BLOGS

The last decade has seen a significant global shift in the planning and development of renewable energy generation. Countries including South Africa have committed to increased efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change by way of setting ambitious targets of increasing renewable energy generation by more than a quarter of its total energy generation capacity by 2030.

The Integrated Resource Plan gazetted by the Minister of Minerals and Energy; Gwede Mantashe, last year supports the diversification of the country’s energy mix and the development of renewable energy in support of economic development. In this regard, in order for individual power producers to play an integral role in the renewable energy programme, they will require reliable renewable energy resources and geoscientific information.

Renewable energy generation in South Africa will, to a large degree, focus on solar, wind and hydro-generation power. This endeavour will take advantage of regions of the country that are subject to some of the highest levels of solar radiation and on- and offshore wind currents in the world. 

In addition, South Africa will investigate the feasibility of geothermal and hydrogen fuel cell technologies. This technological shift in South Africa, and around the world, has already begun to mark a dramatic increase in the demand for certain critical mineral resources.The availability, supply and beneficiation of these critical mineral resources are key to sustaining the shift towards renewable energy technologies and, ultimately, climate change mitigation. These mineral resources include heavy metals such as gallium, germanium and indium, which are needed to support the solar industry, while wind generation is reliant on rare-earth elements. 

In addition, hydrogen fuel cell technology and energy storage cannot be developed without resources such as lithium, vanadium, manganese, cobalt, copper and graphite. The global platinum market produces 7 million ounces per year, including 1 million ounces from the recycling of auto catalysts. Mining accounts for the remaining 6 million ounces, with 80% of this production from southern Africa.

In South Africa, the future of fuel cell technology, which generates clean (non-fossil fuel) energy, is likely to be heavily reliant on the country’s platinum production. South Africa has a long history as one of the global leaders in the mineral resource industry and remains a leader in the supply of many industrial and precious resources, including platinum group minerals, gold and base metals. Currently, the country’s vast mineral inventory is once again proving instrumental in placing the country at the forefront of the renewable energy industry as a potential leader in the production of critical minerals.