but obviously you still need a baseload of coal when you don’t have wind or solar,” Exxaro CEO Ben Magara said.

Thungela Resources is betting on a coal-bed methane project to diversify away from coal. Its Lephalale project aims to extract methane from coal seams in the Waterberg coalfield in Limpopo province, with about 19 wells already sunk and gas extraction underway.

“For the 19 holes we are able to save 30, 40 odd million rand on the Eskom utility bill per annum if those holes are fully functional,” Thungela Chief Financial Officer Deon Smith said, representing “around 6% to 7% of our total utility cost per year that we could reduce.”