Greenpeace Africa has welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s commitment to remove the uncertainties and inconsistencies around rooftop solar and self-generation from renewable energy sources.
Ramaphosa on Tuesday said government would remove the red tape inhibiting businesses and households from generating their own electricity.
Greenpeace Africa climate and energy campaign manager Melita Steele said in a release on Wednesday that there was no doubt that this could be a game changer in South Africa, enabling the capacity to change the dynamics of the electricity sector.
"South Africa has some of the best renewable energy resources in the world, and South Africans are hungry for a solution to the crippling power crisis that is leaving our electricity supply on a knife-edge, but until now the South African government has been painfully slow to embrace the opportunities offered by renewable energy.
"The President must now turn his promises into immediate action for them to have any kind of meaningful impact.
“Simultaneously, new determinations for renewable energy power producers should be made by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe to cushion us against Eskom’s devastating power supply crisis,” she stated.