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South Africa’s clean energy struggle

South Africa is experiencing a boom in renewable energy. A few years ago renewable energy has not been existing at all. Now dozens of solar plants clustered in the country’s northern reaches and wind farms operating along the southern coast are generating 2.2 gigawatts. The increase of facilities has helped to stop the blackouts that South Africa has been suffering from since 2008. Bad planning caused those blackouts. By this June, the renewable program had attracted 102 projects worth 14.4 billion USD. The country is still dependent on coal but the shift to renewable energy is even seen as a role model for developing nations now. However there is a dispute going between the party that supports wind and solar energy and the party that supports nuclear energy. Both parties are mainly fighting over technical details. The current government of Jakob Zuma supports the nuclear energy party.

The New York Times

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