South Africa has earned a reputation for having an old, backward, and unreliable electricity system more dependent on coal than any other country with a similarly sized economy. With an aging fleet of coal-fired power plants owned by a century-old utility that has actively resisted the energy transition, its grid is ripe for modernization.
South Africa is also blessed with largely untapped wind, water, and solar resources that could meet all of the country&#8217;s energy needs several times over. Few countries better exemplify both the challenge and opportunity in the energy transition.
That transition is now under way, both through deliberate official reforms and through an uncontrolled explosion of solar and batteries that customers are installing on their homes and businesses. Over seven gigawatts of behind-the-meter solar and storage now operate in a country whose grid demand rarely exceeds 30 gigawatts, all deployed with zero subsidies.
To explore this story, Chris traveled to South Africa in September 2025 for a six-week research trip. He recorded numerous interviews with people closely involved in the country&#8217;s energy transition, which we are featuring in a new miniseries.
We begin with Anton Eberhard, Professor Emeritus at the University of Cape Town&#8217;s Graduate School of Business. For more than 35 years, Anton has worked to modernize and liberalize South Africa&#8217;s power sector in pursuit of a more equitable, just, and clean energy system. His commitment to justice runs deep: in 1977, he became one of the first white South Africans imprisoned for refusing conscription into the apartheid military. After his release, he pursued a PhD in solar energy around 1980, doing fieldwork in remote Lesotho villages long before renewables were economically viable.
In this conversation, Anton recounts the evolution of South Africa&#8217;s power sector alongside his own personal history. He explains why Eskom, once named the best utility in the world, saw its energy availability factor plummet from over 90% to as low as 40% at the height of the country&#8217;s power crisis. He describes the political economy keeping coal interests entrenched, his role in the groundbreaking 1998 white paper whose proposed reforms are only now, 27 years later, being implemented, and why structural changes remain critical for accelerating the energy transition. This will give you the essential context for the rest of our South Africa miniseries, and contains many universal insights that may be useful to understanding the energy transition wherever you live.

<description>A history of South Africa’s energy transition in the power sector kicks off a new Energy Transition Show miniseries on the African country.</description>

A history of South Africa’s energy transition in the power sector kicks off a new Energy Transition Show miniseries on the African country.

South Africa has earned a reputation for having an old, backward, and unreliable electricity system more dependent on coal than any other country with a similarly sized economy. With an aging fleet of coal-fired power plants owned by a century-old utility that has actively resisted the energy transition, its grid is ripe for modernization. 
 
South Africa is also blessed with largely untapped wind, water, and solar resources that could meet all of the country's energy needs several times over. Few countries better exemplify both the challenge and opportunity in the energy transition. 
 
That transition is now under way, both through deliberate official reforms and through an uncontrolled explosion of solar and batteries that customers are installing on their homes and businesses. Over seven gigawatts of behind-the-meter solar and storage now operate in a country whose grid demand rarely exceeds 30 gigawatts, all deployed with zero subsidies. 
 
To explore this story, Chris traveled to South Africa in September 2025 for a six-week research trip. He recorded numerous interviews with people closely involved in the country's energy transition, which we are featuring in a new miniseries. 
 
We begin with Anton Eberhard, Professor Emeritus at the University of Cape Town's Graduate School of Business. For more than 35 years, Anton has worked to modernize and liberalize South Africa's power sector in pursuit of a more equitable, just, and clean energy system. His commitment to justice runs deep: in 1977, he became one of the first white South Africans imprisoned for refusing conscription into the apartheid military. After his release, he pursued a PhD in solar energy around 1980, doing fieldwork in remote Lesotho villages long before renewables were economically viable. 
 
In this conversation, Anton recounts the evolution of South Africa's power sector alongside his own personal history. He explains why Eskom, once named the best utility in the world, saw its energy availability factor plummet from over 90% to as low as 40% at the height of the country's power crisis. He describes the political economy keeping coal interests entrenched, his role in the groundbreaking 1998 white paper whose proposed reforms are only now, 27 years later, being implemented, and why structural changes remain critical for accelerating the energy transition. This will give you the essential context for the rest of our South Africa miniseries, and contains many universal insights that may be useful to understanding the energy transition wherever you live.

[Episode #264] – History of the Transition in South Africa

What is the role of distribution utilities in the energy transition?
Consider this paradox: Marc England, CEO of Australian distribution utility Ausgrid, has two batteries at his home but no solar panels. Instead, he buys grid power at 5 cents per kilowatt-hour during midday solar surplus, stores it, and then sells it back to the grid when prices are high, sometimes making $100 profit in a single day. Similarly, over 100,000 customers in Australia have installed batteries in their homes under a federal incentive program in just the past three months. But commercial players aren&#8217;t building battery arrays on his network, despite slashing connection charges. And every time he flies into Sydney, he sees miles of empty warehouse rooftops that could host far more solar capacity if tariffs and other regulatory structures were reformed.
These market dislocations are part of an ongoing debate about who should build and own distributed energy assets (DERs). Should distribution utilities do it in order to maximize their integration? Or should they primarily provide a platform for consumer-owned DERs to connect and transact on an equal footing with utility-scale systems? Is it more practical and cost-effective for distribution utilities to build assets like battery storage systems and public EV chargers, especially where private-sector companies are not, or would it be cheaper and faster to maximize customer investment and rebuild the grid from the bottom-up?
For this conversation, Chris traveled to Sydney, Australia to debate these questions with Marc England in person. As Chris discussed with grid expert Lorenzo Kristov in <a href="https://energytransition.show/205">Episode #205</a> and our <a href="https://energytransition.show/Australia2024">Australia 2024 miniseries</a>, there&#8217;s no perfect answer, but these market structure questions will partly determine the speed of our response to climate change.

<description>What is the role of distribution utilities in the energy transition?</description>

What is the role of distribution utilities in the energy transition?

What is the role of distribution utilities in the energy transition? 
 
Consider this paradox: Marc England, CEO of Australian distribution utility Ausgrid, has two batteries at his home but no solar panels. Instead, he buys grid power at 5 cents per kilowatt-hour during midday solar surplus, stores it, and then sells it back to the grid when prices are high, sometimes making $100 profit in a single day. Similarly, over 100,000 customers in Australia have installed batteries in their homes under a federal incentive program in just the past three months. But commercial players aren't building battery arrays on his network, despite slashing connection charges. And every time he flies into Sydney, he sees miles of empty warehouse rooftops that could host far more solar capacity if tariffs and other regulatory structures were reformed. 
 
These market dislocations are part of an ongoing debate about who should build and own distributed energy assets (DERs). Should distribution utilities do it in order to maximize their integration? Or should they primarily provide a platform for consumer-owned DERs to connect and transact on an equal footing with utility-scale systems? Is it more practical and cost-effective for distribution utilities to build assets like battery storage systems and public EV chargers, especially where private-sector companies are not, or would it be cheaper and faster to maximize customer investment and rebuild the grid from the bottom-up? 
 
For this conversation, Chris traveled to Sydney, Australia to debate these questions with Marc England in person. As Chris discussed with grid expert Lorenzo Kristov in <a href="https://energytransition.show/205">Episode #205</a> and our <a href="https://energytransition.show/Australia2024">Australia 2024 miniseries</a>, there's no perfect answer, but these market structure questions will partly determine the speed of our response to climate change.

[Episode #263] – The Role of Distribution Utilities

Successful energy transition projects are not one-size-fits-all. They are attuned to the local needs of their communities, and allow community priorities to shape resilience, affordability, and equity outcomes.
In today&#8217;s conversation, Nadia Ahmad, Professor of Law at Barry University in Florida, shares findings from a three-year study of clean energy transitions in Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania. Based on more than 100 stakeholder interviews, the research exposes a troubling paradox. Florida suffers from frequent hurricanes, tropical storms, and flash floods, but a utility structure dominated by investor-owned companies actively prevents the community microgrids that would build resilience.
Ahmad explains how legal, policy, and regulatory frameworks at county, municipal, state, and federal levels can support community-driven clean energy transitions. She shares important insights on designing approaches to accelerate the energy transition where you live, including the seven legal elements her team identified for successful projects and the pitfalls to avoid. For instance, Florida&#8217;s challenges contrast with Germany&#8217;s success, where nearly half of renewable energy capacity became citizen-owned by the 2010s.

