SOLAR-POWER
Solar energy is used to power equipment such as watches, calculators, cookers, water heaters, lighting systems, water pumps, communication systems, transportation, power generation, and many other applications. Like other renewable energy sources, solar energy is safe and environmentally friendly. It produces no direct emissions because its fuel source is the sun, unlike coal-fired power stations.
Most areas in South Africa receive more than 2,500 hours of sunshine per year, with average solar radiation levels ranging between 4.5 and 6.5 kWh/m² per day.
The southern African region, and Africa as a whole, receives sunshine throughout the year. The annual 24-hour global solar radiation average is approximately 220 W/m² for South Africa, compared with about 150 W/m² in parts of the USA and approximately 100 W/m² in Europe and the United Kingdom. This makes South Africa’s solar resource one of the best in the world.
Solar energy is one of the most readily accessible renewable energy resources in South Africa. It has a wide range of potential applications, and the country’s solar equipment industry continues to develop. Annual photovoltaic (PV) panel assembly capacity totals approximately 5 MW, while several companies in South Africa manufacture solar water heaters.
A pilot programme has been launched to establish a limited number of public-private sector institutions in partnership with relevant municipalities to provide electricity services on an integrated basis. Under this model, the service provider owns and maintains the systems, allowing longer-term financing arrangements to reduce monthly payments. The service is provided to consumers in return for a monthly fee.
Once the underlying management and funding challenges have been resolved, the programme can be expanded to cover rural areas more extensively. Solar power is increasingly being used for water pumping through the rural water provision and sanitation programme of the Department of Water and Sanitation.
Solar water heating is also used to a certain extent. Installed capacity includes:
- Domestic: 330,000 m²
- Swimming pools: 327,000 m², primarily serving middle- to high-income households
- Commerce and industry: 45,000 m²
- Agriculture: 4,000 m²
Three cooperatives, each with more than 10 permanent employees, have been established in the Eastern Cape to maintain approximately 8,000 solar home systems installed under the previous electrification programme.