{"id":1291,"date":"2016-03-15T12:59:53","date_gmt":"2016-03-15T12:59:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/sussexenergygroup\/?p=1291"},"modified":"2016-03-17T11:28:32","modified_gmt":"2016-03-17T11:28:32","slug":"1291","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/sussexenergygroup\/2016\/03\/15\/1291\/","title":{"rendered":"Why South Africa is finding it difficult to wean itself off coal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lucy Baker<\/a>, University of Sussex<\/a><\/em> and Jesse Burton<\/a>, University of Cape Town<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

South Africa has made domestic and international commitments to climate change mitigation. But the country continues to depend on coal-fired power plants, which provide 92% of its electricity<\/a>. A key challenge for the country in dealing with electricity shortages<\/a> is that the bulk of power comes from coal, which is harmful for the environment and local communities.<\/p>\n

The electricity sector is responsible for almost half of South Africa\u2019s carbon emissions<\/a>. As discussed in our recent report<\/a>, it will be difficult to overcome the important contribution that coal makes to the electricity sector and the economy.<\/p>\n

Decarbonisation in the electricity sector cannot be achieved without reducing the absolute contribution of coal-fired power. This can be achieved by introducing a range of low-carbon energy options. These include wind, solar photovoltaics and concentrated solar power, in addition to rapidly developing technologies for energy storage. Demand-side measurement and energy efficiency could also play a key role. All these measures and interventions offer significant potential.<\/p>\n

But moving away from coal is proving difficult.<\/p>\n

Political tensions<\/h2>\n

The reasons<\/a> for South Africa\u2019s electricity crisis are long-term and complex. They include a severe backlog in maintenance of its plants and delays in the construction of new power plants. This poses several opportunities and challenges.<\/p>\n

The opportunities it presents include increasing the contribution of renewable energy to the national power supply. But can renewable energy compete with existing coal-fired power and a potential nuclear fleet? And can renewable energy be implemented in a way that prioritises socio-economic well-being and transparent and democratic policy processes? In other words, will the country\u2019s moves towards a lower-carbon economy incorporate a \u201cjust transition<\/a>\u201d?<\/p>\n

Among the challenges is the fact that South Africa\u2019s electricity crisis is compounded by a lack of transparency in decision-making and political power struggles. For example, there are long-standing tensions within the ruling party and the tripartite alliance<\/a> made up of the African National Congress, the trade union congress and the South African Communist Party. These tensions can be found in the ideologically driven disagreement between those who want a liberalised electricity market and those who want the government to hold onto the crisis-ridden, state-owned utility, Eskom.<\/p>\n

In addition, recent steps toward transparent and democratic energy planning and policies have been undermined. For example, the latest revision of the Integrated Resource Plan<\/a> for electricity has been put on ice.<\/p>\n

The electricity master plan was launched in 2011 following a prolonged and intense stakeholder engagement process. It covers the country\u2019s total demand requirements from 2010 to 2030.<\/p>\n

According to the plan, an electricity project must align with the technological allocations set by the country\u2019s electricity plan to be granted a license. The plan includes:<\/p>\n