<description>What are the key elements to a successful energy transition project where you live?</description>

What are the key elements to a successful energy transition project where you live?

Successful energy transition projects are not one-size-fits-all. They are attuned to the local needs of their communities, and allow community priorities to shape resilience, affordability, and equity outcomes. 
 
In today's conversation, Nadia Ahmad, Professor of Law at Barry University in Florida, shares findings from a three-year study of clean energy transitions in Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania. Based on more than 100 stakeholder interviews, the research exposes a troubling paradox. Florida suffers from frequent hurricanes, tropical storms, and flash floods, but a utility structure dominated by investor-owned companies actively prevents the community microgrids that would build resilience. 
 
Ahmad explains how legal, policy, and regulatory frameworks at county, municipal, state, and federal levels can support community-driven clean energy transitions. She shares important insights on designing approaches to accelerate the energy transition where you live, including the seven legal elements her team identified for successful projects and the pitfalls to avoid. For instance, Florida's challenges contrast with Germany's success, where nearly half of renewable energy capacity became citizen-owned by the 2010s.

[Episode #262] – All Transitions are Local

Recent headlines may create the impression that the energy transition is slowing down, struggling against headwinds, and failing to make the requisite progress against our climate targets.
But the reality is that there is enormous progress being made against the climate change challenge, especially if you step back a bit from the daily news flow and consider the trends. There is plenty of evidence that we are in fact making a good deal of progress, and that the energy transition is accelerating, not slowing down. In fact, 2025 may be the year that global emissions peak and go into decline.
In his new book, The Case Against Climate Doom — An Economist&#8217;s Guide to Climate Optimism, economist Michael Jakob reveals why the &#8220;we&#8217;re too late&#8221; narrative isn&#8217;t just wrong, but one that fossil fuel interests use to delay climate action. Building on his degrees in physics, economics, and international relations, Michael explores how climate change mitigation, adaptation technologies and policies are spreading across the world.
The evidence is striking: Solar costs have dropped 90% in 20 years, wind 80%, batteries 97%. Norway hit 97% EV market share without banning gas cars, simply by making electric vehicles irresistible. Climate litigation is winning unprecedented cases, with Swiss seniors successfully arguing that government inaction violates human rights. Over 5,000 climate policies now exist worldwide, up from under 100 in 2005.
In today&#8217;s conversation, we explore five examples from each dimension the book covers: social progress, political change, and technological advances. From the collapse of carbon lock-in, to why even Texas became a green energy powerhouse, this interview offers clear evidence showing why the transition is continuing to accelerate, not stall.

<description>We review some examples of social, political, and technological approaches to climate change mitigation that should give us reason to be optimistic.</description>

We review some examples of social, political, and technological approaches to climate change mitigation that should give us reason to be optimistic.

Recent headlines may create the impression that the energy transition is slowing down, struggling against headwinds, and failing to make the requisite progress against our climate targets. 
 
But the reality is that there is enormous progress being made against the climate change challenge, especially if you step back a bit from the daily news flow and consider the trends. There is plenty of evidence that we are in fact making a good deal of progress, and that the energy transition is accelerating, not slowing down. In fact, 2025 may be the year that global emissions peak and go into decline. 
 
In his new book, The Case Against Climate Doom — An Economist's Guide to Climate Optimism, economist Michael Jakob reveals why the "we're too late" narrative isn't just wrong, but one that fossil fuel interests use to delay climate action. Building on his degrees in physics, economics, and international relations, Michael explores how climate change mitigation, adaptation technologies and policies are spreading across the world. 
 
The evidence is striking: Solar costs have dropped 90% in 20 years, wind 80%, batteries 97%. Norway hit 97% EV market share without banning gas cars, simply by making electric vehicles irresistible. Climate litigation is winning unprecedented cases, with Swiss seniors successfully arguing that government inaction violates human rights. Over 5,000 climate policies now exist worldwide, up from under 100 in 2005. 
 
