South Africa is currently experiencing a severe power crisis with the country plunged into daily
black-outs (or ‘loadshedding’) largely due to a lack of new capacity coming online to replace the ageing coal fleet.
As of late, announcements from the President have been made outlining a myriad of interventions to be undertaken to resolve the current crisis, many of which would
support a significant growth in renewable energy onto the system.
This paper looks at both the adequacy of South Africa’s proposed energy crisis mitigation
measures and the role that gas power plays in this context along with providing a view on the
role of gas in South Africa’s energy transition to 100% renewables.
For more insights for the rest of Africa, visit Pathways for Africa's Energy Future
Africa has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to leapfrog into a renewable and reliable energy future.
But how can you talk about leapfrogging, if you don't have a word for it? That's why we teamed up with native speakers from across the continent to help us talk about #Leapfrogging4Africa.
Save $26 Billion
Solve the loadshedding dilemma
Imagine a power system operator in South Africa as the head of a diverse family, trying to maintain a harmonious household of electricity supply.
Wärtsilä also believes that there are at least ten short to medium term <400MW gas power opportunities to be realised across the country, which would bring much needed flexibility across the grid
The country needs to install 9,000 megawatts of gas-fired power at a cost of as much as $8bn to ease the transition from coal to renewable energy
Our modelling reveals that gas plays an important role in maintaining a reliable supply under numerous “real world” events.
We believe that if South Africa can adapt their future Gas Power related policy and Gas Power procurement to align to the recommendations outlined in this report, they would be able to demonstrate to the world their leadership in the transition from a coal-based economy to a renewable based economy
South Africa White Paper
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