The UK gets 1,500 hours of annual sunshine on average while South Africa’s average annual sunshine availability is more than 2,500 hours. The UK is generating its electricity by using this natural energy source for years. But South Africa’s primary source of electricity is coal.
South Africa is the world’s 12th highest emitter of carbon dioxide country. According to the Global Carbon Atlas, the highest emitter of carbon dioxide in Africa is South Africa. So, it is very urgent to execute some kind of move to renewable energy.
Africa’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter Eskom is making a huge plan to close its coal-fired power stations by 2050. The state power utility company is putting forward for embracing renewable energy. It is expected that the coming generations will experience a radical change in the energy supply picture.
Recently at the COP26 climate summit, the US, EU, UK, France, and Germany planned to pledge $8.5 bn to support South Africa for moving towards renewable energy. Eskom’s chief executive André de Ruyter mentioned this attempt can help South Africa to meet the “new and ambitious” targets.
However, the main concern is whether Eskom is capable of performing such a huge transformation. Because the company already has a $27bn debt burden which is hampering the regular investment of existing ailing infrastructure.