From Promise to Paradox: Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Limits of South Africa’s Green Energy Transition

South Africa's transition to renewable energy, including green hydrogen, is viewed as a path toward sustainability and economic growth. Yet, it's hindered by persistent socio-economic inequalities, infrastructure limitations, and unevenly distributed benefits. Utilising an energy justice framework, I critique large-scale renewable energy projects, particularly in historically marginalised areas like the semi-arid region of South Africa. It argues that corporate-driven initiatives may worsen resource dispossession and exclusion rather than fostering equitable development. The research highlights the crucial need for South Africa to enhance institutional capacity, ensure meaningful community engagement, and enact policies that prioritise energy justice over a purely extractivist paradigm to achieve a truly fair and inclusive energy transition. Essentially, the findings emphasise the conflict between national goals and local realities, urging a more equitable, people-centred strategy.

Letture preparatorie/suggested readings:

• Borchardt, S. (2025). Extractive legacies, local struggles, and the pursuit of social justice: Green energy development in South Africa’s semi-arid Northern Cape. New Agenda: South African Journal of Social and Economic Policy, 98(1).
• Borchardt, S. (2024). Shedding light on energy poverty: Household energy challenges in De Aar, a renewable energy hub in the Northern Cape Karoo. Contested Karoo: Interdisciplinary perspectives on change and continuity in South Africa's drylands, Cape Town: UCT Press.