An Evaluation of Potential Strategies in Renewable Energy Systems and Their Importance for South Africa—A Review

Skosana, Busiswe; Siti, Mukwanga W.; Mbungu, Nsilulu T.; Kumar, Sonu; Mulumba, Willy

doi:10.3390/en16227622

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An Evaluation of Potential Strategies in Renewable Energy Systems and Their Importance for South Africa—A Review

by

Busiswe Skosana

¹,

Mukwanga W. Siti

^1,*,

Nsilulu T. Mbungu

¹

,

Sonu Kumar

¹

and

Willy Mulumba

²

¹

Department of Electrical Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria 0183, South Africa

²

Department of Physics, School of Engineering, University Pedagogique National, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Energies 2023, 16(22), 7622; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16227622

Submission received: 31 August 2023 / Revised: 30 October 2023 / Accepted: 31 October 2023 / Published: 17 November 2023

(This article belongs to the Section A: Sustainable Energy)

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Abstract

The ageing of coal-fired power stations in South Africa has led to regular power outages. Therefore, the country will need to urgently increase its electricity capacity to meet further energy demand from growing urbanization and population growth. This challenge has increased interest in alternative energy sources, such as renewable energy (RE). South Africa is gradually implementing appropriate renewable energy practices, reducing carbon emissions, cleansing the air, and assuring a more sustainable future. This paper summarizes the availability, current state, and future potential of renewable energy choices in South Africa. This paper also evaluates specific policy measures and government actions aimed at eliminating barriers and increasing renewable energy deployment in the future. It also considers the South African network’s specialized techno-economic analysis. The findings show that South Africa is still heavily reliant on coal, with 78% of the current installed capacity coming from coal power in 2022, compared to 9.3% for solar and wind energy.

Keywords: renewable energy; renewable energy technologies; intelligent control; South Africa energy potential; techno-economic analysis

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MDPI and ACS Style

Skosana, B.; Siti, M.W.; Mbungu, N.T.; Kumar, S.; Mulumba, W. An Evaluation of Potential Strategies in Renewable Energy Systems and Their Importance for South Africa—A Review. Energies 2023, 16, 7622. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16227622

AMA Style

Skosana B, Siti MW, Mbungu NT, Kumar S, Mulumba W. An Evaluation of Potential Strategies in Renewable Energy Systems and Their Importance for South Africa—A Review. Energies. 2023; 16(22):7622. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16227622

Chicago/Turabian Style

Skosana, Busiswe, Mukwanga W. Siti, Nsilulu T. Mbungu, Sonu Kumar, and Willy Mulumba. 2023. "An Evaluation of Potential Strategies in Renewable Energy Systems and Their Importance for South Africa—A Review" Energies 16, no. 22: 7622. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16227622

APA Style

Skosana, B., Siti, M. W., Mbungu, N. T., Kumar, S., & Mulumba, W. (2023). An Evaluation of Potential Strategies in Renewable Energy Systems and Their Importance for South Africa—A Review. Energies, 16(22), 7622. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16227622

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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An Evaluation of Potential Strategies in Renewable Energy Systems and Their Importance for South Africa—A Review

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