Bibliography: leaves 251-258. / The experiences with photovoltaic systems in developing areas in the Third World, generally, and in South Africa, in particular, are assessed with respect to technical and economic performance. Literature on international developments in photovoltaic technology and markets and on applications in the Third World is reviewed. The results of photovoltaic demonstration projects in South Africa are discussed and implications are drawn in terms of improved system design methodologies. The costs of local photovoltaic applications are compared with petrol and diesel generators. Finally, recommendations are made for further research in areas relevant to systems applications in South Africa.

Energy is the engine that drives most human activity and is it very important today in the context of global warming and the high cost of energy. Yet there is limited research focusing on children's energy use in developing countries, including the ways in which they use energy, save energy and the factors that influence such activities. This is a serious deficit in energy literature and problematic because in the near future, today's children will make decisions about energy systems and climate change. This study gained insight into the ways in which Grade 7 children in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, use and save energy, and the factors that influence their energy saving. The study adopted a case study design, and mixed-methods approaches were used, including surveys, energy diaries, an interview and a focus group. The results show that children in Khayelitsha demonstrated a broad understanding of the concept of energy including topics on the environment, basis of life and thermal energy. The children displayed understanding of broader socio-economic, environmental and health issues as they were cognisant of national and community issues, such as limited energy access and the dangers of indoor use of coal. They had lower scores on more abstract and technical topics such as energy transitions and differentiating between renewable and non-renewable sources on energy. 86% of the children in this study acknowledged the importance of saving energy, while more than 50% failed to recognise the importance of caring for the environment and moving away from fossil fuels. The study results show that children use multiple sources of energy at home and that the majority of their energy activities were performed at home, followed by school and church. The children reported several energy consumption activities including cooking for others, using the kettle for bathwater and ironing their clothes - findings contrary to activities reported by children in developed countries. For some of the children, the results suggest that energy use may be accompanied by guilt as children want to reduce financial pressures at home, a finding consistent with existing literature. Energy-saving activities included switching off and removing appliances from the wall plug. Children were found to be motivated to save energy by several factors, of which financial considerations were the most dominant. The children demonstrate altruistic tendencies, as motivation to save energy seems to be influenced by the desire to help their families and communities. The study further identified that parents, the community, the school, peers and the relationship between the school and government departments had either a direct or an indirect influence on children. Parents with a positive attitude towards energy saving and the environment were more likely to talk to their children about energy saving, which tended to focus on related financial issues. A conceptual framework is presented to analyse the data, which incorporates existing psychological and sociological frameworks and theories used to explain energy behaviour in addition to theories on child development.

Includes bibliographical references. / The assumption that ownership of private motor vehicles as a right is questioned. This thesis is based on the hypothesis that in fact in the case of South Africa this will have many detrimental effects if allowed to continue. It is argued that for sustainable growth, other more attractive options exist. Developments in more developed countries are examined in order to prove that similar conclusions have been reached. The problem investigated in this thesis is therefore the non-sustainability of the continued growth of the private car population in South African urban centres. A literature survey was conducted on what other countries did with their transport problems but the same problem as in South Africa has not been encountered anywhere else in the world. South Africa therefore has a unique situation, which needs to be resolved in a unique way. There is increasing awareness elsewhere in the world that the causes of most of the problems experienced in the transport sector are deficiencies in the efficient operation of markets. Environmental costs are neglected or underestimated in transport prices. As a result, the individual transport user receives distorted price signals. Failure to respect economic principles results in waste, characterised in the transport sector by high accident rates, health problems, negative environmental impacts, financial constraints in the public transport sector and an increase in congestion that persist because users perceive them only indirectly.

