Nuclear and gas have been flagged as the future of South Africa’s base load power by Minister of Energy, Gwede Mantashe.

The minister was speaking at the African Energy Indaba 2024, taking place at Cape Town International Convention Centre this week, where he delivered the opening address to industry authorities.

The strategy is to transition from high carbon energy solutions to low carbon, he said. “We are investing in gas and nuclear. Gas produces almost half the carbon emissions in comparison to coal. We want to use gas in South Africa. We are committed to that.

“82% of world energy is fossil fuels. We need to keep working with what we have. Sustain it while testing the new. We can’t afford to do away with the old,” he said.

The priority is to find affordable and sustainable solutions to South Africa’s energy crisis, Mantashe said. “It is not one particular technology that will resolve our energy poverty. It is a combination of technologies.”

Mantashe boasted that South Africa has the largest renewable energy programme on the continent. Bid Window 7, which was launched in December 2023, will see the procurement of 5 000 MW of renewable energy. Bid Window 8 is expected to be issued before the end of the year and would make 7300 MW of renewable energy available to the grid, he said.