Source: Onke Ngcuka, Daily Maverick, 7 July 2021, photo credit: FUNDS
A transition to renewable energy could be a post-Covid economic recovery strategy
South Africa’s transition to clean energy could result in an 18% increase in energy output, a study by consulting organisation EY-Parthenon found. The transition, spearheaded by 184 existing and shovel-ready projects, could add 10.3GW of capacity to the country’s energy pool and plug the electricity shortfall, while being a green post-Covid-19 economic recovery strategy, the report found.
Though the report points to optimistic developments in South Africa’s renewables sector, there have been many delays around the approval of the shovel-ready projects. Currently, about 12% of SA’s energy supply comes from renewables, mainly solar and wind energy.
With South Africa’s unemployment rate at a record 32.6%, a move to solar could boost employment and attract further income, especially in an economy reeling from the pandemic.
Developing the power generation projects could create as many as 155,000 jobs: about 102,000 in construction, installation, operation and maintenance, and another 53,000 jobs in the supply chain.
The projects could also reduce the country’s emissions by 40 megatonnes of carbon dioxide per year – a 9% reduction in total emissions.
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The South African Pork Producers’ Organisation (SAPPO) coordinates industry interventions and collaboratively manages risks in the value chain to enable the sustainability and profitability of pork producers in South Africa.
