Increasing electricity demand in South Africa has resulted in the depletion of State-owned power utility Eskom’s electricity generation reserves. This poses a significant challenge for the country, as Eskom currently relies heavily on coal-fired power stations, which produce about 90% of its electricity, says China-based solar cells and modules manufacturer Talesun Energy Europe, Middle East and Africa sales and marketing head Simone Lintermann.

“Frequent electricity outages are negatively affecting businesses and consumers. By increasing the use of renewable energy in South Africa’s energy mix, the country’s electricity generation would not be under as much strain,” she states.

Lintermann says the challenges facing the grid are making renewable-energy sources, such as photovoltaic electricity generation, attractive for South Africa, particularly in certain sectors, such as the manufacturing industry, which relies heavily on electricity to power machinery and for cooling purposes.

She believes that projects, such as the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, are the answer to the increasing demand for electricity in South Africa, as “it will assist with future electricity supply options, such as off-grid and small-scale renewable projects”, as well as contribute to the diversification of the supply and nature of energy production.

“Solar photovoltaic is one of the most sensible forms of renew- able energy for the public and private sector to consider because of the amount of sunshine in South Africa. This natural asset will prove to be a tremendous resource for generating sustainable electricity without the toxic pollution caused by carbon emissions.”

Further, Lintermann says the private sector’s role in addressing the future electricity needs of the country is fundamental, as it will reduce government’s funding burden and ease Eskom’s borrowing requirements.
Decentralised Energy She notes that renewable distributed energy generation projects are leading the “decentralised energy revolution” in developed and developing countries, such as Germany, Italy and China, where authorities are finding that centralised energy generation is becoming more costly and unsustainable, owing to rising prices and growing energy needs.

Lintermann explains that distributed power generation refers to electricity that is generated by many small-scale energy sources, such as solar power plants, while centralised power generation takes place at large facilities, such as coal, gas-powered and nuclear power stations.

“Decentralised structures are gradually presenting more cost- effective options and would certainly aid South Africa’s current electricity crisis.”

Moreover, she says renewable- energy projects require hefty upfront investments to ensure that construction gets under way; however, once a plant is in operation, it operates at low costs.