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The Star
17-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Beyond the smoke in South Africa's energy revolution
Just over 74% of South Africa's electricity still comes from burning coal. In 2021, the country negotiated the Just Energy Transition Partnership with Germany, the UK, France, the US and the European Union. They committed to providing South Africa with US$8.5 billion (R157 billion) to move away from coal to renewable energy. (In March 2025, US president Donald Trump withdrew the US and its share of the funding, about US$1.5 billion, or R27.7 billion, from the arrangement.) Researcher Nqobile Xaba talks to The Conversation Africa about how the partnership is going. What has the partnership done so far? After its launch in 2021, the Just Energy Transition Partnership attracted additional pledges from the Netherlands, Denmark, Canada, Spain and Switzerland. The total amount pledged is now US$11.8 billion (R218 billion). Though the US has pulled out, the other partners remain committed to fulfilling the funding they've promised. In fact, financing has begun to flow in. South Africa has come up with a Just Energy Transition Implementation Plan that sets out what is needed and how much it will cost to achieve a low carbon economy. The plan also sets out what is needed to build South Africa's ability to cope with global warming. It also proposes ways to create quality jobs, set up a stable energy supply, and boost economic growth. To date, US$583 million (R10.8 billion) has been allocated to just energy transition projects. A publicly available register is keeping track of how money is spent. South Africa is investing the funds in six focus areas: the electricity sector; green hydrogen; new energy vehicles; skills development; a just transition away from coal in Mpumalanga; and municipal capacity. The initial funds have been used to pay for: Studies into the technical, economic, environmental and social aspects of decommissioning coal-fired power plants Building infrastructure, such as upgrading and expanding electricity transmission infrastructure to enable large-scale grid uptake of renewable energy Training municipalities to begin planning local level renewable energy projects Community development and meetings. The plan is focused on parts of South Africa that are currently almost entirely dependent on coal mining. For example, money has been allocated to projects that will support new forms of industry in Mpumalanga, a province where 12 collieries are based. This recognises that people and businesses in coal regions are vulnerable. They'll bear the brunt of the transition. What has worked well? Progress has been made in policy and regulatory reforms to support the energy transition. For example, the South African government is reforming the energy sector through the energy action plan, the country's national energy security roadmap. The reforms include allowing the private sector to generate electricity without a licence. They also include approving a new renewable energy masterplan that aims to set up green industries and jobs in renewable energy system production. These policy reforms have been designed to attract investments into large scale renewable energy development. In climate policy, the Climate Change Act was passed in July 2024. It aims to make sure that climate change is incorporated in all government strategies and plans. This will enable different government departments to have one co-ordinated response to combating climate change. What are some of the apparent challenges? First, transitioning to renewable energy needs to be accompanied by economic diversification. This simply means that sectors that support the economy, like agriculture, manufacturing and the services industry, need to be involved in the transition. Second, South Africa has three huge socio-economic challenges: poverty, inequality and unemployment. There is therefore a need to make sure the energy transition creates decent work for people. Third, social protection for the most vulnerable people must be widened. South Africa has a well established social protection system. But it needs to be strengthened with measures like a universal basic income grant. This would support people who might lose their jobs in the energy transition. Fourth, South Africa's energy insecurity is a major challenge. The country's coal fleet is not performing at its full capacity and can't meet the energy needs for the country. Intermittent power cuts have resulted. The renewable energy industry is still being developed. It cannot address this energy shortfall right now, since only about 8.8% of installed capacity comes from renewables (wind, solar photovoltaic panels and concentrated solar power). To minimise the power cuts, three coal plants that were scheduled to close by 2027 are now going to stay open until 2030. This delays the transition away from coal-fired power. Fifth, state capacity needs attention. For example, ministerial oversight – who is responsible for what – needs to be clarified. Frameworks are needed that will set out how the transition is managed, monitored and evaluated. Finally, collaboration is important. When rolling out renewable energy projects, the roles of all the social partners (community, labour, government, women and business) need to be made clear and explicit. What still needs to be done? A people centred approach needs to be adopted. This means involving all citizens and making sure solutions are found in which all people's livelihoods are conserved. A just energy transition should not simply be a shift to a low carbon energy system and economy. Rather, it must foster green industrial development, while prioritising the well-being of all South Africa's citizens, especially society's most impoverished communities, which bear no material responsibility for the problem. The implementation of the just energy transition needs strong local government (municipalities). They have to be able to carry out the transition to renewable energy because in South Africa, they are the custodians of service delivery. But ageing electricity and water systems that malfunction regularly and a lack of money to fix them will need to be resolved. The implementation of a just energy transition that leaves no one behind won't be able to happen without this.
