A major industry is turning its back on Eskom

South African mining companies including Anglo American, Sibanye Stillwater, Exxaro and Thungela are ramping up investment in renewable energy and alternative power sources to cut costs, reduce carbon emissions and lessen dependence on struggling state utility Eskom. Anglo's Envusa Energy joint venture generates 520MW and aims for 3GW by 2030. Sibanye plans to source 64% of its energy from renewables by 2028, at 20-30% lower cost than Eskom tariffs. Executives stress Eskom's coal-fired baseload power will remain necessary for years due to the intermittency of renewables and immature battery storage technology.