The Pigeon's Post

By: Ané Davey

With loadshedding and electricity shortages all over the country, South Africa is in an energy crisis that needs to be resolved with clean, sustainable energy for citizens.

As South Africa enters its 30 years of freedom, we also move into our 16th year of the energy crisis plaguing citizens after the initial introduction of loadshedding in the later months of 2007. As a response to this energy crisis, a dynamic energy solution must be implemented to provide all South African citizens with 24/7 access to electricity.

In March of 2024, Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane spoke at the South African Energy Investment Forum: African Energy Indaba about the current state of the energy crisis and the government’s plans to reduce the energy crisis over the next few years. Dr Nkabane mentioned that over the past 30 years access to electricity has increased from 34% of the population in 1994 to 93% of the nation in 2024, though they are still mindful of the current electricity supply deficit.

At this point in time, 80% of South Africa’s primary energy needs are provided for by coal power plants. Using coal as the primary form of electricity production has a large impact on South Africa’s carbon emissions. Since South Africa has signed the Paris Agreement, our government has made an international obligation to reduce the country’s carbon emissions in an attempt to aid in the climate crisis. In accordance with the Paris Agreement, South Africa is aiming for net zero emissions by 2050 as part of the Low-Emission Development Strategy. The South African government has taken initiatives such as the Just Energy Transition in South Africa to in an attempt to aid in the decarbonisation of the South African economy in a just and sustainable manner. The Just Energy Implementation Plan has broken down the prioritisation of funding and grants into six portfolios. These portfolios include Electricity, Mpumalanga Just Transition, New Energy Vehicles (NEVs), Green Hydrogen, Skills, and Municipalities. Electricity infrastructure makes up about 20% of the spending of the grant money, but there is not clarity at this point if this will be enough to repair the damage to the nation’s electrical grid.

In order to successfully reach this goal South Africa must move towards clean energy as a solution. Clean energy is described as energy sources that do not directly emit greenhouse gases and have a small environmental impact. It is important to understand the difference between clean energy and renewable energy, as they are similar concepts but have some key differences.

A form of clean energy to consider is nuclear energy, as it currently accounts for 6% of South Africa’s electricity output. South Africa has one nuclear power station, Koeberg Nuclear Power Station in Cape Town, which has two reactors that finished construction in the 1980’s and were set to come to the end of their lifetime in 2024, Unit 1 and 2025 for Unit 2. Dr Nkabane mentioned however that the two reactors, known as Unit 1 and Unit 2, lifetime will be extended to 2045 (Unit 1) and 2047 (Unit 2), as a part of the energy crisis solution.

To better understand renewable energy in the South African context we turn to field expert Thomas Garner, Director of Synthesis Power Solutions and engineer. Mr Garner stated that he believes the best solution for South Africa’s energy crisis is replacing the coal power production with renewables, supplementing the energy system with gas, and implementing batteries to store energy. According to Mr Garner South Africa must implement 3-5 Gigawatts of renewable energy per year, every year until 2050 to be in
alignment with the agreed upon goals of the Paris agreement.

Whether nuclear, renewable, or coal, it seems South Africa has a lot of work to do to implement energy solutions for all South African citizens, so that everyone can benefit from clean, sustainable energy.