As South Africa plans to cut its reliance on coal, it is backing green power production at the community level – but locals are seeking more employment and financial benefits
South Africa seen as poster child for ‘just transition’
Community trusts set up to channel energy profits to locals
Power cuts and low-skilled, short-term jobs fuel frustration
By Kim Harrisberg
DE AAR, South Africa, March 28 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The grassy greens and browns of South Africa’s semi-desert Karoo region are fast becoming dotted with flashes of silver and white, as solar and wind farms spring up across the vast, sun-soaked land in Northern Cape province.
But nearby communities – where unemployment and drug-use are a persistent problem – say that even as profits trickle into their towns, more…