A corner shop in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Small businesses could benefit from sharing resources, like electricity.
Photo by Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images
By sharing resources and equipment, SMEs could reduce operational costs and increase their resilience in the face of power cuts.
Electricity pylons at night in Johannesburg South Africa, the country’s economic hub.
Taken by Alistair Routledge for Getty Images
Economic and energy policymakers are responsible for increasing both demand for and supply of electricity. There must be a surplus of energy which will encourage economic growth.
Aerial photo of a power station and coal stockpile in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Shutterstock
Pitched at an initial US$8.5 billion, the partnership has the potential to be one of the largest individual climate finance transactions to date. But can a just transition be achieved?
The hydropower potential at the Grand Inga site on the Congo River, the largest remaining untapped hydropower potential in the world.
A mix of wind, solar photovoltaics, and some natural gas would be more cost-effective than Inga 3 for South Africa and the DRC.
Shutterstock
Unpacking what South Africa’s new energy plan says about nuclear energy.
Outside a coal burning power station in Witbank. Companies will now pay each time they emit a ton of greenhouse gases.
Shutterstock
South Africa will introduce the carbon tax which should be used to ensure benefits to poor communities.
Wind turbines used to generate electricity on a wind farm in South Africa.
Shutterstock
South Africa’s sunshine and coastlines are ideal for renewable energy generation but the country’s struggling to take advantage of this.
Deputy Chief Justice Ray Zondo looks into state capture in South Africa’s energy sector.
EPA-EFE
The state capture inquiry will look at why former president Jacob Zuma pursued a dodgy nuclear deal.
Analysts hope that South Africa’s new energy plan will have wind and solar plans.
Shutterstock
South Africa’s new energy plan is set to be announced.
The Khi Solar One concentrating solar power plant in South Africa.
Wikicommons
Solar power technology has huge potential for Africa. But there are some barriers.
Eskom’s pilot wind-farm facility at Klipheuwel. The utility must seriously consider in-house renewable projects.
Warren Rohner/Flickr
South Africa’s power utility would do well to consider swapping out expensive new coal-powered capability for renewables.
There is a lack of public support for nuclear in South Africa.
Reuters/Rogan Ward
South African President Jacob Zuma’s efforts to promote his unpopular nuclear project are weakening him politically but he still seems keen to pursue it.
Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown citing cost as a reason to stop the last phase of renewables.
Flickr/GovernmentZA
Eskom’s stand threatens the viability of the entire renewable energy sector in South Africa, something which plays into the hands of those pro coal and nuclear.
Solar provides tremendous opportunities for emerging entrepreneurs.
Shutterstock
Africa’s energy potential remains under-exploited, the energy entrepreneur is well-positioned to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the energy sector.
President Jacob Zuma and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. Gordhan is standing firm against any political pressure.
Flickr/GovernmentZA
South Africa’s Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, downplayed the topic of energy in his budget speech. There is good that can be taken from this.
An oil rig in Angola. The country could see big reductions in export and revenue from fossil fuels as the world transitions to clean energy.
Shutterstock
The end of fossil fuels is approaching fast. But the question remains of what to do with those that remain, waiting to be sold.
South Africa’s new energy plan shows a greater reliance on gas, solar and especially wind power.
Shutterstock
South Africa has a new energy plan. Renewable energy in the form of wind, gas and solar feature high on its agenda.
A miner takes a break from sorting through coal at a mine in Vietnam. The country relies heavily on coal imports.
Julian Abram Wainwright/EPA
Vietnam recently cancelled it’s plans for the procurement of nuclear energy. There are lessons South Africa can take from this.
South Africa has made promises to decarbonise but is hugely reliable on coal - so this is difficult.
Shutterstock
The process of decarbonisation is a complex one for South Africa, as most its power supply comes from coal.
Energy in South Africa did not feature as a major part of the 2016 budget speech – unlike in 2015.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan left energy analysts disappointed by not discussing the topic in much detail.