Biden Wants to Move Blackout-plagued South Africa Off Coal, Its Main Energy Source

President Joe Biden pledged Wednesday to move South Africa off coal, its main source of energy, toward green energy sources — despite the fact that the country lacks the power to keep its electricity on 24 hours per day.

Speaking to a gathering of African leaders in Washington, DC, Biden promised his administration’s joint efforts with Africa would include “$8 billion in public and private finance to help South Africa replace coal-fired power plants with renewable energy sources and develop cutting-edge energy solutions like clean hydrogen.”

South Africa is considered an ideal candidate for wind and solar power, but is having trouble keeping the lights on.

Currently, 77 percent of South Africa’s power supply — inadequate though it may be — is provided by coal. It has so much coal that the fossil fuel could provide for South Africa’s energy needs for an estimated 200 years.

As Breitbart News has reported, South Africa is suffering a series of planned blackouts, called “load-shedding,” because it lacks the capacity to generate enough electricity to keep the entire country online. The crisis is the result of a failure to build new power-generating facilities; an aggressive affirmative action policy that has seen white engineers leave the company; a “cadre deployment” policy that has allowed the ruling party to stack the company with its cronies; an increasingly corrupt business environment, in which contractors have fleeced the company while failing to provide adequate services; and a campaign of sabotage targeting power infrastructure.

On Wednesday — ironically, the same day Biden gave his remarks — the CEO of Eskom, South Africa’s state-owned power company, resigned after the energy minister accused him of trying to overthrow the government.

The frequent power outages represent a severe disruption to economic activity. They also destroy consumer electronics, including mobile phones, due to surges of electricity when the power is turned back on. And the darkened streets add to the sense of insecurity in a country that suffers from high rates of violent crime. The opposition-controlled City of Cape Town has moved toward using independent power generation companies.

However, the country’s options are limited: it signed the Paris Climate Accord, making it more difficult for South Africa to tap its abundant coal reserves. International investors are also reluctant to invest in coal.

Biden’s proposal to move South Africa off coal could exacerbate the country’s ongoing electricity crisis unless renewable energy sources can be developed rapidly and at a scale that would far exceed current power capacity.