Solar Panels | Overshoot World Africa Day - The Real Africa: A Poem That is Going Viral for All The Right Reasons!
Africa from Space | Photo Credit: Nasa

Over 3,000 South Africans living without electricity for over 30 years will no longer rely on candles and paraffin but instead on solar, which is giving them back their power!

 

Western Cape, South Africa (23 August 2022) – An informal settlement in the Western Cape without electricity infrastructure for over 30 years has received a lifeline from a partnership between private companies and a solar panel project that has now given over 580 homes power.

Proof that renewable energy can be a cost-effective and inclusive solution for all South Africans.

President Cyril Ramaphosa recently announced an Energy Action Plan to address South Africa’s power crisis. One of the five proposed interventions will make it easier for households and businesses to produce electricity from solar panels. Practical solutions at a low-income level are already available, and implementing these solutions to scale can contribute to seeing the Energy Action Plan benefit all South Africans.

“Low-income households that are not yet connected to the grid should not be left behind in this plan,” said Damian Conway, director at The Sustainability Institute Innovation Lab (SIIL).

This is exactly what Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), GreenCape’s Alternative Services Delivery Unit (ASDU), in partnership with The iShack Project (a project of the Sustainability Institute Innovation Lab), have been working on in the informal settlement communities of Malawi Camp and Freedom Farm in Cape Town since 2019. The programme seeks to provide the community with alternative energy solutions to improve their living conditions while they wait to be relocated to formal housing.

This programme demonstrates that renewable energy at home can be a reality for all South Africans with the right collaborations and partnerships. The programme also trained unemployed community members in solar installation and maintenance, ensuring the programme’s sustainability.

“Making a positive difference in needy communities surrounding our airports is the cornerstone of the company’s Socio-Economic Development strategy. The programme provides skills development to assist with much-needed job opportunities. It is also a life-changing opportunity for communities who have for the longest time depended on unsafe and sometimes dangerous forms of energy to access affordable and safe solar-generated energy electricity”, says Laurie Less, Group Executive of Corporate Services at ACSA.

Since the project’s implementation phase started and after an extensive mobilisation phase, by April 2022, a total of 580 solar home systems had been installed.

Residents join the service voluntarily by paying a subsidised joining fee. Monthly, they end up paying less for the solar lighting than what they used to pay for the candles and paraffin. They can also now charge their cell phones at home and power other low-energy appliances.

This is an affordable alternative given the challenges of high unemployment and sometimes lack of appropriate infrastructure informal settlements.

“Two packages are on offer. The basic package includes three LED lights with cell phone charging plus extra energy capacity to add music systems and tablets. The upgraded package includes a 24-inch LED TV. All packages include basic maintenance support for a small monthly fee,” said Cisomo Banda, the iShack Field Operations Manager.

Co-creating alternative service delivery solutions

Before commencing the roll-out, the project team held numerous workshops with the community leaders and town hall sessions with the broader community to build a solid understanding of the offer and establish a robust social contract to underpin the sustainability of the service.

The project team worked with community leaders to facilitate the employment of enumerators and installers. The solar service has been set up as a durable utility service rather than a ‘drop-and-go’ infrastructure. Thus, ‘iShack Ambassadors’ have been recruited from the community; they receive ongoing training and support to continue marketing the service and, crucially, assist clients with maintenance needs.

Solar Panels Are Changing the Game For This South African Informal Settlement!
Photo Cred: GreenCape

Impact of Solar Energy

Some residents have lived in these informal settlement areas for up to 30 years without formal electricity infrastructure. This project has given them the opportunity to have a clean, safe, and affordable renewable energy source to get electricity in their homes. The project has improved households’ ability to be active citizens by contracting formally with the service, making regular co-payments, and thus securing access to ongoing maintenance support.

About 50 new jobs were created during the project, including enumerators and trainee installers. The iShack project has established the foundations for a sustainable social enterprise related to providing energy to the communities, which has now been in operation for almost two years.

Enabling partnerships

GreenCape managed to secure additional funding from Wärtsilä and Friedrich Naumann Foundation to build on the successful foundation in Freedom Farm and Malawi Camp, generously supported by the Airports Company of South Africa.

Typically, municipalities deliver mandated Free Basic Electricity (FBE) to indigent, grid-connected households by providing up to 100 free electricity units per household per month. But this excludes the most under-served, ‘unelectrified’ communities: those without grid access. However, it has been shown by some municipalities that the Rand value of the FBE units can be repurposed to subsidise the purchase and maintenance of solar home systems for un-electrified households while they wait for grid connections. Although these off-grid solar systems can only power lights, television and cell phone charging, this can be a meaningful improvement in quality of life, safety and health, at least as an interim step up the clean-energy ladder.

The implementation partnership with The iShack Project is central to demonstrating, at scale, a viable and financially sustainable public-private business model for the provision of incremental energy services to under-serviced communities.

The video case study aimed to showcase the ASDU model and the value of co-design with communities, namely in Freedom Farm and Malawi Camp, which has been made possible through the generous support of ACSA and the work of The iShack Project team on the ground.

This project demonstrates that renewable energy can be a cost-effective and inclusive solution for all South Africans. For more information, click here.

Solar Panels Are Changing the Game For This South African Informal Settlement!
Photo Cred: GreenCape

Sources: GreenCape 
Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google
Have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

About the Author

Brent Lindeque is the founder and editor in charge at Good Things Guy.

Recognised as one of the Mail and Guardian’s Top 200 Young South African’s as well as a Primedia LeadSA Hero, Brent is a change maker, thought leader, radio host, foodie, vlogger, writer and all round good guy.

1 comment

  1. It’s delightful to know that solar energy has empowered many people by lighting up homes and providing convenience in everyday life. I hope that this trend continues until every home and family has easy access to solar energy.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *