South Africa coal heartland is home to a small solar city

An old coal pit is transformed into a beacon of solar hope

Green Success Story but Experts Say More is Needed

Women are the victims of the faltering energy transformation

By Kim Harrisberg

Even though the locals are coughing up grey smog, coal keeps them at work, heats their homes during winter, and cooks dinner.

Now, however, things are slowly beginning to change.

South Africa, one of the largest coal exporters in the world, has launched a plan that will wean itself off coal pollution and embrace green industries to create jobs.

Solar bricks - stackable lithium-ion batteries charged by sunlight - are used to power lights and mobile phones in almost every Nomzamo home.

Nomzamo, despite only having 412 households in its program, sees it as the beginning of a major green shift for the country.

"We've begun the transition," Nelly Nkosi said, a resident of 40 years and an officer in the Khuthala Environmental Care Group (the local charity that is behind the solar initiative).

Nkosi, who lives in a corrugated iron home, said: "The coal will run out eventually and more people will have to switch to solar. The sooner people adapt, the better."

South Africa developed a Just Energy Transition Plan, or JETP - a roadmap for shifting to cleaner energy and creating green jobs. The plan was funded by wealthy governments from around the world.

According to the Just Energy Transition Project Management Unit, which oversees the plan, international partners have pledged $13.74billion to Phase One.

In March, the United States ceased funding for the JETP.

This is in line with South Africa's goal to reduce emissions from 442 millions tonnes to 350 to 420 million tonnes between 2030 and 2020.

Experts say that if the decarbonisation process is to succeed, it will take many more community-run renewable energy projects.

Zethu Hlatshwayo is Khuthala spokesperson. "You can refer to us as a small solar city but we're growing."

Solar bricks may have saved residents hundreds per month on paraffin, batteries and candles, but they are still not enough to cover all their energy requirements.

Nkosi said, "We say half a loaf is better than none at all," referring to solar energy.

She said, as her old coal-fired stove began to hum.

The birth of Nomzam

Nomzamo Agri Village was founded in an emergency.

In 2016, a violent storm inundated the river near Ermelo, leaving hundreds of local residents homeless.

Philani Mngomezulu was the head of Khuthala and knew about open land, an open-pit mine that had not been rehabilitated. He won approval from the mayor for the relocation of the newly-homeless families.

The Khuthala leaders were transformed overnight into town planners. They designed a blueprint for the future of their community, and set aside backyards where residents could grow food.

Khuthala, as the settlement grew, blocked dangerous entrances to mine caverns. Mngomezulu estimates that at least 15 people have died, mostly children.

Three years ago Khuthala's leaders were approached by GreenCape a local charity to launch an energy project funded by New Zealand France and Denmark.

Reshmi wolvers, a GreenCape expert in social impact, said: "We work where the government or state is unlikely to be able provide services."

She stated that their role was temporary and the community would then fully own the project. They are not trying to compete with the government, but rather act as a temporary stopgap.

Wolvers said that the backlog is 1.6 million households that do not have grid access. The waiting period for these households could be between eight and 15 years.

GreenCape started working in Nomzamo, in March 2023. Two years later, more than 400 homes have solar bricks.

Tebogo Mogakabe is the manager of environmental services for the municipality. "Copying the model in other parts of the country will maximize our budget."

BYE-BYE COAL?

GreenCape trained more than 70 Nomzamo residents to collect the data.

Families who did not have refrigerators could not buy perishables in bulk or at a discount.

Nearly 90% of residents make less than 3,500 rand ($203), with paraffin candles and other household items consuming about half of this.

"I use an illegal connection as well," said a resident who requested anonymity, pointing at a blackened wire hanging from the roof their shack.

They said, "But we will not have to if solar power grows."

According to Eskom, the public utility in South Africa, illegal connections are responsible for approximately 70% of the electricity revenue losses.

Janet Cherry of Nelson Mandela University's Department of Development Studies, a professor in development studies, says that while these solar bricks may not be connected to the grid, they could eventually feed excess power into it.

She said that this could, in theory at least, help residents earn some extra money from their energy production. However, municipal regulations and inaction are still major roadblocks.

South Africa wants 33% of its electricity to be renewable by 2030.

According to the energy analysis website Ember, only 13% of electricity is generated by solar and wind.

Nomzamo residents currently spend 80 rand a month on their solar kit, which is subsidised by three nations. They will own it after a year.

The solar rollout also includes 60 double street lights and 10 chest freezers powered by solar energy, which can be used by residents for a monthly fee of 30 Rands.

Nkosi saves on food, candles and paraffin.

Her 50-watt brick and solar panel are not enough to run a washing machines, which is now at her sister’s house. She also worries that her food may disappear from the communal refrigerator.

Walking local streets late at night is less dangerous.

Nkosi was energized by the changes underway. "We women feel safer...which is a huge deal in South Africa, where gender-based abuse is so prevalent."

We grew up with mines blasting in our classrooms...living in cracks and collecting coal on our way home from school. "We thought this was normal up until now," said a 40-year old, who is currently unemployed.

Lindokuhle, a 23 year old resident who was trained to install solar bricks, told the newspaper that the project inspired him to start his own solar installation business one day.

"I would like to see Nomzamo improve: larger solar bricks, better sewage systems, decent housing, and running water. "I want to be part of it," said he.

SET THE BAR HIGHER

Yet, the many artisanal miner who live in the solar city still haul coal into Nomzamo.

Children carry wheelbarrows of coal to their mother to cook dinner. Backyards that have been turned into makeshift coal markets are decorated with small black mounds.

GreenCape believes that solar and coal can coexist for the time being. They believe in a bright future for energy.

According to Ember's think tank, the national coal power generation will fall from 90 percent of 229.8 Terawatt Hours in 2014 to only 82% by 2024. Solar energy is expected to rise from 0.4% to 8.0% in the same time period.

Wolvers said, "The technology stacks well."

Residents can stack bricks on top of one another to create solar blocks as their savings increase.

Some researchers claim that the drip-drip method is not as effective as others.

Cherry, from Nelson Mandela University, said that many small-scale project do not meet the "very basic needs", such as cooking or heating the water. She also stated that women are the ones who suffer the most.

She said that municipalities are failing their residents by not providing basic service such as street lighting, and regulations are preventing many projects from reaching their full potential.

Cherry said, "We need to be more imaginative and ambitious."

She wants to invest in mass amounts in green jobs, in "agriculture and construction, transportation and mining of green mineral" under a new eco-Industrial Revolution, owned and led locally.

Khuthala says that solar energy is only one part of a larger, longer-term strategy to help Nomzamo.

Khuthala, a local coal company, plans to train thousands ex-miners to work in other sectors, such as mine rehabilitation and green hydrogen.

Mngomezulu said, "We will continue to find ways to reduce our energy footprint."

(source: Reuters)