South Africa is struggling to address the energy security and economic imperatives of the national energy requirements, owing to the delay in implementation of new capacity additions and the reduced energy availability factor and poor performance of its coal fleet, says Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) senior researcher Aradhna Pandarum.

The reduced energy availability factor and poor performance of South Africa’s coal-fired power stations is negatively impacting on the country’s ability to implement the planned coal fleet decommissioning schedule outlined in the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan.

“Meeting the existing policy imperatives and plans requires a substantial step change and increase in the implementation of renewable energy. Current policies and the procurement of renewable energy are lagging the national energy need,” she adds.

To mitigate these issues, the unbundling of State-owned power utility Eskom, the creation of the Independent System and Market Operator, as well as enablers for the accelerated procurement of new capacity at national, regional, municipal and end-user level, are “drastically” required, Pandarum explains.

Other challenges include job losses in the coal industry; the lack of local manufacturing of renewable-energy components; high entry barriers into the renewable-energy sector, owing to a lack of competitiveness; the lack of critical skills; and grid capacity for the integration of renewables in high resource areas.

Pandarum says economic diversification options and skills development plans need to be considered for the transition from coal-based energy, adding that a possible just transition fund will assist in limiting economic pitfalls.

She further points out that localisation should be promoted and research-based recommendations should be made where South Africa is participating in the value chain in terms of the most viable options of the business case.

To tackle the issue of the performance of renewable technologies, Pandarum advises that research and a cost benefit analysis should be conducted for other complementary technologies that can provide the necessary grid services to complement variable renewable technologies.

“Mitigation measures and associated costs should be researched and recommended to minimise total system cost without sacrificing supply security,” she says.

Supporting local SMMEs

The CSIR is involved in initiatives aimed at supporting the development of small-, medium-sized, and microenterprises (SMMEs) for South Africa’s energy transition.

The council is developing an Energy Industry Support Programme that is being scoped with partners and funders to co-fund with external partners to increase support for South African SMMEs, says Pandarum.

“The CSIR plans to make this a flagship project that will contribute to upskilling and providing technical support for SMMEs that are working in the local renewable-energy sector in the hopes that it will be a further contribution to the successful implementation of the Just Energy Transition framework.”

Pandarum says the CSIR has conducted a survey among SMMEs to better understand the challenges they face.

Developers and other parties have also been surveyed to understand which barriers they face regarding entry into the local energy sector.

The CSIR is finalising collaboration agreements and proposals with interested parties on the execution of the Industry Support Programme that aims to provide support to SMMEs in the renewable energy industry.

The council is also collaborating with the development organisation the Black Management Forum, and the Energy and Water Sector Education Training Authority (EWSeta), with a memorandum of understanding with EWSeta having been signed by the CEOs last month.

Further, the CSIR continues to provide mentorship for SMMEs through its partnership with the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants Enterprise Development programmes and has mentored and supported 16 SMMEs last year.

Pandarum says an integrated approach with key partners is necessary, whereby the formal linking with partners, such as EWSeta, is critical to establish a well-coordinated national plan to develop the necessary skills and support South Africa’s emerging energy sector.

“The CSIR remains technology agnostic, with the sole intention of supporting an integrated, least-cost decarbonised power system.”