South Africa’s integrated energy planning framework, 2015–2050

The Integrated Energy Plan (IEP) was designed to consider South Africa’s energy needs from 2015 to 2050, as a guide for energy structural savings and the development of energy policy. The main aim of the Department of Energy is to ensure the security of energy supply. The current energy situation in the country has its gains and challenges. With the growing population and infrastructural development, the country requires prudent measures to meet the country’s energy needs for 2020–2050. The country’s energy is currently dominated by coal-fired plants, which represent about 70% of the total installed capacity, crude oil contributes about 21%, with only 9% from all other energy sources, including renewables. This paper examines the scope of the IEP framework, key objectives of the IEP, the methodology applied to achieve those objectives, and the projections made for attaining the framework target. The paper further reviews the energy requirements for the key sectors of the economy and analyses the effects of CO2 emissions and the benefits of job creation for the entire period. Despite substantial renewable potential in South Africa, at present it contributes as little as 2% of the energy mix. The global renewable energy policy on CO2 emissions reduction, improvement of energy efficiency and deployment of renewable development are not met in the IEP framework.