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Shifting S. Africa coal plant for clean energy needs millions in loans; experts say that's a problem
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A worker blows leaves at the main entrance of the Komati Power Station in Middelburg, South Africa, Monday, June 19, 2023. The coal-fired plant was shut down to make way for a solar, wind and battery storage plant. - photo by AP Photo/Themba Hadebe
MIDDELBURG, South Africa (AP) — Plumes of heat-trapping pollutants last billowed from the giant stacks of Komati Power Station in October, when the coal-fired plant that fed South Africa’s hungry electrical grid for more than half a century was shut down to make way for a solar, wind and battery storage plant. Converting Komati to be part of the clean energy revolution is seen as an important test case for coal-reliant South Africa, the world's 16th-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and developing nations elsewhere. It's supported by $497 million, most of it from the World Bank.