The Minister of Electricity, Dr Sputla Kgosientso Ramokgopa, is taking a delegation of government officials and private business to China on a study tour of the country to look at the successes and alternative energy opportunities available. The plan is to foster trade ties between South Africa and China, who are part of the BRICS trade alliance, and to learn from the Chinese the successes they have achieved in the green energy space.
This visit to China should be guided by the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP2019). The IRP19 plan is a gazette legislative document that stipulates clear expectations that all the energy streams South Africa should prioritise and pursue.
The plan focuses on strategic actions regarding how South Africa should: roll-out the plan, the development, manufacturing as well as the delivery of strategic energy resources, namely coal, fossil fuels (diesel), hydro, nuclear, gas, wind, solar and bio-fuels energy.
Energy is broken down into two major streams: base load energy and intermittent renewable energy streams.
Over the past 12 years since 2011, South Africa has moved with great speed to integrate mainly base eload coal-fired power stations with renewable energy-based sources.
However, for this process, a lot of infrastructure integration work needs to be done, and funding availed to connect renewable plants to the grid for smooth transmission. Adding power on to the grid at connecting stations also requires strong peaking or battery backup capacity plants.
The primary objective of the IRP plan is to create a clear policy for electricity generation, which, if implemented successfully, will, in turn, stimulate economic growth and provide a decent standard of living.
IRP19 new additional capacity commitment:
1. Solar PV 7958MW
4. Wind 11442MW
5. Gas 11930 MW
South Africa has a great opportunity for re-industrialisation through the allocated energy resources threshold in the renewables energy space.
The solar, wind, inverter, battery storage energy technology Industrialisation opportunities are massive unexploited opportunities for South Africa. Major factories and manufacturing plants can be established in South Africa to compete directly with the current importers of these technologies from China and Europe.
The current retail and wholesale demand market for off the shelf solar panels, inverters and battery storage grid-tied solar solutions are at the highest demand phase ever seen before in renewable energy transition history. The demand for alternative energy solutions is on an upward growth trajectory amid an all-time record market boom and will increase as time goes on due to growing energy demand, declining supply from Eskom and load shedding.
I would argue that if South Africa has to achieve a successful Just Energy Transition, the Department of Minerals and Energy together with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) should embark on a grand industrialisation program plan for technology and equipment manufacturing and localisation.
The one-stop shop at the DTI should be the central driving engine to push for local manufacturing and drive the Black Industrialisation programme successfully this time around. This has to be central to the implementation of the IRP19 plan. The IRP19 plan has provided adequate opportunity for re-industrialisation. We cannot be a nation of net importers of our energy.
So far, the major challenge for fast-tracking local manufacturing of renewable energy technology and industrial stimulation amid re-industrialisation has been the lacklustre failure by DTI and the Independent Power Producers' Office to enforce localisation policy for all the awarded Renewable Independent Power Producer Programme's Bid windows.
The Integrated Resource Plan is a strategy plan to ensure the correct energy planning path for South Africa. The plan has key strategic areas of focus. In the current IRP19, there are three strategic energy generation and resource streams. The renewable energy stream makes up the largest allocated energy stream in respect to new generation capacity.
The world has changed rapidly ever since the advent of electricity. Renewable energy technology is here to stay.
Let us take advantage of the industrial and commercial opportunities available through the Just Energy Transition portion of the IRP19 plan provided in our legislated energy framework.
A quick history of electricity:
The history of electricity dates back to 2600 years ago, around 600 BC, and the name for energy, which in modern days we refer to as electricity, was only coined in the 16th century, almost 2200 years later.
And the word electricity is derived from the Greek and Latin words elektron and electrum.
Alessandro Volta, in 1800 in his invention created the first electric battery called the Voltaic Pile, which could store electric current. In 1821 the first electric motor was invented. The electric motor kicked off the industrial revolution.
In 1827, a book called The Ohm's Law was published, which explained in detail the working behind the mathematical basis of electricity. The book explained the complex mathematical basis of the working of electricity.
‘’Ohm’s Law Statement: Ohm’s law states that the voltage across a conductor is directly proportional to the current flowing through it, provided all physical conditions and temperature remain constant.’’
‘’Ohm’s Law Equation: V = IR, where V is the voltage across the conductor, I is the current flowing through the conductor, and R is the resistance provided by the conductor to the flow of current. Thus explaining the relationship between voltage, current and resistance.’’
For many years, from the 15th century, electricity remained an academic field of study and had very limited applications in the real world. But that changed in 1866-1867 when several scientists built the first electrical dynamos, an electrical generator used in industry for the generation of electricity, and these scientific breakthroughs launched the industrial revolution.
By the 20th century, electricity became commonly used in cities and towns, homes, industry and technology in general. The bedrock of our modern civilisation and all the marvellous revolutions that preceded one after another since the industrial revolution was premised on the basis of electricity today we commonly refer to as energy.
I have deliberately left out the critical names of academics, inventors and scientists who pioneered the discovery and mass application of electricity for obvious reasons. To enable you to go do further learning and reading on the subject of electricity.
The reason history pages are blank in respect to innovation and inventions from Africa in respect to electricity is because of the brutality of Colonization, which denied Africans an opportunity to make meaningful contributions towards the industrial revolution.
Electricity is a highly fascinating scientific field of study we often overlook because it is commonly available in all facets of our lives through technology and modern day civilization. A hundred years ago, that was not the case.
Since there were non-African scientists named in that short historiography, I was naturally jealous in intentionally omitting mentioning the names of the pioneers of electricity history leading up to 1900.
Crown Prince Adil Nchabeleng is President of Transform RSA and an Independent Energy Expert.
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