TimesLIVE
06-05-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
South Africa's shift from coal to renewables: how it's going
Just over 74% of South Africa's electricity still comes from burning coal. In 2021, the country negotiated the Just Energy Transition Partnership with Germany, the UK, France, the US and the EU. They committed to providing South Africa with $8.5bn (R155bn) to move away from coal to renewable energy. In March 2025, US president Donald Trump withdrew the US and its share of the funding, about $1.5bn from the arrangement.) Researcher Nqobile Xaba talks to The Conversation Africa about how the partnership is going. What has the partnership done so far? After its launch in 2021, the Just Energy Transition Partnership attracted additional pledges from the Netherlands, Denmark, Canada, Spain and Switzerland. The total amount pledged is now $11.8bn. Though the US has pulled out, the other partners remain committed to fulfilling the funding they've promised. In fact, financing has begun to flow in. South Africa has come up with a Just Energy Transition Implementation Plan that sets out what is needed and how much it will cost to achieve a low carbon economy. The plan also sets out what is needed to build South Africa's ability to cope with global warming. It also proposes ways to create quality jobs, set up a stable energy supply and boost economic growth. To date, $583m has been allocated to just energy transition projects. A publicly available register is keeping track of how money is spent. South Africa is investing the funds in six focus areas: the electricity sector; green hydrogen; new energy vehicles; skills development; a just transition away from coal in Mpumalanga; and municipal capacity. The initial funds have been used to pay for: studies into the technical, economic, environmental and social aspects of decommissioning coal-fired power plants; building infrastructure, such as upgrading and expanding electricity transmission infrastructure to enable large-scale grid uptake of renewable energy; training municipalities to begin planning local level renewable energy projects; community development and meetings. A just energy transition should not simply be a shift to a low carbon energy system and economy. Rather, it must foster green industrial development, while prioritising the well-being of all South Africa's citizens, especially society's most impoverished communities, which bear no material responsibility for the problem. The plan is focused on parts of South Africa that are currently almost entirely dependent on coal mining. For example, money has been allocated to projects that will support new forms of industry in Mpumalanga, a province where 12 collieries are based. This recognises that people and businesses in coal regions are vulnerable. They'll bear the brunt of the transition. What has worked well? Progress has been made in policy and regulatory reforms to support the energy transition. For example, the South African government is reforming the energy sector through the energy action plan, the country's national energy security road map. The reforms include allowing the private sector to generate electricity without a licence. They also include approving a new renewable energy master plan that aims to set up green industries and jobs in renewable energy system production. These policy reforms have been designed to attract investments into large scale renewable energy development. In climate policy, the Climate Change Act was passed in July 2024. It aims to make sure that climate change is incorporated in all government strategies and plans. This will enable different government departments to have one co-ordinated response to combating climate change. What are some of the apparent challenges? First, transitioning to renewable energy needs to be accompanied by economic diversification. This simply means that sectors that support the economy, such as agriculture, manufacturing and the services industry, need to be involved in the transition. Second, South Africa has three huge socioeconomic challenges: poverty, inequality and unemployment. There is therefore a need to make sure the energy transition creates decent work for people. Third, social protection for the most vulnerable people must be widened. South Africa has a well established social protection system. But it needs to be strengthened with measures like a universal basic income grant. This would support people who might lose their jobs in the energy transition. Fourth, South Africa's energy insecurity is a major challenge. The country's coal fleet is not performing at its full capacity and can't meet the energy needs for the country. Intermittent power cuts have resulted. The renewable energy industry is still being developed. It cannot address this energy shortfall right now, since only about 8.8% of installed capacity comes from renewables (wind, solar photovoltaic panels and concentrated solar power). To minimise the power cuts, three coal plants that were scheduled to close by 2027 are now going to stay open until 2030. This delays the transition away from coal-fired power. Fifth, state capacity needs attention. For example, ministerial oversight — who is responsible for what — needs to be clarified. Frameworks are needed that will set out how the transition is managed, monitored and evaluated. Finally, collaboration is important. When rolling out renewable energy projects, the roles of all the social partners (community, labour, government, women and business) need to be made clear and explicit. What still needs to be done? A people-centred approach needs to be adopted. This means involving all citizens and making sure solutions are found in which all people's livelihoods are conserved. A just energy transition should not simply be a shift to a low carbon energy system and economy. Rather, it must foster green industrial development, while prioritising the wellbeing of all South Africa's citizens, especially society's most impoverished communities, which bear no material responsibility for the problem. The implementation of the just energy transition needs strong local government (municipalities). They have to be able to carry out the transition to renewable energy because in South Africa, they are the custodians of service delivery. But ageing electricity and water systems that malfunction regularly and a lack of money to fix them will need to be resolved. The implementation of a just energy transition that leaves no-one behind won't be able to happen without this.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
