Richards Bay (Eskom) power station — South Africa
Gas power plant in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Approximate location -28.770971, 31.976485.
GasKwaZulu-NatalSouth AfricaCCGT · HRSGPre Construction
Richards Bay (Eskom) power station is a 3,000 MW gas power station in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It ranks #15 of 152 South Africa power plants by installed capacity. In context, gas supplies about 0.0% of South Africa's electricity; the national grid averages 699 gCO₂/kWh (17.8% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GOGPT_richardsbayeskom_southa.
Data status
Known data
Calculated from dataset
Not available
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
Data provenance
Capacity and fuel are the upstream open-dataset record, not yet matched to a 2026 registry or GEM entry.
capacity: GEM GOGPT; fuel: GEM GOGPT
In context: how this plant compares
At 3,000 MW, Richards Bay (Eskom) power station is well above the median gas plant in South Africa (670 MW). Technically it is described as CCGT; combined-cycle with a heat-recovery steam generator (HRSG). Its current lifecycle status is “Pre Construction” — so it is not yet, or no longer, generating at full output. Gas plants burn natural gas either in open-cycle turbines for fast peaking, or in combined-cycle units that recover exhaust heat in an HRSG to reach roughly 55–62% efficiency — the cleanest-burning fossil option.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
How it compares & nearby plants
The #3 largest gas power plant of 15 in South Africa by capacity.
South Africa has 15 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 19,062 MW of capacity.
Nearby power plants
- Richards Bay Mill power station · Other · 149.7 MW · KwaZulu-Natal
- Phinda power plant · Gas · 450 MW · KwaZulu-Natal
- Richards Bay Gas to Power Plant 2 · Gas · 400 MW · KwaZulu-Natal
- Karpowership Richards Bay power station · Gas · 450 MW · KwaZulu-Natal
- Phakwe Richards Bay Power Plant · Gas · 2,000 MW · KwaZulu-Natal
- Nseleni Independent Floating power station · Gas · 2,800 MW · KwaZulu-Natal
Location
Coordinates -28.770971, 31.976485 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is Richards Bay (Eskom) power station?
Richards Bay (Eskom) power station is a 3,000 MW gas power plant in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Pre Construction 2028.