Renewable energy in South Africa
[6] Renewable energy systems are costly to implement in the beginning but provide high economic returns in the long-run.
[8] It provides an assessment of resources, finance management, policy and legal framework, and the capacity of the energy sector.
[9] The REFIT works to progressively reduce carbon-based power generation by moving in the direction of renewable energy sources.
[10] When first introduced, the feed-in tariffs applied only to wind energy, hydropower, and concentrated solar power (CSP).
[9] The decentralized investment opportunity provides South Africa with the resources to overcome its current energy crisis.
[3] The REFIT program was superseded by the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme in May 2011.
[5] The goal of the REI4P is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while minimizing the country's reliance on non-renewable energy sources such as nuclear and coal.
[10] To incentivize the further rollout of renewable energy generation by the private sector, the South African Revenue Service has of 1 January 2016 amended the Income Tax Act No.
58 of 1962 to include accelerated depreciation for renewable energy assets commissioned by a tax paying entity.
[12][13][14] Government plans make a special provision for photovoltaic systems that are smaller or equal to 1 MWp (Megawatt peak) in section 12 B of the Tax Act.
[16] Wind power, concentrated solar power (CSP), biomass, photovoltaic systems exceeding 1 MWp, hydropower not exceeding 30 MW as well as biomass systems are also incentivized through an accelerated depreciation with the following schedule: Solar energy is light and heat that is radiated from the Sun.
The same plant can produce up to 20% more electricity for the same capital investment in South Africa compared to countries in Europe.
South Africa's extensive coastline and geographical terrain including lowlands and high veld escarpment, provide wind energy that can be extracted and generated into off-the-shelf technology.
[32] South Africa experiences seasonal flows and frequent droughts, which pose obstacles to the hydropower success.
[6] Hydroelectric dams in South Africa can be associated with other water uses, such as irrigation and flood control, to increase economic development within the country.
[6] Large-scale (>10MW) hydroelectric generation systems have the potential to contribute up to 5091MW of energy, but can have negative implications on the environment.
The geothermal energy that is generated from the Earth's crust is the original formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of material.
[43] Mulilo is a South African company who provides clean energy such as wind and solar to the national grid.
It Solar panels releases electrons when struck by sunlight, to supply immediate energy consumption and stores any excess.
[47] Renewable energy in South Africa has the potential to increase access to electricity in rural areas because of its suitability for off-grid and small-scale solutions.
The barriers of renewable energy in the country include lack of political stability and capacity, marginalization, corruption, poverty, and environmental degradation.
[48] The government introduces both short-to-medium and long-term targets to help set the pace of renewable energy production.
[47] Investors choose to invest in large-scale non-renewable resource companies, such as Eskom, rather than Independent Power Producers such as BioTherm, Mulilo, and juwi South Africa.
[10] The high initial capital required to employ renewable energy is a large constraint the sector experiences.
