Clean energy is a source of power generated from renewable sources such as solar, biomass, wind, etc. Africa has the ideal weather for solar power generation because it generates more than 2,500 hours of sunshine yearly. As the panels receive more sunlight, they will produce more electricity.
South Africa is committed to the Integrated Resource Plan to achieve 9600 MW of solar power by 2030. According to Viren Gosai, the government’s switch to solar has encouraged his company to open a new facility that can produce 650,000 solar panels per year.
President Ramaphosa said the government would allow households and businesses to invest in rooftop solar.South Africa wants to secure an extra 1000 MW from solar energy to provide electricity for about one million homes across the country.
What about the rural communities? A young lady engineer named Nolwazi Zulu is willing to contribute her quota to involve the rural communities in this energy transition. Miss Zulu grew up in Kwazulu-Natal, a rural area in South Africa. She said she was a victim of electricity epilepsy and started nursing the ambition of ending power failure when she was a teenager.
Miss Zulu is currently studying electrical power engineering at the Durban University of Technology and works in Arts Solar. To fulfill her goal, she said she wants to bring solar to her hometown by opening an Art Solar branch in Ulundi. Maybe If we can have more of miss Zulu, accessing solar power from the rural areas of South Africa will be achievable.