JOHANNESBURG, June 9 (Reuters) - South African state power utility Eskom on Tuesday launched a new business unit focused on developing utility-scale renewable energy projects.
o The unit is part of Eskom's plans to have up to 32 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2040.
o A former state monopoly, Eskom still supplies the bulk of the electricity in Africa's biggest economy from its fleet of mainly coal-fired power stations.
o It previously announced plans to pivot to mainly clean energy sources by 2040.
o Eskom Green will operate within Eskom Holdings before being separated into a wholly-owned subsidiary with an independent board, the utility said in a statement.
o It will target energy-intensive sectors such as mining and manufacturing, offering contracts for renewable power backed by storage.
o It aims to have about 6 gigawatts of carbon-free electricity available up to 2030, drawing on a pipeline of renewable energy and storage projects under development.
o Funding for the initial phases has been provisioned within Eskom's approved capital expenditure programme and will be supported through on-balance sheet funding, Eskom said.
(Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina;Editing by Alexander Winning)
