As the South African finance minister, Pravin Gordhan, explained, “to sustain the growth rates we need to create jobs, we have no choice but to build new generating capacity – relying on what, for now, remains our most abundant and affordable energy source: coal.” The US government even acknowledged that, without a coal-fired power plant, South Africa’s “economic recovery will suffer, adversely impacting electrification, job creation, and social indicators.”
但迈德匹将提供南非10%的电力并防止反复停电。南非财政部长普拉温·戈尔丹（Pravin Gordhan）解释说，“为了保持增长，我们需要创造工作机会，除了建立新的发电能力，我们别无选择——而这依赖于当前我们最丰富和负担得起的能源：煤炭。”美国政府甚至承认如果没有燃煤发电厂，南非的“经济复苏，电气化，就业以及社会指标都将受到不利影响。”