South Africans flush toilets with drinkable water: study in Cape Town looked at using seawater instead
As the planet gets hotter and freshwater sources dry up, cities and towns will not be able to continue the global norm of using millions of litres of clean, drinkable water to flush toilets. South Africa's Water Research Commission recently commissioned a study into using seawater to flush toilets in Cape Town. Water engineering lecturer Teboho Mofokeng researches water management and reuse in South Africa and she co-authored the study. She spoke to The Conversation Africa about Capetonians' willingness to pay up to 10% more on their water bills to use seawater to flush their toilets, as long as it doesn't smell or stain their toilets. The first problem is that the city uses clean, treated drinking water for toilet flushing. Generally, 20%-30% of the city's drinkable water supply to households is used to flush toilets. The water used for bathing, cooking, laundry, cleaning and flushing toilets goes down the drain. It is treated at wastewater plants to remove harmful germs before being pumped back into rivers. Read more: The second problem is that in some Cape Town communities (as well as the coastal cities of Durban and Gqeberha in South Africa), wastewater is discharged into the sea with little treatment to remove harmful germs. Although the government permits a certain amount of discharge, this pollutes the ocean. The third problem is that as demand for housing grows, so does the need for water and sanitation. When more and more wastewater is discharged into the sea, it is a lost opportunity to keep the water within the urban water management system, and use it again. South Africa's water supply network is ageing, has not been well maintained and is due for replacement or repairs. When new housing developments are connected to the water supply network, there is an opportunity to come up with alternatives to using drinking water to flush toilets. One option is seawater. Another could be recycled water. Toilet water could be treated to remove harmful bacteria and reused for flushing. This would need a closed water system for flushing toilets. It would eliminate the current loss of drinking water flushed down toilets and then discharged into the sea. Studies have shown that most households would prefer to flush with recycled water than clean, drinkable water. However, our study is the first to investigate how people feel about flushing with seawater. We asked 239 people if they'd be willing to flush with seawater or recycled water or continue to flush with drinking water but pay more to do so. We also asked how they felt about toilet wastewater being discharged into the sea. Our survey had mixed findings. Overall, 90% of people were willing to move away from using drinking water for toilet flushing, but only if the new water source did not stain the toilet bowl, was clear and had no smell. Read more: We found that 58% of the people we surveyed preferred using seawater to recycled water for toilet flushing. However, there were differences in preference according to income, gender and household size. About 45% of the people we interviewed earned more than R12,800 (US$697) per month. They preferred to use drinking water to flush toilets. But females with a higher education qualification were more likely to pay extra for both seawater and recycled water options. Homes where more than three people lived were more likely to pay for recycled water than seawater. On average, 10%%-15% of Capetonians' municipal bills goes to paying for water. We looked at the preferences of households that pay R350 to R900 per month for water and found they were willing to pay 5%-10% more to use clean and clear alternative water. They were also willing to use water with a slight odour if they got a discount of up to 60% on their monthly water bills. Treating wastewater before discharging it into the sea would cost money. We found that people were not willing to foot this bill. They were in favour of the city treating wastewater only if it reduced their water bill by up to 7%. Firstly, it would need a duplicate network to be set up. This would be one network of water pipes for the drinking water supply and another for the toilet flushing water supply. This would mean that both new and ageing water systems would be set up or replaced by systems with a duplicate pipe network. Usually water supply networks use concrete, steel or plastic pipes. But because seawater corrodes, plastic pipes will be needed for the seawater flushing pipe network. Plastic manufacturing and the raw materials needed have a significant impact on the environment. On the other hand, steel or concrete pipes would need to be replaced more frequently than plastic pipes. Secondly, storage facilities like reservoirs would need to be built to store the seawater and a new system set up to treat seawater before it is piped to homes. Read more: Thirdly, the chemicals and electricity required to clean the water, the supply of water to consumers and eventually the disposal of the wastewater would add to the costs. Since South Africa's energy is still electricity made by burning coal, using up more energy in a duplicate water system would increase global warming significantly. So, a renewable energy system would need to be set up. Despite these drawbacks, a duplicate system has worked well in Hong Kong. Using less freshwater also benefits the environment more. Climate change will result in a drier south-western Africa. Unpredictable rainfall and frequent droughts will mean less freshwater available for people to drink. Therefore, it is crucial that coastal cities like Cape Town, whose populations are growing, start investing now in water supplies from unconventional sources. People have to become more aware that not all household activities need to use drinking water. Increasing public awareness and education about the benefits of using alternative water can help people to accept that they won't be able to flush their toilets with clean, drinkable water for much longer. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Teboho Mofokeng, University of Cape Town Read more: The world needs more toilets – but not ones that flush How the world needs to change as regions get drier Reducing and reusing wastewater: Six essential reads for World Water Day Teboho Mofokeng receives funding from Water Research Commission and National Research Fund . She is affiliated with WISA, ECSA and IWA.
