By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
South Africa has dropped to sixty-ninth from sixty-fourth on the World Energy Council’s (WEC’s) latest World Energy Trilemma Index which ranks more than 100 countries against the three key dimensions of energy security, equity and enviromental sustainability.
The index is included in the ‘World Energy Trilemma 2024’ report, released on April 16, and which is topped by Denmark and Sweden, with Niger and the Democratic Republic of Congo at the bottom of the standings.
South Africa which has experienced extreme levels of loadshedding over the past three years, placed below Lebanon in the overall index and ranks eighth in the African regional index, behind Angola and Gabon, and which is led by Mauritius and Egypt.
The Index serves as a resource for policymakers, energy leaders, and financial sectors, highlighting opportunities for improvement and facilitating comparisons of energy performance over time and across countries,” said the WEC.
The report largely referred to South Africa’s government’s decision to begin working towards carbon-neutral energy sources.
At the end of 2023, the South African government put pen to paper at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, agreeing to begin moving away from fossil fuels by ramping up renewable energy and achieve net zero by 2050.
Government has outlined their policy of a Just Energy Transition where it would obtain financing to develop renewables.
Several nations, including Germany, the US, the UK, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands and France, have pledged around $11 billion (R207 billion) to South Africa for a Just Energy Transition (JET) Partnership over the past two years.
The South African government is also currently working with the World Bank to facilitate a transition to a low-carbon economy through a $1 billion Development Policy Loan.
The loan from the World Bank has been said to be used for the restructuring of Eskom, including unbundling and redirecting resources to maintenance and upgrades, and incentivizing private investment in renewable energy.
The WEC said that for the country to effectively realise its commitments to an energy transition to a low-carbon economy, it needs to continue driving increased private sector financing and investment through “supportive policies, growing demand, cost reductions in renewable energy, and access to financing.”
“In South Africa, changes in the Energy Regulatory Authority (ERA) have increased accessibility to renewable energy… in August 2021, the capacity threshold requirement was raised from 1MW to 100MW, resulting in a notable surge in renewable projects related to commercial and industrial sectors,” said the WEC.
“[E]rasing licensing and registration requirements has [and will] contribute significantly towards making renewable energy more accessible to businesses and energy-intensive industries…. as well as a more feasible and strategic investment,” the council added.
South Africa currently relies on coal-fired power to supply about 72% of its energy needs, which is catching up to it as coal plants fail.