SA urged to speed up transition to money-saving renewable energy
No new coal or nuclear power plants should feature in the country’s electricity future, says UCT study
The transition to renewable energy could result in cheaper, cleaner and more reliable electricity supply for SA, according to a new study. The study, which is part of the Southern Africa — Towards Inclusive Economic Development (SA-TIED) programme undertaken by the University of Cape Town’s Energy Research Centre (ERC), highlights that the future energy supply should come primarily from wind and solar. It states that renewable energy plus flexible generation or storage provides the least-cost pathway for the electricity sector and that no new coal or nuclear power plants should feature in SA’s electricity future as their inclusion would require subsidies from consumers. SA-TIED is a collaboration between local and international research institutes and the SA government. However, outcomes of studies are not policy positions of government. The study comes as the government is scrambling to find solutions to the Eskom crisis. The power utility, which supplies virtually all of SA’s ener...
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