In a written statement the global conservation organization said this week the growth of the green jobs sector was linked to energy security and that a stronger embrace of renewable resources – particularly solar energy – would accelerate South Africa’s move away from fossil fuels.
"South Africa, like other developing countries, has a vital opportunity to use investment in renewable energy as an engine of economic development, livelihoods and dignity,” said WWF climate change programme manager Richard Worthington. “Starting that engine demands investment as well as an enabling legislative environment."
Worthington said the National Energy Regulator of SA needed to introduce renewable-energy feed-in tariff (Refit), which would enable independent power producers to supply electricity to the Eskom grid.
The World Wildlife Fund has long maintained that solar power is a particularly attractive option for South Africa due to the rich abundance of sunlight in the country.
It recommended the nation consider three types of solar power:
Solar water heaters provide a cheap alternative to electric geysers which are the single largest consumer of electricity in homes.
Concentrated Solar Power uses large-scale plants to collect sunlight, producing steam to generate electricity. With facilities to store heat, these plants can operate day and night.
Photovoltaic panels turn sunlight directly into electricity, without the need for transmission lines. “This [latter option] represents a solution for getting modern energy to people who live beyond the reach of the electricity grid,” the WWF said.
A WWF report based on the modelling used to inform the SA government’s climate strategy, shows that investing in renewable energy (wind and solar) along with energy efficiency in industry, would provide cheaper electricity by 2020 than investing in coal or nuclear power.
"The eyes of the world will be on South Africa when the country hosts the COP17 climate change conference in December, and we must be seen to be acting on climate change,” Worthington said.
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