As South Africa has tried to reduce reliance on coal-fired power plants, the government needs to liberalize the energy sector at first, to make a switch to renewable energy possible. To say long story short, the government lacks financial resources and the knowledge to fulfill South Africa’s renewable energy ambitions. That is why energy policies are not satisfied with the slow development of renewable energy in SA.
South Africa started the program of independent power producers that aims to procure 2000 MW of new potential energies, but the new programs are operating very aggressively operating and that is not good for future development. Opening the market for SA should be something simple, but they have dogmatic views and reasons for building the walls around them. The government plan is less likely to take off because it is too complicated, this whole situation is not as complex as the government thinks it is. The sad fact is that South Africa could really have the best regional resources, but they just don’t develop the resources. South Africans were hoping that renewable energy would be the big income for the country and their quality of life would change for the better, but it seems like South Africa’s economy will still regenerate from the failures with the help of the trading scene in the country. Renewable energy was supposed to support the economy in the long run, but with the recent failures, it’s likely that the costs of operating these plants will increase significantly, thus causing further inflation in the region.
Based on experts from local FX brokers, XM for traders in SA has noted the possible depreciation of the Rand in the coming months if economic failures continue to occur. South Africa still has a second-largest economy in Africa’s continent, but during the pandemic, it is hard to deal with economic problems in the country. Especially without the help of renewable energies. The only support for the rand is the foreign exchange market in the country and its income for the nation. The rand is a very volatile currency. It is most likely to be wrecked if something bad happens in the country, that is why after every bad situation in the country, the economy is getting weaker and weaker.
Renewable energy in South Africa
With renewable energy in South Africa, the economy would be totally transformed. The entire economy in the country is very big. Many things are happening in South Africa and it shows, but the more the country will develop its fossil fuel, the more intense will be the benefits from it. The most vital part of the South African economy is the SA electricity sector, which really needs to be enhanced by the government. Promoting renewable energy will show some big differences in the country.
There is huge unadopted renewable energy in the region. So the potential is huge but the use of it is very low. If the government could attract investors from other developing countries to invest in renewable energy in South Africa, they could make huge profits together. The interest in renewable energy is of course increasing all the time because the people are seeking ways to take advantage of everything they get in the country, but it is still slow developed.
As for now, the government needs to ensure that there is a good level of resources in renewable technologies. The investments are needed and the country understands that. The government needs to create a climate for investors in order to get some engagement from them to invest in the renewable energy sector.
Last year it was said by the president that the country would turn to renewable energy to help to ease the power cuts the country has. Sadly it did not happen and as for now, the blackouts are more frequent, than it was in the past, and it will worsen in the immediate future. So not only the economy of the country is lacking the income from renewable energy, but the people also. It is hard to sit in the dark. The country now has 77% of power needs on coal, it needs to be changed because some citizens are experiencing more and more “Blackout nights”.
Conclusion
South Africa has a huge potential to store money through renewable energy. They can even improve the share of renewable energy in its energy mix. The country is in a great position to have solar power plants and wind turbines and they have increased from 2012, but it is still not enough to keep the nation’s need for energies to be satisfied. South Africa necessitates building approximately 40,000 megawatts of new-age capacity to answer the most major requirements. Hopefully, the country will soon change the situation and pay more attention to renewable energy because it really can change many lives in the future.
