Browsing by Author "Gosa, Thumakele"

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    Sustainable energy and policy design on the energy transition to renewable energy systems in Stellenbosch, case study : Stellenbosch solar water heater by-law
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012-12) Gosa, Thumakele; Swilling, Mark; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : South Africa is plagued by poverty, unemployment, high demand for housing and increasing demand for reliable energy services to reduce the existing levels of such challenges, which Stellenbosch Municipality (SM) is also struggling to overcome. Currently, the need for sustainable energy has become an increasingly prominent subject of discussion and catalyst of action ever since South Africa first encountered its energy crisis. In May 2008, South Africa was engulfed by severe energy crisis, literally rolling blackouts, industries stopping business, much accusations, frustration and plenty of opportunities. Eskom, which generates 96% of South Africa's electricity, is one of the largest monopolistic energy utilities globally. The country was ranked as the least efficient electricity consumer out of 13 developing nations globally, its inefficiency was compared to that of countries such as Brazil more than twice as efficient, with Hungary three times and Mexico four times more efficient than South Africa. The 2008 energy crisis has compelled the government to take energyefficient measures to reduce electricity consumption, while inducing the consumers to achieve financial savings through the implementation of massive national solar water heater (SWH) programmes. South Africa’s national SWH programmes included Eskom’s and the Department of Energy’s (DOE) short-term to medium-term targets, being the installation of 1 million SWHs by 2014 and another 5.6 million SWHs by 2020. Such targets have been factored into the promising development policy engines such as South Africa’s second Industrial Policy Action Plan and the New Growth Path (NGP) Strategy to put interventions to stimulate local manufacturing sector, SWH market demand and skills development. The current study will attempt to show that the SM has a higher population growth and also higher housing backlogs than before, which both have serious implications for energy demand and for improving the quality of life of poor communities, arresting joblessness and reducing inequalities. It describes an investigation into sustainable energy policy designs crafted to enforce SWH systems within SM. It also seeks to establish the impact of SWH on improving the quality of life for the poor, the exaggeration of SWH benefits and problems in contextualising SWHs to enhance local economic development. It examines whether or not SWH can improve quality of life. The SM population is expected nearly to double by 2017 and its energy supply remains constrained by the limited Western Cape energy capacity. The present study drew lessons from local to international sustainable energy studies and relevant sustainable development literature. It argues that if sincerely empowered and resourced, mayors and local governments globally have the potential to lead emission mitigations to ensure high global greenhouse gas emissions cuts targets are realised. However, most municipality revenue is derived from electricity sales, so using SWHs could really compromise and reduce this revenue source. The tangible SWH benefits are diluted by baseless overrating such as radical improvement of quality of life for target poor communities, overlooking the cultural context and languages spoken by beneficiaries of such SWH Projects, inadequate understanding of the actual electricity and financial savings. More research is required to contextualize, and enable incorporation of SWHs in culture. The research methodology used is qualitative interviews and sustainable energy literature review, journals and grey literature. The chapters cover: (1) sustainable energy systems problems in South Africa, (2) sustainable energy literature review, (3) Stellenbosch Renaissance, (4) research findings, and (5) research findings analysis and recommendations.