1. The Role of Policy, Legislation and
Institutional Frameworks in Sustainable
Renewable Energy Development in South
Africa
Christopher Humphries
Monday, 5 December 2016
Submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements of the degree:
Bachelor of Science with Honours
Supervisor: Prof. Danny Simatele
School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies

2. Abstract
What are the roles of policy, legislation and institutional frameworks in the implementation of
renewable energy infrastructure in South Africa, how do these roles determine future policy
outcomes and how can South Africa transform its energy sector at a faster rate? The study
seeks to make conclusive insights into the South African renewable energy market by means
of analysing a wide array of literature (policy, legislation, white papers, academic literature
and grey literature) as well as interviews of people intrinsically involved in the South African
energy sector in order to extract key outcomes to approach these questions. Energy is the key
driver to economic growth and one that needs to be sustainably transformed to meet global
issues such as climate change and equitable access to electricity infrastructure (DME, 2008,
Pegels, 2010). The issue for the South African energy sector is two-fold, firstly an undersupply
of electricity and secondly a lack of implementation of renewable energy infrastructure, and in
so doing, not meeting sustainable development goals agreed to by the South African
government. Creating sustainable solutions in the energy sector in South Africa offers major
upsides to both public and private sectors due to the ensuring of a sustainable future with a
guaranteed energy reserve (Bilec, Ries & Scott Matthews, 2007). There is significant capacity
to implement renewable energies in South Africa, especially because of the need to further
expand electricity access as well as to ensure that South Africa can build innovative capacity
in industry and production, all supported by energy. The fulfilment of the South African
national energy policy needs to consider the transformation of the energy sector, a point with
which environmentalists vehemently agree (Pegels, 2013; Menyah & Wolde-Rufael, 2010;
Krupa & Burch. 2011).
Key words: Renewable energy; policy; legislation; Eskom; investment; infrastructure;
neoliberalism