In today's conversation, we explore five examples from each dimension the book covers: social progress, political change, and technological advances. From the collapse of carbon lock-in, to why even Texas became a green energy powerhouse, this interview offers clear evidence showing why the transition is continuing to accelerate, not stall.

[Episode #261] – The Case Against Climate Doom

Over the past decade, China has transformed from a heavily coal-fired country to the undisputed global leader in the energy transition. The pace keeps accelerating: In April 2025 alone, China installed more solar than Australia has in its entire history. By 2030, as little as one-seventh of China&#8217;s projected spare solar manufacturing capacity could electrify everyone without power in 88 low-income countries.
Yet, this progress has not been recognized by much of the West, which still fixates on headlines about &#8220;building three coal plants a week&#8221; while missing that China is getting far ahead of US decarbonization efforts. China&#8217;s vast exports of energy transition solutions are rapidly decarbonizing other emerging economies, while the nation&#8217;s share of global clean energy patents jumped from 5% in 2000 to 75% today. Chinese companies now spend ten times more on electricity R&#038;D than US companies and match the combined energy R&#038;D spending of the US and EU together. The innovation advantage has flipped.
To understand China&#8217;s oversized role in the energy transition, Muyi Yang and Sam Butler-Sloss of Ember join us to break down their report China Energy Transition Review 2025. We&#8217;ll review how China is routinely beating its own transition targets by three to six years. We&#8217;ll hear how Chinese firms have announced over $200 billion in overseas clean tech manufacturing investments, surpassing the scale of US investment abroad under the Marshall Plan. Solar, batteries, and EVs are growing three times faster than China&#8217;s overall economy, hitting nearly 10% of GDP. Chinese solar exports to Namibia, Cambodia, and similar countries now exceed the entire centralized power generation capacity of those countries.
The result: what took decades with old energy is happening in years with solar. China&#8217;s enormous commitment to the energy transition is a strategic path to economic growth and economic and political power, and it heralds the end of fossil fuel&#8217;s dominance of the global energy system by 2030.

<description>China has far surpassed the West to become the undisputed global leader in the energy transition.</description>

China has far surpassed the West to become the undisputed global leader in the energy transition.

Over the past decade, China has transformed from a heavily coal-fired country to the undisputed global leader in the energy transition. The pace keeps accelerating: In April 2025 alone, China installed more solar than Australia has in its entire history. By 2030, as little as one-seventh of China's projected spare solar manufacturing capacity could electrify everyone without power in 88 low-income countries. 
 
Yet, this progress has not been recognized by much of the West, which still fixates on headlines about "building three coal plants a week" while missing that China is getting far ahead of US decarbonization efforts. China's vast exports of energy transition solutions are rapidly decarbonizing other emerging economies, while the nation's share of global clean energy patents jumped from 5% in 2000 to 75% today. Chinese companies now spend ten times more on electricity R&D than US companies and match the combined energy R&D spending of the US and EU together. The innovation advantage has flipped. 
 
To understand China's oversized role in the energy transition, Muyi Yang and Sam Butler-Sloss of Ember join us to break down their report China Energy Transition Review 2025. We'll review how China is routinely beating its own transition targets by three to six years. We'll hear how Chinese firms have announced over $200 billion in overseas clean tech manufacturing investments, surpassing the scale of US investment abroad under the Marshall Plan. Solar, batteries, and EVs are growing three times faster than China's overall economy, hitting nearly 10% of GDP. Chinese solar exports to Namibia, Cambodia, and similar countries now exceed the entire centralized power generation capacity of those countries. 
 
The result: what took decades with old energy is happening in years with solar. China's enormous commitment to the energy transition is a strategic path to economic growth and economic and political power, and it heralds the end of fossil fuel's dominance of the global energy system by 2030.

[Episode #260] – China Energy Transition Review 2025

Straight talk about the world’s transition from fossil fuels to renewables with energy expert Chris Nelder

The Energy Transition Show with Chris Nelder

Details

Recent Episodes