South Africa Energy

With electricity demand still straining supply, South Africa’s state-owned utility, Eskom, is looking to invest in new generation facilities, rationalise consumption and diversify its energy mix.

In a bid to reduce the negative environmental externalities associated with heavy coal-fired electricity generation, South Africa is stepping up efforts to increase the role renewable energy plays in its increasingly overstretched electricity sector, pushing ahead with a series of programmes aimed at harnessing the nation’s vast alternative resources.

Highly dependent on coal for its current electricity supply, and facing rising demand and supply gaps stemming from years of underinvestment in capacity expansion, South Africa is embarking on a plan to increase the contribution of gas, nuclear and renewables towards its national energy mix.