South Africa: Eskom favours nuclear above renewable energy

Eskom has a budget of R6-billion for nuclear energy, but a mere R4,5-million for renewable energy.

This vast difference in South Africa’s energy spending was highlighted at the Renewable Energy and Climate Change conference on Thursday, hosted by the Western Cape’s department of environmental affairs and development planning.
The conference also heard that the Department of Minerals and Energy had not been able to spend the money it had been given for renewable energy projects.

Sandile Tyata, chief director of clean energy in the Minerals and Energy Department, said: “Our ability to use the funds that have been allocated is one of the biggest challenges.”

A delegate who ran a solar heating company told the conference that he did not understand why the department’s budget was not spent. If it was looking for a way to spend it, he said, it could spend it on subsidies for solar water geysers.

IOL