The revolution is here

The renewable energy revolution, well underway around the globe for much of the past decade, seems to finally have reached South African shores. Around 270 companies have already put in bids for the first round of 3750 MW of renewable electricity generation, to be built between 2012 and 2017 - much of this from wind and solar. Makes Eskom's 100 MW wind farm in the Western Cape, which has also just received a French loan of almost R1 bn, look small. The solar water heater programme run by Eskom is now firmly supported by government, over 144000 units have been supported, the first target is 259000 units, going to around 450000 units by the end of 2012. Together, all of this is amounting to at least as much as one of the large new coal-fired power plants. Hopefully we'll soon be in a position to start talking about switching off the oldest and most inefficient power station in the country. After all, revolutions are about tearing down monuments that attest to the ugliness of the past! - and then building a better future. But I could live with a reverse order in this case.