Just energy transition
A position grounded in reality. A path that is real, not rhetorical.
Cash today funds transition tomorrow. We invest in legacy energy where the commercial case is sound and rotate capital into transition-aligned assets on a commercially optimised timeline.
Position
We do not shy away from legacy energy. We do not pretend it is permanent.
Coal, anthracite, and natural gas remain structurally significant to South Africa's energy security, industrial output, and employment base. To pretend otherwise is not a policy — it is a posture. We invest in these resources where the commercial case is sound, where operations meet our compliance and environmental standards, and where the cash flows generated can fund a credible, commercially viable transition.
Our position is forward-looking but anchored in the present. The transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy is necessary, inevitable, and commercially significant — but it must be sequenced, properly resourced, and built on a foundation that protects the people, communities, and economic base that legacy energy currently sustains. A transition that fails to do this is not just — and a transition that is not just will not hold.
Phase-out framework
A conditional phase-out, not a calendar.
We do not commit to a fixed date for the phase-out of coal in our portfolio. Fixed dates assume circumstances no one can yet guarantee. Instead, we commit to a phased reduction tied to three real-world readiness conditions:
Condition 01
Alternative energy capacity readiness
Sufficient, dispatchable, and affordable alternative generation must be in place to replace the legacy energy capacity being retired. Until that capacity exists at scale, the responsible position is to keep functioning legacy assets operating to international compliance standards.
Condition 02
Grid stability
South Africa's transmission and distribution infrastructure must be capable of carrying the changing energy mix. A premature phase-out that destabilises the national grid is not a transition — it is a failure that the most vulnerable will pay for first.
Condition 03
Community transition readiness
The towns, families, and workers economically anchored to coal must have credible alternative livelihoods in place before the asset that sustains them is retired. Anything less is dispossession with a green label on it.
When all three conditions are present at a given asset, we phase out responsibly and in line with international closure standards. Where they are not yet present, we hold and operate the asset to the highest compliance and environmental standards available.
At the asset level
We mitigate while we operate.
Operating a legacy energy asset responsibly is not a contradiction with the energy transition. It is a precondition for it.
Carbon-reducing technology
Methane capture, energy efficiency upgrades, and integration of renewable generation into mining and processing operations where commercially viable.
Eco-friendly mining practices
Water recycling, reduced-footprint mining methods, dust suppression, and beneficiation pathways that improve product quality without expanding the mining footprint.
Rehabilitation and closure
Every legacy energy investment held to a funded, audited rehabilitation and closure plan from day one of investment. Provisioned for from the beginning, not discovered at the end.
Tailings retreatment
Where historical tailings represent stranded value and active environmental liabilities, retreatment operations generate commercial returns while rehabilitating the legacy footprint.
04 · In the communities
The coal belt is not a category. It is a place where people live.
Any credible position on the Just Energy Transition has to begin with the recognition that the people who have paid the highest price for coal are the people who must benefit most from what replaces it. Each programme is designed in partnership with the communities concerned and committed to in writing before any associated investment closes.
Access to healthcare
Mining communities in the coal belt face documented health outcomes directly linked to legacy operations. We support meaningful improvements in access to healthcare facilities, services, and preventative care — recognising that healthy communities are not a CSI line item but a structural precondition for any transition that calls itself just.
Meaningful employment
Employment created within our investments is the first commitment. Beyond that, we support the creation of meaningful employment opportunities adjacent to our investments — in supply chains, processing, logistics, and the cleaner energy infrastructure that will replace legacy assets over time.
Skills that enable participation
The transition will not retrain itself. We invest in skills programmes that prepare community members for participation in the cleaner energy sectors, the supply chains that serve them, and the broader economy. Skills are the most durable thing we can leave behind in any community.
Toward cleaner energy
We are not against legacy energy. We are building toward what comes next.
The Transvaal Partners clean energy investment bundle covers the full spectrum of generation, storage, and distribution infrastructure required to support the transition we are committed to. Our position is technology-neutral.
- 01SolarUtility-scale and distributed solar generation, including mine-tied generation that reduces the carbon intensity of operating assets, and grid-connected generation under structured offtake.
- 02WindOnshore wind generation in the high-potential corridors, with a preference for projects that have established grid connection rights and confirmed offtake.
- 03NuclearSouth Africa's existing nuclear capacity and prospective new build represent low-carbon baseload generation the transition will require. We are open to participation where regulatory, commercial, and counterparty conditions support it.
- 04Vanadium Redox Flow storageSouth Africa holds the world's largest known vanadium reserves. VRFB is emerging as one of the most credible long-duration grid storage solutions globally. Our position is strategic: South African vanadium financed through Transvaal Partners can support both the resource side and the storage infrastructure side. A defining strategic priority.
- 05Other alternative sourcesGas-to-power as a bridge fuel, hydrogen-aligned investments where production economics are real, and grid infrastructure investments where they unlock generation capacity. Each opportunity assessed on commercial merits, contribution to a credible transition, and fit with our broader investment mandate.
The single most important number
1% / 60%
Africa's share of installed solar PV against its share of the world's best solar potential.
The largest under-deployed renewable endowment on the planet. The transition will not be funded by hindsight — it will be funded here.
Source · World Resources Institute · 2024
Evidence base
The transition, by the numbers.
A position is only as credible as the evidence behind it. Below: the historic emissions context, the country-by-country endowment that shapes which technologies will deploy where, and the latest South African transition figures.
Top 10 cumulative CO₂ emitters · 1995–2024
Who built the carbon stock?
The single most important context for any African transition conversation. The South African coal belt is responsible for a fraction of cumulative global emissions — but is being asked to transition fastest. Source: Global Carbon Project · Our World in Data · WRI.
- 01China≈ 270 Gt27%
- 02United States≈ 175 Gt17%
- 03India≈ 65 Gt6.5%
- 04Russia≈ 55 Gt5.5%
- 05Japan≈ 36 Gt3.6%
- 06Germany≈ 25 Gt2.5%
- 07Iran≈ 19 Gt1.9%
- 08Indonesia≈ 17 Gt1.7%
- 09United Kingdom≈ 15 Gt1.5%
- 10Canada≈ 17 Gt1.7%
Approximate cumulative fossil CO₂ · ranked by share of 1995–2024 total
Clean energy by national endowment
Which countries lead which technology — and why South Africa matters.
Resource endowment determines which countries will deploy which clean energy at scale. South Africa's hand is strong in vanadium-based long-duration storage and underutilised solar. Sources: WRI · IRENA · Enerdata · LSF.
- Vanadium Redox Flow storageSouth AfricaLargest known global vanadium reserves. ~8% of 2024 global production. Strategic for long-duration grid storage.
- Solar (utility-scale)Africa-wideAfrica holds ~60% of the world's best solar potential, but only ~1% of global installed PV — the largest under-deployed endowment.
- HydropowerNorway · Brazil · CanadaNorway derives 92% of electricity from hydro. Brazil and Canada lead the Americas.
- Onshore windDenmark · Germany · ChinaDenmark sources 58% of electricity from wind. Germany and China lead absolute deployed capacity.
- Nuclear baseloadFrance · USA · ChinaFrance generates ~70% of electricity from nuclear. China leads new-build pipeline.
- Green hydrogenNamibia · Chile · AustraliaCombined solar / wind endowment + low electrolysis cost potential. Namibia identified as a top-tier export hub.
South Africa · transition by the numbers
The current state of the South African energy stack.
JETP committed
$13.7 Bn
UK Government · 2025 12-month leaders' update
SA electricity from coal
≈ 80%
Energy & Mineral Resources, 2024
REIPPPP deployed
≈ 6.3 GW
Department of Mineral Resources & Energy
Embedded solar PV
≈ 7.3 GW
Eskom / NERSA, 2024
Coal plants closing by 2030
5
SA Just Transition Framework
Coal mines closing by 2030
15
SA Just Transition Framework
Global context · 2024
Where the world is now.
Global renewable additions · 2024
585 GW
IRENA · 2024
Total global renewable capacity
4,448 GW
IRENA · 2024
Africa share of installed PV vs. potential
1% / 60%
WRI · 2024
Renewables in global power growth · 2024
Majority
IEA · Renewables 2024
Datasets last verified February 2026. Sources: Global Carbon Project · IEA Renewables 2024 · IRENA · WRI · World Bank · UK Government JETP Leaders Update 2025 · Presidential Climate Commission.
Partnership orientation
We do not believe Transvaal Partners can deliver this transition alone. No one can.
The Just Energy Transition is a national project that requires capital, policy, infrastructure, and community participation operating together. Transvaal Partners is structured to be a credible partner across each of these dimensions:
- To
Government
Operating within the regulatory framework. Engaging constructively with policy stakeholders including the Presidential Climate Commission and the Department of Mineral Resources & Energy.
- To
Institutional investors & DFIs
International ESG, TCFD, and reporting standards. Portfolio architecture — cash-generating legacy assets funding transition investments — designed to align with co-investment criteria of DFIs with explicit JET mandates.
- To
Communities
Engaging with community leadership before we invest, partnering with credible community organisations during operations, and committing to social outcomes that make the transition real on the ground.
- To
Mining entrepreneurs
The partner of choice for entrepreneurs who want to operate legacy energy assets responsibly today and build toward the cleaner energy economy of tomorrow.
Our position, stated plainly
Cash today funds transition tomorrow.
We invest in legacy energy assets today, manage them responsibly, and systematically rotate capital into transition-aligned assets on a commercially optimised timeline. We use the cash flows generated by coal, gas, and hydrocarbon assets to fund the development of critical minerals, renewable energy, energy storage, and the supporting infrastructure the transition requires. This is not a contradiction. It is a sequenced strategy. And it is the only credible path from where South Africa is to where the country needs to be.