With wind and solar energy being 40 percent cheaper than energy from coal, is South Africa at a crossroad of the development of its energy sector? Image source: Shutterstock (#366229667)
In South Africa wind and solar power is 40 percent cheaper than outputs from new coal plants due to a series of auctions in the past five years. 90 percent of South Africa’s electricity is coal fueled which puts the country among the 20 highest emitting countries in the world. And its energy demand is still growing. The government’s preferred alternative to coal is using nuclear energy. Even though the data about nuclear energy costs is rare, the director of energy research at the University of Cape Town said that nuclear power would rise the prices. In the end switching to renewables depends on the price.
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