The Daily Vox team spoke to Richard Halsey, a researcher at Project 90 by 2030 and coordinator of Energy Governance South Africa Network who commented on the importance of the contracts, saying that it depends on who is it important to. “For instance it is important to the people building the power plants which have been on hold, and by extension it becomes important to the renewable energy industry and for the invigoration of the industry.”
“It is importance because it indicates in a sense that South Africa is serious about moving towards renewable energy,” Halsey said.
Halsey said the problem comes in not so much with the renewable energy but with how it will be run and the private ownership, and whether it’s in the best interest of workers.
Regarding the confusion about the costs of renewable energy, Halsey said “The straight answer is renewable energy will provide cheaper energy will benefit all South Africans.”
Adding on Halsey said for the short term costs it should not only be thought about in Rands and Cents but rather the impact on the environment and the workers. It is in this regard that renewable energy has a smaller cost factor. Coal mines not only damage the environment but have disastrous impacts on the health of the people who work on them.
Read the full article here:
