Darkening nights and rooftop solar adoption under South Africa’s electricity crisis: geographies of the energy apartheid
Solar energy is the fastest-growing renewable electricity source globally. Under the guise of the green transition, solar energy is portrayed by energy optimists as sustainable despite its negative environmental and social externalities. The justice and equity dynamics of solar energy adoption have...
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research: Energy |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/2753-3751/adcb4a |
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| author | Zander S Venter Shylet Chivanga Megan Davies Priscilla Monyai Samantha L Scott |
| author_facet | Zander S Venter Shylet Chivanga Megan Davies Priscilla Monyai Samantha L Scott |
| author_sort | Zander S Venter |
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| description | Solar energy is the fastest-growing renewable electricity source globally. Under the guise of the green transition, solar energy is portrayed by energy optimists as sustainable despite its negative environmental and social externalities. The justice and equity dynamics of solar energy adoption have not been adequately explored in the Global South, where there are fewer incentives to transition away from carbon-based energy. South Africa poses a unique exception where, under a national energy crisis, load shedding (i.e. rolling electricity outages) has led to an exponential increase in household solar adoption. In order to quantify energy justice dynamics, we manually mapped solar installations for a representative sample of 300 urban census tracts across South Africa. We found that while solar adoption increased at a rate of 140% per year between 2016 and 2023, it was unevenly distributed over socio-economic geographies, particularly when comparing white and previously disadvantaged population groups (Black African, Colored, and Indian). Household solar adoption was close to zero in census tracts with income levels just above or below the poverty line, whereas high-income tracts installed nearly 2 panels per household, on average. Similarly, solar adoption is 73 times higher in majority white census tracts compared to those with majority previously disadvantaged racial groups (average of 3.5 m ^2 vs 0.048 m ^2 panel area per person). Using satellites that measure nighttime light radiance, we found that solar panel adoption is associated with less severe nighttime light declines, suggesting solar increases household resilience to load shedding. Census tracts with majority Black African residents show declines in nighttime light that are twice as large as those in majority White tracts, thereby mirroring the solar adoption pattern. Our findings illustrate the extremes of energy injustice in the Global South where existing social asymmetries are perpetuated and amplified in the green energy transition. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e7864817f73344da91e9fd7e90d4b904 |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | Environmental Research: Energy |
| spelling | doaj-art-e7864817f73344da91e9fd7e90d4b9042025-08-20T02:14:43ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research: Energy2753-37512025-01-012202500610.1088/2753-3751/adcb4aDarkening nights and rooftop solar adoption under South Africa’s electricity crisis: geographies of the energy apartheidZander S Venter0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2638-7162Shylet Chivanga1Megan Davies2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5911-5801Priscilla Monyai3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0139-0939Samantha L Scott4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0547-286XNorwegian Institute for Nature Research—NINA , Sognsveien 68, 0855 Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Development Studies, University of Fort Hare , P/Bag X1314, Alice 5700, South AfricaCentre for Sustainability Transitions, Stellenbosch University , 19 Jonkershoek Road, Stellenbosch 7600, South AfricaDepartment of Development Studies, University of Fort Hare , P/Bag X1314, Alice 5700, South AfricaNorwegian Institute for Nature Research—NINA , Sognsveien 68, 0855 Oslo, NorwaySolar energy is the fastest-growing renewable electricity source globally. Under the guise of the green transition, solar energy is portrayed by energy optimists as sustainable despite its negative environmental and social externalities. The justice and equity dynamics of solar energy adoption have not been adequately explored in the Global South, where there are fewer incentives to transition away from carbon-based energy. South Africa poses a unique exception where, under a national energy crisis, load shedding (i.e. rolling electricity outages) has led to an exponential increase in household solar adoption. In order to quantify energy justice dynamics, we manually mapped solar installations for a representative sample of 300 urban census tracts across South Africa. We found that while solar adoption increased at a rate of 140% per year between 2016 and 2023, it was unevenly distributed over socio-economic geographies, particularly when comparing white and previously disadvantaged population groups (Black African, Colored, and Indian). Household solar adoption was close to zero in census tracts with income levels just above or below the poverty line, whereas high-income tracts installed nearly 2 panels per household, on average. Similarly, solar adoption is 73 times higher in majority white census tracts compared to those with majority previously disadvantaged racial groups (average of 3.5 m ^2 vs 0.048 m ^2 panel area per person). Using satellites that measure nighttime light radiance, we found that solar panel adoption is associated with less severe nighttime light declines, suggesting solar increases household resilience to load shedding. Census tracts with majority Black African residents show declines in nighttime light that are twice as large as those in majority White tracts, thereby mirroring the solar adoption pattern. Our findings illustrate the extremes of energy injustice in the Global South where existing social asymmetries are perpetuated and amplified in the green energy transition.https://doi.org/10.1088/2753-3751/adcb4arenewable energysustainability transitionsocio-economicenergy accessenergy justice |
| spellingShingle | Zander S Venter Shylet Chivanga Megan Davies Priscilla Monyai Samantha L Scott Darkening nights and rooftop solar adoption under South Africa’s electricity crisis: geographies of the energy apartheid Environmental Research: Energy renewable energy sustainability transition socio-economic energy access energy justice |
| title | Darkening nights and rooftop solar adoption under South Africa’s electricity crisis: geographies of the energy apartheid |
| title_full | Darkening nights and rooftop solar adoption under South Africa’s electricity crisis: geographies of the energy apartheid |
| title_fullStr | Darkening nights and rooftop solar adoption under South Africa’s electricity crisis: geographies of the energy apartheid |
| title_full_unstemmed | Darkening nights and rooftop solar adoption under South Africa’s electricity crisis: geographies of the energy apartheid |
| title_short | Darkening nights and rooftop solar adoption under South Africa’s electricity crisis: geographies of the energy apartheid |
| title_sort | darkening nights and rooftop solar adoption under south africa s electricity crisis geographies of the energy apartheid |
| topic | renewable energy sustainability transition socio-economic energy access energy justice |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/2753-3751/adcb4a |
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