Bibliography: leaves 112-116. / This dissertation investigates barriers to entry into the downstream petroleum industry of South Africa. The study seeks to understand why there is insignificant entry into the downstream petroleum industry by Historically Disadvantaged South Africans (HSDA's), while the government has set itself an objective of achieving sustainable presence, control and ownership by HDSA's of approximately a quarter in all facets of the industry. The government has set this objective in order to address the past imbalances before the industry could be deregulated. In an endeavour to ascertain why this key policy objective was not achieved, the study investigated barriers to entry into the industry, and revealed a number of these impediments. There are three categories of these impediments or barriers to entry, namely, economic barriers to entry, non-economic barriers, and cross-sectoral barriers. These barriers contribute towards deterring entry by HDSA's and hold back the BOC's from increasing their market share in the downstream industry. In order to address some of these barriers a business model for economic empowerment has been developed, which seeks to assist in the achievement of the government's set key policy objective. The barriers to entry could be circumvented through this business model, with an aim of making entry into the industry easy for HDSA's. The model could create a business environment that will allow the BOC's to increase their market share in the downstream while at the same time alleviating the identified barriers to entry in order to achieve approximately twenty five percent sustainable presence, control and ownership of the industry by HDSA's. The model would also enable BOC's to capture five percent (5%) of the market share of the refiners in a sustainable way without significantly harming the established oil companies. The role of government in this regard would be limited to issuing a licence to the BOC's in order to acquire the 5% target at an Import Parity Price (IPP), which is far less than the Basic Fuel Price (BFP). The revenue loss of the refiners for their petrol and diesel would be 0.5% and 0.26% respectively.

In this study, a hybrid mini-grid system is designed to supply electricity to a rural village in Uganda. Renewable energy resources are identified, an estimation of the projected village short-term electricity demand is simulated, and using HOMER software, a hybrid mini-grid system is designed, components sized, and the system optimized in terms of cost, and efficient and reliable operation to meet the village demand.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 142-153). / Transfer of low carbon technologies to developing countries is one approach for tackling rising global emissions. An international technology transfer mechanism has been proposed under the UNFCCC; however, it remains unclear how this international mechanism would translate into local level technology implementation. This study uses biogas technology in South Africa to obtain empirical data inductively related to technology transfer. Observations and activities specific to the biogas sector in South Africa are put forward based on site visits and stakeholder discussions in South Africa, the UK, Germany and Sweden. This paper presents empirical findings on technology transfer in the biogas sector in South Africa and analyses the role of an international technology mechanism in supporting the uptake of biogas. Many of the barriers to biogas technology in South Africa are national level constraints such as lack of supportive policy environment, financial incentives and information sharing. This case study supports the argument that it will be unrealistic for international technology mechanisms to capture the necessary specificities of individual technologies at a country level. Therefore, as demonstrated through the example of biogas technology in South Africa, there is a need for both effective national and international engagement to support technology implementation.

Includes bibliographical references. / The combined effect of a number of factors has forced the Government of South Africa to launch and seek to expand the renewable energy sector through the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REI4P). Such elements include environmental issues, especially climate change; the need to diversify energy sources in order for the country to be energy secure; and the developmental potential that investment in a new industry, in this instance the renewable energy industry, can bring in terms of job creation, economic growth and the exploitation of abundant natural resources. In addition to the REI4P, the Government has also been compelled to seek to expand energy supply in the country, in general, due to the energy crisis, which in turn, is closely associated with a population that is growing at a pace that is much faster than the rate at which energy can be readily supplied. Community Equity Ownership (CEO) or local community ownership is a unique feature of the REI4P that has recently come under close scrutiny due to its requirement for project companies to offer a minimum of 2.5% to 5% shares of their companies to local communities residing within a 50km radius of their renewable energy plants, in an effort to contribute toward their socio-economic development; the challenges presented by community trusts; and the subsequent resistance towards the notion of local community ownership by REI4P project companies. It is the subject of this research because it is still a critical and integral component of the REI4P and challenges associated with its financing have, in the past, jeopardised the accomplishment of the very goals for which it was constituted. The value of Social License to Operate (SLO) is that it can lay the foundation for positive relations to prevail between communities and Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in the pursuit of a viable renewable energy industry and increased energy supply in South Africa. To this end, the study demonstrates that whilst CEO is obligated in the REI4P, it also constitutes SLO because if communities own shares in REI4P projects, they are more likely to cooperate with them. Thus, the CEO, Socio-Economic Development (SED) and Enterprise Development (ED) requirements of the REI4P essentially constitute the SLO ‘building blocks’ for the Programme. Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) have been at the forefront of funding local community ownership, although other financial institutions, including commercial banks xiv have started financing it as well, while requiring guarantees and security from communities, which can offer neither. The continued implementation of the REI4P, as well as the launch of the Baseload IPP Programme and the Medium Term Risk Mitigation Project, will ultimately increase the total number of IPP Programmes in the country and will likely intensify the demand for finances to fund CEO. In view of this, where will the funding for this key aspect of the current and proposed IPP Programmes come from? This study sought to identify alternative funding options for CEO in order to ensure its continuity in both the REI4P and the proposed IPP Programmes. An exploratory research design was pursued for the study in view of data limitations arising from the infancy of the renewable energy sector in South Africa. Moreover, a questionnaire survey was undertaken and a purposive sampling technique was used to interrogate a select group of financial institutions and REI4P Independent Power Producers (IPPs), with a view to determine what their experiences have been in relation to funding CEO, as well as to identify alternative funding options for it, going forward. In this regard, a sample size of 15 was taken out of a combined total of 72 financial institutions and IPPs. Thematic content analysis was subsequently performed to process the data. The main risk associated with financing CEO that was identified by stakeholders has to do with a lack of security in lending to disadvantaged communities because they often have no collateral and can offer no guarantees that demonstrate their capacity to repay debts. Furthermore, the establishment of a Grant Scheme for funding CEO, on the one hand, and a Guarantee and Incentive Programme, on the other, wherein Government stands in as guarantor for communities as they borrow funds to facilitate CEO; were found to be potentially instrumental in widening the pool of funding for CEO. Increased vendor support and more ‘preferential’ loan terms and ‘softer’ loans from DFIs were also identified as critical in the endeavour to increase the funding sources for CEO. Although the use of the Government Pension Fund to warehouse shares on behalf of communities and utilising communal land as equity both hold some promise; they require further research. It is, therefore, concluded that there is potential for alternative funding options for community equity ownership in the REI4P. The study also found that, based on the experiences of survey respondents, there are inadequate sources of finance for CEO, in light of the increasing pressure on available financial opportunities. To this end, the delineation between the xv potential for funding local community shareholding in REI4P projects and actual access to funding is fundamental.

