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Sustainability transitions and the politics of electricity planning in South Africa
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posted on 2023-06-08, 23:32 authored by Lucy BakerAfter decades of cheap, abundant coal-fired electricity, from which large international mining and energy conglomerates and wealthy households have benefitted disproportionately, South Africa is experiencing a supplyside crisis. In 2011, the country’s first integrated resource plan for electricity (IRP) was promulgated following a prolonged and contested consultation process throughout 2010. This plan anticipates that renewable energy will constitute twenty per cent of installed generation capacity by 2030, which will deliver approximately nine per cent of supply. Coal will retain the greatest share alongside a potential yet currently uncertain nuclear fleet. The objectives of this chapter are twofold: to examine electricity governance in South Africa and the highly politicized policy-making process in relation to IRP in which vested interests have played a major role; and to consider the extent to which the IRP has facilitated a low carbon transition. The chapter finds that despite the creation of a successful renewable energy ‘niche’, the coal-fired ‘regime’ is also being reinforced and the electricity mix under analysis is fuelling an unsustainable trajectory of production and consumption. The chapter also considers definitions of sustainability and concepts of a ‘just’ transition.
Funding
The Governance of Clean Development: CDM and Beyond; G0653; ESRC-ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL; D00204
History
Publication status
- Published
Publisher
Springer International PublishingExternal DOI
Volume
10Page range
793-809Pages
1014.0Book title
Handbook on sustainability transition and sustainable peace, hexagon series on human and environmental securityPlace of publication
LondonISBN
9783319438825Series
Hexagon series on human and environmental security and peaceDepartment affiliated with
- SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Editors
Hans Gu¨nter Brauch, Ju¨rgen Scheffran, John Grin, U´rsula Oswald SpringLegacy Posted Date
2015-11-25Usage metrics
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