SOUTH Africa’s economy has been hard hit by 15 years of load-shedding (rolling blackouts). The country’s coal-fired power plants have a maintenance backlog and frequently experience unexpected technical failures. On the other hand, South Africa has committed, under the Paris Agreement, to transition to low-carbon energy generation technologies by 2050. This puts South Africa at an energy crossroads where it needs well-thought-out policy development and implementation to make the transition possible. South Africa’s reliance on coal-fired power to supply about 72% of its energy needs is catching up with it as coal plants fail. But switching to renewable energy technologies…