Abstract
South African local government, anxious to protect their revenue streams, contends that photovoltaic (PV) energy will be a disruptive and retrogressive technology, threatening the delivery of services to poor communities and causing job losses within the energy sector. In this paper, a quantitative approach is used to proportion the extent of the revenue loss, its impact on service provision, and the net outcome on employment. Using financial information and profiles of electricity consumption from two major metropolitan areas and industry-wide data on PV jobs, it is concluded that contrary to the prevailing sentiment, PV technology could stimulate economic growth, create employment, and reduce inequality. Given that the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) from PV is predicted to fall below the equivalent cost from new coal-based power stations by the end of 2016, local authorities will be well advised to drop their resistance toward rooftop solar and take proactive steps to reap the dividends of the green economy, while making the necessary provisions to safeguard their redistributive programs.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The exchange rate is about 12 South African rand (R)Â =Â 1 United States dollar (US$).
References
Ban-Weiss, G., Larsen, D., Li, S. X., & Wilusz, D. (2004). Job creation studies in California for vote solar. University of California, Berkeley. www.votesolar.org. Accessed March 9, 2015.
City of Johannesburg. (2013). 2013/16 Integrated development plan: Implementing the Joburg 2040 strategy. City of Johannesburg. www.joburg.org.za/images/stories/2013/March/March2/2013-16%20IDP.pdf. Accessed March 9, 2015.
De la Tour, A., Glachant, M., & Ménière, Y. (2013). Predicting the costs of photovoltaic solar modules in 2020 using experience curve models. Energy, 62, 341–348.
Department of Energy. (2013). Integrated resource plan for electricity 2010 to 2030; Updated report 2013. Department of Energy (Pretoria). http://www.doe-irp.co.za/. Accessed March 9, 2015.
Department of Energy and Climate Change. (2012). Electricity generation costs. Department of Energy and Climate Change, United Kingdom. www.gov.uk/government/publications/electricity-generation-costs. Accessed September 14, 2013.
Eberhard, A. (2013). Feed-in tariffs or auctions? Procuring energy supply in South Africa. Viewpoint, Note Number 338. The World Bank Group (Washington).
Feldman, D., Barbose, G., Margolis, R., Wiser, R., Darghouth, N., & Goodrich, A. (2012). Photovoltaic (PV) pricing trends: Historical, recent, and near-term projections. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, Colorado.
Huntington, H. G. (2009). Creating jobs with ‘green’ power sources. EMF OP 64. Reprinted from USAEE Dialogue 17(1), March 2009. https://web.stanford.edu/group/emf-research/docs/occasional_papers/OP64.pdf. Accessed March 9, 2015.
IRENA. (2012). Summary for policy makers: Renewable power generation costs. International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Bonn. http://www.irena.org/DocumentDownloads/Publications/Renewable_Power_Generation_Costs.pdf. Accessed March 9, 2015.
IRENA. (2013). Renewable energy innovation policy: Success criteria and strategies. IRENA Working Paper. International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Bonn. http://www.irena.org/menu/index.aspx?mnu=Subcat&PriMenuID=36&CatID=141&SubcatID=322. Accessed March 9, 2015.
Kost, C., Schlegl, T., Thomsen, J., Nold, S., & Meyer, J. (2012). Levelized cost of electricity renewable energies. Renewable Energy Innovation Policy Group, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems. http://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en/publications/veroeffentlichungen-pdf-dateien-en/studien-und-konzeptpapiere/study-levelized-cost-of-electricity-renewable-energies.pdf. Accessed March 9, 2015.
Mulcahy, M. (2012). Review of the competitive bid for PV in South Africa: Is SA maximizing job creation and value for money from its photovoltaic industry? Research paper presented to the Graduate School of Business University of Cape Town.
National Planning Commission. (2011). National Development Plan 2030: Our future—Make it work. The Presidency, Republic of South Africa (Pretoria). https://www.dac.gov.za/sites/default/files/NDP%202030%20-%20Our%20future%20-%20make%20it%20work_0.pdf. Accessed March 9, 2015.
REN21. (2013). Renewables 2013: Global status report. Renewable policy network for the 21st Century (REN21). http://www.ren21.net/REN21Activities/GlobalStatusReport.aspx. Accessed March 9, 2015.
Sawin, J. (2003). Policy lessons for the advancement & diffusion of renewable energy technologies around the world. Thematic Background Paper, The Energy and Resources Institute, Worldwatch Institute (Bonn). http://www.worldfuturecouncil.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Miguel/Sawin__2004__National_policy_instruments.pdf. Accessed March 9, 2015.
Swanson, R. M. (2006). A vision for crystalline silicon photovoltaics. Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, 14, 443–453. doi:10.1002/pip.709.
Trollip, H., Walsh, V., Mahomed, S., & Jones, B. (2012). Potential impact on municipal revenue of small scale own generation and energy efficiency. In Conference Paper Submitted to the South African Economic Regulators Conference (Pretoria). www.nersa.org.za/SAERC/Documents/SAERC/Hiltop%20Trollip.pdf‎. Accessed March 9, 2015.
Tsikata, M., & Sebitosi, A. (2010). Struggling to wean a society away from a century old legacy of coal based power: Challenges and possibilities for South African Electric supply future. Energy, 35(3), 1281–1288.
U.S. Energy Information Administration [eia]. (2013). Levelized cost of new generation resources in the annual energy outlook 2013. U.S. Energy Information Administration (Washington).
Walwyn, D. R., & Brent, A. C. (2015). Renewable energy gathers steam in South Africa. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 41(1), 390–401. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2014.08.049.
Wei, M., Patadia, S., & Kammena, D. M. (2010). Putting renewables and energy efficiency to work: How many jobs can the clean energy industry generate in the US? Energy Policy, 38, 919–931.
Zhang, X., Platten, A., & Shen, L. (2011). Green property development practice in China: Costs and barriers. Building and Environment, 46(11), 2153–2160.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this paper
Cite this paper
Walwyn, D.R. (2015). Local Government Resists the Implementation of Renewable Technologies. In: Hostettler, S., Gadgil, A., Hazboun, E. (eds) Sustainable Access to Energy in the Global South. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20209-9_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20209-9_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-20208-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-20209-9
eBook Packages: EnergyEnergy (R0)