Rob Jeffrey has acknowledged that the all-in (levelised) cost of electricity from wind and solar in SA is now less than that of coal and solar (SA’s future growth depends on energy blend with coal at its core, March 28). He then says these costs do not take into account the variability of solar and wind, and the 20-year average life of solar and wind plants, compared to 60 years for nuclear. This is irrelevant as what matters is the end cost of electricity. The CSIR showed in 2016 that a mix of about 85% variable renewables (solar PV and wind) and 15% flexible supply (such as gas) could have satisfied SA’s actual electricity needs for the period 2010-12. The cost of generation was about R0.90/kWh or less (2016 rand, with 2016 technology), somewhat lower than the recent independent power producer programme numbers of R1.03/kWh for new coal. The credibility of the CSIR finding is enhanced by the fact that the Department of Energy has included a scenario based on this approach in the r...
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