Power crisis an opportunity for South African renewables
Accelerating and liberalising solar and wind power procurement is central to the government’s latest pledge to tackle crippling electricity shortages
Such is the crisis facing South Africa’s creaking electricity sector, President Cyril Ramaphosa was forced to make a special national address in late July to explain the government’s short- and long-term strategy to alleviate the worsening blackouts infuriating residents and businesses alike. Amid familiar promises to restructure heavily-indebted utility Eskom were concrete measures designed to accelerate installation of new generation capacity—primarily of renewables—to plug a multi-gigawatt shortfall. Wind and solar accounted for under 7pc of the total power capacity at end-2021. Pretoria’s renewables rollout thus far has been patchy and hindered by red tape, with the domestic coal lobby a

Also in this section
27 September 2023
Investment in African offsets and ambitions to create a trading hub demonstrate Mideast Gulf state’s commitment to growing markets
26 September 2023
Newly launched Taiwan Carbon Solution Exchange is expected to enable companies to trade in both domestic and international credits
22 September 2023
A flurry of interest in direct air capture signals a key role for the technology in the push for net zero
21 September 2023
Technology company says its latest technologies can achieve 30–50% cost reductions at the capture stage