Energy efficiency has been widely recognised as a powerful tool for improving the energy situation across the globe. Whether by increasing energy security, reducing carbon emissions or alleviating grid strain, proven methods of energyefficiency management can bring about significant savings at a multitude of levels. Although energy-efficiency practices are gaining traction globally, their uptake is still less than optimal, and this is especially true of South Africa. The country is currently facing an energy crisis that brings with it a variety of complex challenges, all which can be assuaged through energy efficiency, if applied to the energy-intensive economy. It is important to understand the South Africa-specific barriers that hinder implementation of energy efficiency. While government has made strong commitments to supporting the uptake of energy-efficiency initiatives, there have been several interruptions and a lack of execution. An abundant amount of topdown research has been conducted to identify the various barriers to implementation; far less research, however, identifies barriers from within these energy-intensive economies. If these barriers could be identified from a more qualitative and participant-centred perspective, the key role-players in the sector might be able to better address energy-efficiency implementation, leading to more widespread benefits and results. To this end, the researcher performed an explanatory investigation, analysing seven energy-intensive companies that had recently participated in a fully funded local incentive scheme called the Private Sector Energy Efficiency Programme (PSEE). The PSEE performed an energy audit on each company, followed up by a report on its findings. The report clearly outlined the company's key energy-savings opportunities, in kilowatt-hours (kWh), Rand and CO2 emissions. It also estimated the costs and payback periods of the projects. Despite these reports indicating significant savings potentials and reasonable payback periods, a lack of uptake still remained. The researcher extracted and analysed the relevant quantitative data from the PSEE reports and conducted one-on-one, semi-structured interviews with the participants to identify and understand the participant-specific barriers to the recommended energy-efficient measures. The researcher also interviewed three coordinators of the PSEE programme, in the hope of identifying any PSEEspecific barriers. The other main party involved in this research was PSEE energy-efficiency ESCO which has been given an alias name ESCO E, who delivered the reports to the participants. The research found that the barriers in place in South Africa resemble those that have been identified at the global level. However, the mixed-methods approach and data sample employed in this study create a very interesting picture about the barriers that exist at the company level. The research found that there were significant saving opportunities available to companies but that, mainly due to a lack of financial support, human-resource capacity and time, there has been little to no implementation of the recommended projects. The available literature and provided global experience, coupled with participants' responses and suggestions, allow the researcher to make relevant recommendations that pertain to the study: • Lower payback periods through further incentives • Accessible funding and subsidies • Ensured continuation, longevity and growth of incentive programmes • Client-specific cost alternatives • Extensive and supported detail around each recommendation • Human resource capacity support to ensure energy management • Required energy seminars and skills training to programme participants • Increased government support and energy efficiency resources; namely an Energy Hub, which will provide a stable platform for energy efficiency • Participant-specific report alignment to encourage uptake and increased trust between incentive host and participant • More stringent government regulated technological standards.

Through various policy mechanisms deployed in the last seven years, the South African government has pursued the localization of renewable energy manufacturing. These efforts are related to the Department of Trade and Industry's broader goals to industrialize the South African economy by increasing the range and value-add of domestically manufactured products. This thesis uses global value chain analysis to determine what ways local wind and solar manufacturing firms relate to this goal by pursuing innovation, upgrading, workforce development, and regional market penetration strategies. The author uses the theoretical framework of Vertically Specialized Industrialization (VSI) as outlined by Milberg, Jiang, and Gereffi as the basis for assessing firm-level governance strategies. The research was performed through semi-structured telephonic interviews with senior level staff at renewable energy firms and non-governmental organizations, as well as a review of public reports. The findings revealed that wind and solar firms are not significantly pursuing upgrading or innovation strategies as associated with VSI. This is likely the result of insufficient market demand and policy incentives, as well as competition from countries with comparative advantage.

Bibliography: leaves 355-379. / Recognition since the 1970s of the adverse consequences in developing countries of deforestation on the livelihood of farmers and the poorer segments of urban households, and on the environment, has led to extensive investments in energy research and household energy projects. Poor performance and failures of woodfuel projects and other policy interventions have led to a radical reconsideration and criticism of the woodfuel scarcity paradigm and associated methodologies and assumptions. Recent research has been focussing on developing a new methodological framework for integrated fuelwood and household energy policies. Against this background, the main objective of this research consists in exploring and evaluating concepts and hypotheses which may be used for developing an effective analytical planning and policy framework for household energy policy. Empirical research has been conducted by the author over several years in Malawi. At the macro level, the often poorly-understood and contentious relationship between population growth, land tenure and land-use changes, fuelwood use and deforestation is examined. Another major methodological theme in household energy policy formation is the conceptualization of farm household decision behaviour and their responses to fuelwood pressures. Relationships between fuelwood and agricultural policies are examined. A range of rural and urban policy interventions are studied in depth. The empirical evidence from Malawi shows that there is no universal set of policy prescriptions which neatly apply to all household energy issues in developing countries. Nevertheless, the complexity of the interlinkages between factors impacting on household energy production, distribution and use points to the need for a coherent conceptual framework. Integrated Household Energy Planning provides this, not in a simple step-by-step set of procedures, but rather in terms of an approach which is sensitive to the range of factors which need to be analyzed and understood before policies are formulated and implemented.