Academic Research and Theses

This paper aims to bring some focus to the subject of decent work as per the International Labour Organisation’s definition and highlights the emerging themes in the South African energy sector. The research shows that, although the country is on the path to decarbonisation, a clear definition of a job and decent work is needed, and it is imperative to ensure that this industry has the capacity to provide the necessary skills and training to its new workforce and provide fair and just working conditions that would lead to decent work.

This dissertation aims to examine the energy needs and energy challenges facing low-income households in the small Karoo town of De Aar, in the Northern Cape in the context of a local municipality that is struggling to sustain their electricity distribution. This is then further explored in relation to the significant investment in renewable energy that is currently taking place around the town, as part of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

This perspective focuses on urgent issues regarding South Africa’s energy transition.

Through a case study of the development of two linked wind farms outside Loeriesfontein, a small town in the Northern Cape Karoo, this dissertation explores the contribution of renewable energy to sustainable development, “decent work” and the “just transition” to a low carbon economy in South Africa.

This article analyses the extent to which the operation of on-grid solar power plants found in Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, and South Africa is a vector for sustainable development and poverty alleviation.

This thesis demonstrates, the (laudable) concession by policymakers to include economic development (ED) in the configuration of the procurement programme set the REIPPPP on a trajectory that would trigger irrepressible tensions in South Africa’s political economy of energy.

The study examines the effect of renewable energy on the communities of Upington in the Northern Cape, South Africa.

The research presented here examines the role of government policy and ownership structure in the social license to operate of two operations in two very different national contexts; Scotland and South Africa.

This study investigates the main contributors that can positively influence the socio-economic empowerment of women in the renewable energy sector in the Republic of South Africa and recommends new and innovative approaches to mainstream gender in the sector.

This paper reviews the academic literature to understand the state of knowledge on how diffusion of low carbon technologies impacts gender and social equity. The findings indicate that renewable energy projects alone cannot achieve gender and social equity, as energy interventions do not automatically tackle the structural dynamics embedded within socio-cultural and socio-economic contexts.