Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      The little-known company disrupting Eskom’s monopoly

      16 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E2: South Africa’s digital battlefield

      16 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Beijing’s chip champions blacklisted by Taiwan

      16 June 2025

      Chief sub-editor wanted – help shape South African tech media

      16 June 2025
    • World

      Yahoo tries to make its mail service relevant again

      13 June 2025

      Qualcomm shows off new chip for AI smart glasses

      11 June 2025

      Trump tariffs to dim 2025 smartphone shipments

      4 June 2025

      Shrimp Jesus and the AI ad invasion

      4 June 2025

      Apple slams EU rules as ‘flawed and costly’ in major legal pushback

      2 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025

      South Africa unveils big state digital reform programme

      12 May 2025

      Is this the end of Google Search as we know it?

      12 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025

      TCS | Sentiv, and the story behind the buyout of Altron Nexus

      3 June 2025

      TCS | Signal restored: Unpacking the Blue Label and Cell C turnaround

      28 May 2025
    • Opinion

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025

      Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

      29 May 2025

      Solar panic? The truth about SSEG, fines and municipal rules

      14 April 2025

      Data protection must be crypto industry’s top priority

      9 April 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Energy and sustainability » Green energy plan could save South Africa R100-billion

    Green energy plan could save South Africa R100-billion

    By Agency Staff28 September 2021
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    South Africa could save R100-billion by accelerating the closing of coal-fired power plants in return for cheap loans to fund a transition to cleaner forms of electricity, a proposal developed by Meridian Economics shows.

    The country needs to cut emissions to meet its Paris Agreement commitments to counter climate change. Eskom, which produces more than 90% of South Africa’s power, mainly from coal, has little scope to fund green energy projects because it’s buried in debt and the government’s own finances are overstretched.

    Meridian, a Cape Town-based think-tank, estimates South Africa needs to build as much as 6GW of renewable projects annually to meet its emissions targets. That would require an investment of about R450-billion over the next decade, while another R200-billion would have to be spent on transmission lines and distribution grids.

    The rate could be cut to 1.5% if the government sticks to its commitments to cut its emissions of carbon

    Meridian’s so-called Just Transition Transaction, which has been in the works for several years, envisions the government securing a concessional, debt-financing package to help fund the shift away from coal. The money could be raised in the capital markets and from development finance institutions and be guaranteed by developed nations, it said in a report released on Tuesday.

    The proposal envisions a financing facility being set up and overseen by a multilateral climate-finance institution, such as the Climate Investment Funds, and it providing South Africa with US$16-billion in loans over five years at an annual interest rate of 5.5%. The rate could be cut to 1.5% if the government sticks to its commitments to cut its emissions of carbon, based on an offset price of $7/ton — a concession that could deliver savings of R100-billion rand over 25 years calculated on a net-present-value basis, it said.

    Early stage

    Meridian is headed by Grove Steyn, who sits on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Economic Advisory Council. Its proposal has been discussed with South Africa’s government and potential backers.

    “We are at a relatively early stage; people are still getting their heads around the options,” Steyn told reporters in an online briefing. “Where this is going to end, we can’t say. People seem to take these ideas very seriously.”

    Deputy finance minister David Masondo has floated a separate plan that would see creditors forgive some of South Africa’s sovereign debt in exchange from it committing to more ambitious climate goals. Eskom has proposed its own R150-billion transition plan, which would see it raise loans from development finance institutions to fund green energy projects, while accelerating the closure of coal-fired plants.

    A visiting delegation that includes officials from the UK and US is currently holding talks with South African officials

    Masondo’s proposal is short on detail of what would happen should the government get debt relief and then renege on its commitments, while Eskom’s plan, while laudable, doesn’t tackle some key financial considerations and is too narrowly focused, according to Meridian. Other carbon-mitigation proposals could be implemented in tandem with its own, it said.

    A visiting delegation that includes officials from the UK and US is currently holding talks with South African officials about its plans to arrest climate change ahead of United Nations talks, known as Cop26, in Glasgow in November. South Africa is the world’s 12th biggest producer of greenhouse gases.

    Top of the agenda

    The options being considered for South Africa are at the top of the international community’s agenda and progress need to be made in implementing them, failing which available funding could go to other developing nations, such as Indonesia or India, Steyn said.

    Meridian’s proposals include the establishment of a fund to help tens of thousands of workers at the redundant power plants and in the coal-mining industry retrain and find alternative employment.  — Reported by Paul Burkhardt, (c) 2021 Bloomberg LP



    Cyril Ramaphosa David Masondo Eskom Meridian Economics
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleHalf of all people on Earth are now connected to the Internet via mobile
    Next Article Huge Group sells its minority stake in Adapt IT

    Related Posts

    The little-known company disrupting Eskom’s monopoly

    16 June 2025

    Coal to cash: South Africa gets major boost for energy shift

    13 June 2025

    Why AI could soon be managing your home solar system

    9 June 2025
    Company News

    Huawei Watch Fit 4 Series: smarter sensors, sharper design, stronger performance

    13 June 2025

    Change Logic and BankservAfrica set new benchmark with PayShap roll-out

    13 June 2025

    SAPHILA 2025 – transcending with purpose, connection and AI-powered vision

    13 June 2025
    Opinion

    Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

    2 June 2025

    South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

    2 June 2025

    Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

    29 May 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.