The Socioeconomic Implications of Renewable Energy and Low Carbon Trajectories in South Africa

The purpose of the research on which this article reports was to investigate how renewable energy forms part of the strategy of a local government, and to evaluate how participatory processes are utilised in the development and communication of this municipal strategy. The research was conducted with Hessequa Municipality, a local authority situated in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. A new aspect of the research was an attempt to consider renewable energy options as part of the municipal strategy, and not as a standalone project. Action research was undertaken and the resulting qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. Cognitive mapping was used to display the data and to analyse the causal relationships between different strategic themes. The causal relationships explicitly show that many opportunities for renewable energy solutions are evident in the form of: biomass-to-energy, low-carbon local economic development, small-scale embedded generation, waste-to-energy, and feed-in tariffs. The barriers for implementation are aging infrastructure and financial and legislative constraints. Participatory processes formed an integral part of the strategy formulation, and a unique visualised strategy was developed for communication with local citizens—a first for a local municipality in South Africa.

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Regulatory Imperatives for Renewable Energy: South African Perspectives

Journal of African Law ◽

10.1017/s0021855321000206 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-26

Author(s):

Tumai Murombo

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Renewable Energy ◽

South African ◽

Fossil Fuels ◽

Sustainable Energy ◽

Energy Regulation ◽

Low Carbon ◽

Renewable Electricity ◽

Low Carbon Economy ◽

Carbon Economy

Abstract Access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy is a pre-condition for sustainable economic development. This is the case in South Africa, where the workforce and entrenched fossil fuel industry remain sceptical about a transition to renewable energy. This article explores the complexity of energy regulation in countries with a deep-seated economic dependency on fossil fuels. South Africa presents a good case study of the challenge of balancing the environmental, social and economic imperatives of energy. It unpacks the drivers behind directed regulation towards renewable electricity. A painful, but necessary, “just transition” to a low-carbon economy requires laws to phase-out fossil fuels, without exposing public funds to private profit seekers. The South African experience of renewable electricity demonstrates the challenges of regulatory uncertainty. Careful legal reforms are necessary to rid existing electricity laws of their inertia and achieve a low-carbon economy while ensuring access to affordable, reliable and environmentally sustainable energy.

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Advancing Innovations in Renewable Energy Technologies as Alternatives to Fossil Fuel Use in the Middle East

10.1093/oso/9780198822080.003.0020 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Damilola S Olawuyi

Keyword(s):

Renewable Energy ◽

Middle East ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Low Carbon ◽

Electricity Grid ◽

Energy Technologies ◽

Gulf Countries ◽

Environmentally Responsible ◽

Legal Frameworks ◽

Legal Barriers

Despite increasing political emphasis across the Middle East on the need to transition to lower carbon, efficient, and environmentally responsible energy systems and economies, legal innovations required to drive such transitions have not been given detailed analysis and consideration. This chapter develops a profile of law and governance innovations required to integrate and balance electricity generated from renewable energy sources (RES-E) with extant electricity grid structures in the Middle East, especially Gulf countries. It discusses the absence of renewable energy laws, the lack of legal frameworks on public–private partnerships, lack of robust pricing and financing, and lack of dedicated RES-E institutional framework. These are the main legal barriers that must be addressed if current national visions of a low-carbon transition across the Middle East are to move from mere political aspirations to realization.

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Low-carbon power system economic dispatch considering renewable energy accommodation

8th Renewable Power Generation Conference (RPG 2019) ◽

10.1049/cp.2019.0464 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Yiting Xu ◽

Tao Ding ◽

Ming Qu ◽

Ya Wen ◽

Ye Ning

Keyword(s):

Renewable Energy ◽

Power System ◽

Economic Dispatch ◽

Low Carbon ◽

Energy Accommodation

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A SWOT Analysis Approach for a Sustainable Transition to Renewable Energy in South Africa

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13073933 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. 3933

Author(s):

Solomon E. Uhunamure ◽

Karabo Shale

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

South Africa ◽

Renewable Energy ◽

Regional Integration ◽

Power Plants ◽

Swot Analysis ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Policy Implications ◽

Analysis Approach ◽

Renewable Energy Resources

South Africa is been faced with erratic power supply, resulting in persistent load shedding due to ageing in most of its coal-fired power plants. Associated with generating electricity from fossil fuel are environmental consequences such as greenhouse emissions and climate change. On the other hand, the country is endowed with abundant renewable energy resources that can potentially ameliorate its energy needs. This article explores the viability of renewable energy using the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis approach on the key renewable potential in the country. The result indicates that geographic position, political and economic stability and policy implementation are some of the strengths. However, Government bureaucratic processes, level of awareness and high investment cost are some of the weaknesses. Several opportunities favour switching to renewable energy, and these include regional integration, global awareness on climate change and the continuous electricity demand. Some threats hindering the renewable energy sector in the country include land ownership, corruption and erratic climatic conditions. Some policy implications are suggested based on the findings of the study.

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