Solar Power in Informal Settlements Tackle the Energy Crisis in South Africa

South Africa’s energy crisisSouth Africa faces an energy crisis, especially in off-grid informal settlements, which house some of the poorest people in the country. Ten percent of the South African population, or 4.4 million people, lives in informal settlements, with 2 million of these people living without access to formal grid electricity. These settlements often have poor infrastructures that do not allow for proper electricity connections, and rapid population growth has led to dense and congested living spaces with massive demand for energy. Within these settlements, inhabitants resort to illegal connections to the grid to access electricity or use paraffin or petrol-powered generators that have harmful effects on health. Without clean energy, citizens suffer from health risks when using harmful cooking fuels, and children fall behind in education when they are unable to use electricity to study after dark.

GreenCape

The nonprofit organization GreenCape has partnered with The iShack Project to launch a solar panel project that aims to deliver renewable energy to households in informal settlements. This project has helped install solar systems in 580 households, and inhabitants pay less for solar panels than they used to pay for harmful fuels like paraffin. Not only has GreenCape’s project brought clean energy to communities, but it also has helped combat South Africa’s high unemployment rates. Locals are also trained and employed to help install and maintain these solar structures, creating job opportunities for unemployed members of the community – this project created around 50 new jobs. Their training is ongoing, allowing them to continually develop employable skills and generate income for their families.

Zonke Energy

Zonke Energy is a South African Company that aims to provide safe and renewable energy to informal settlements and markets outside the formal national grid, especially within congested and urbanized environments. It delivers clean energy to informal settlements in Cape Town through a distributed solar system that is powered by a 1.5kW solar photovoltaic generator. Each system provides energy to 10-15 households, powering everyday appliances such as a television, lights and refrigerators from a central power hub, and is provided at a low cost for inhabitants of informal settlements. Zonke Energy has taken strides to solve South Africa’s energy crisis — in one of the informal settlements, it has delivered over 6MWh of clean electricity to 160 households since 2021.

The Umbane Project

The Umbane Project operates in Qando Qando, Cape Town, targeting South Africa’s energy crisis by installing solar microgrids to help power refrigerators. By setting up seven solar towers, with each tower powering up to 16 households, it has supplied over 100 families with clean and safe power. The supply of power for refrigerators in particular has had a positive impact on the local community, as many residents have expressed that the most important use for electricity is refrigeration.

Powering refrigerators allows citizens to store food for themselves and their families, as well as to generate income by selling cooled food and beverages. Part of the project also involves the provision of business support for female entrepreneurs through powering refrigeration, and dozens of people participated in a six-week entrepreneurship training course. As seen in a recent project evaluation, the project has been a success, with multiple participants reporting improvements to their start-ups and increases in their sales and revenue.

Striving Toward Clean Energy in South Africa’s Informal Settlements

With such a high demand for clean, safe and affordable energy, it is crucial to adopt innovative solutions to help improve the lives of local communities and lower-income families. By utilizing solar power, households in South Africa’s informal settlements can slowly but surely gain access to renewable energy at a low cost, and the installation of these solar grids can also create jobs, tackling high unemployment rates at the same time. Taking innovative approaches to bring safe and cost-effective energy to many households is crucial to solving South Africa’s energy crisis.

– Stephanie Chan
Photo: Flickr