With renewable sun, wind and water energy, power generation capacity can be increased in smaller portions, it can be done by the private sector, it is investable so banks back it, 18 months after investment, it can be up and running, economically it is the cheapest, and gaps in generation can be filled by battery storage.
Little wonder then that renewables feature as the energy of choice in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s energy plan. It is sun and wind energy coming on to the national electricity grid that can allow Eskom to turn off some of the coal-fired power so that essential maintenance and repair can be done to the ageing coal-fired fleet so that it too can perform better.
With better coal-fired performance and more and more renewables coming on to the grid, South Africa’s energy insecurity can be eliminated in the most economical way possible. With more electricity on the grid, the big battery role that pumped-storage schemes provide can be maximised, which includes building the delayed 1 500 MW Tubatse pumped-storage scheme.