Enhancing South Africa’s Just Energy Transition

The document examines the integration of Alternative Service Delivery (ASD) within South Africa's Just Energy Transition (JET) framework. It highlights how decentralised, community-led models can address infrastructure and financial barriers to energy, water, and sanitation access, particularly in coal-dependent regions like Mpumalanga. Using the Nomzamo Agri Village as a case study, the brief demonstrates that ASD promotes decarbonisation and economic empowerment by replacing hazardous energy sources with clean alternatives.

• South Africa's Just Energy Transition (JET) aims to decarbonise the energy sector while simultaneously addressing socio-economic issues including poverty, inequality, and unemployment.
• Implementation of the JET faces several critical barriers, specifically infrastructure limitations, financial constraints, community resistance, and gaps in the delivery of basic services.
• Alternative Service Delivery (ASD) is a community-centred model based on Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) that uses decentralisation and public-private partnerships to provide essential services where traditional government-led methods fail.
• ASD supports JET's decarbonisation goals by replacing hazardous energy sources—such as coal, paraffin, candles, and wood—with solar home systems in low-income communities, which reduces indoor air pollution and carbon emissions.
• The Nomzamo Agri Village project in Ermelo, Mpumalanga, serves as a replicable model for JET zones by providing solar home systems and streetlights, which improved energy access, reduced crime and fire hazards, and enabled local entrepreneurship.
• Mpumalanga is a critical focal point for the JET due to its heavy historical reliance on coal mining and power generation, making it a primary site for testing community-driven decarbonisation solutions.
• GreenCape’s Alternative Service Delivery Unit (ASDU) has implemented four projects involving solar-powered streetlights, home energy systems, and urban agriculture to drive economic growth and climate resilience.

APA

GreenCape (2025). Enhancing South Africa’s Just Energy Transition. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/JET-ASD-Industry-Brief_FINAL.pdf

Chicago

GreenCape. Enhancing South Africa’s Just Energy Transition. 2025. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/JET-ASD-Industry-Brief_FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=GreenCape |title=Enhancing South Africa’s Just Energy Transition |date=2025 |url=https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/JET-ASD-Industry-Brief_FINAL.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greencape2025enhancing, author = {{GreenCape}}, title = {{Enhancing South Africa’s Just Energy Transition}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2025}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/JET-ASD-Industry-Brief_FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }