South Africa’s electricity sector has emerged from a turbulent decade that has been tamished by corruption and mismanagement. Vested political interests within the electricity industry here could still be locking the continent’s biggest carbon emitter on its current course as one of the dirtiest and most energy-intensive economies in the world, writes Leonie Joubert.
With the upcoming inauguration of the Mexican president, a new parliamenterial confrontation is waiting. Attempted implementations of sustainable energy reforms, have never been implementated under the previous government due to corruption cases. Maximiliano Proaño asks about the feasibility under the new president.
President Moon wants South Korea to begin scaling down nuclear energy, but a citizen committee supports maintaining the share of nuclear energy in the energy mix. Nevertheless, grassroots renewable energy movements are growing. Yi hyun Kang looks at the latest from the Korean energy sector.
A few months ago, South Africa looked set to shackle itself to a cripplingly expensive fleet of Russian nuclear power stations. Overblown coal development was ongoing, and attempts to get private renewable power plants feeding into the grid were stalled due to state-aligned vested interests. By February, all that has changed, writes Leonie Joubert.
German car maker Volkswagen, caught cheating on emissions tests in 2015 in the “Dieselgate” scandal, is rolling out plans to spend almost $15 billion in penalties and settlements. Some of the money goes back to customers, but about half will be used for infrastructure and pollution mitigation. Ben Paulos takes a look.
There’s a global movement of communities and cities taking back control of their energy and water supply, and Germany’s Energiewende serves as a role model. Craig Morris takes a look at the Transnational Institute (TNI)’s report, “Reclaiming public services: how cities and citizens are turning back privatization.”
Polish coal is losing value on the global market and Poland’s grid may see serious blackouts. But instead of investing in other forms of energy, the government dips into taxpayer pockets to try and save the mining and energy market, Michał Olszewski reveals.
Successful oversight of trade group membership dues has faded away in many states across the United States, a new report says. Mark Hand of Think Progress explains how American utilities use their customers’ money to fight renewables, and subside fracking and nuclear.
When conventional forms of activism don’t reach the ears of a democratically elected government, the courts can provide a platform to hold the state accountable. A High Court ruling against the South African government’s efforts to buy in nuclear power is a case in point, writes Leonie Joubert.
The price of solar and wind energy has dropped so dramatically in South Africa (SA), it is now almost half the cost of coal electricity. So why is government’s new energy plan biased towards expensive nuclear plants, and leaving renewable sources as an afterthought? asks Leonie Joubert. If RE industrialisation doesn’t take off in SA, it will be slow across the rest of the subcontinent.
