Solar power is the key to ending South Africa’s electricity crisis, but that does not mean we can leave coal behind, said Silas Mzingeli Zulu, Special Advisor on Energy to the Presidency.

Mzingeli Zulu was speaking at the opening address of this week’s ‘Solar and Storage Live’ event, which is being held at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg from March 18-20.

The population of South Africa is growing rapidly, driving demand for electricity. Eskom introduced the stepped tariff system to encourage people to use less power, but this has not curtailed demand, Mzingeli Zulu said. “Solar needs to fill this space,” he said.

Mzingeli Zulu also touched on South Africa’s social issues and where this overlaps with the energy crisis. “There are 20 million residents who receive government grants of R350 per month; each of these requires about R600 worth of electricity,” he said. “Two solar panels for each of the 20 million would be cheaper, more sustainable, and with a guarantee of no load shedding.”

Solar power projects could contribute a great deal more to South Africa’s energy demands, but SA has “hit a snag” because of the limitations of the national distribution grid, said Mzingeli Zulu. “Solar companies are applying for grid access when they know there is none. You need to wait for us to build a grid.”

Even should these structural issues be resolved, “we cannot leave behind coal-fired power stations in favour of renewables anytime soon,” Mzingeli Zulu said. “The whole world is still relying on coal. System reliability depends on what we have now. In any industry, you buy first and then you get rid of what you don’t need. We can’t shut down coal stations, but we must bring in new technology.”