South Africa

=== Energy ===
{{main|Energy in South Africa}}
{{See also|Eskom|List of power stations in South Africa}}
[[File:Koebergnps.jpg|thumb|The [[Koeberg Nuclear Power Station|Koeberg Power Station]], the only [[nuclear power plant]] on the entire African continent]]
South Africa has a very large energy sector and is currently the only country on the African continent that possesses a [[Koeberg Nuclear Power Station|nuclear power plant]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Koeberg Nuclear Power Station Refurbishment – NS Energy |url=https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/projects/koeberg-nuclear-power-station-refurbishment/ |access-date=2022-08-05 |language=en-US}}</ref> The country is the largest producer of electricity on the African continent and it ranks 21st globally.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Electricity – production – Country Comparison – TOP 100 |url=https://www.indexmundi.com/g/r.aspx?v=79&t=100 |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=www.indexmundi.com |language=en}}</ref> South Africa is the [[List of countries by coal production|7th largest coal producer]] in the world and produces in excess of 248 million [[tonne]]s of [[coal]] and consumes almost three-quarters of that domestically. Around 77% of South Africa's energy needs are directly derived from coal and 92% of coal consumed on the African continent is mined in South Africa. South Africa is also the world's 14th largest emitter of [[greenhouse gas]]es.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Prater |first=Tom |date=2018-10-15 |title=The Carbon Brief Profile: South Africa |url=https://www.carbonbrief.org/the-carbon-brief-profile-south-africa/ |access-date=2023-02-14 |website=Carbon Brief |language=en}}</ref>

The country's primary electricity generator is Eskom, the utility is the largest producer of electricity in [[Africa]], and is among the top seven utilities in the world in terms of generation capacity and among the top nine in terms of sales.<ref name=as>{{Cite web |first1=Antony |last1=Sguazzin |first2=Prinesha |last2=Naidoo |first3=Paul |last3=Burkhardt |title=Eskom turns 100 next year – here's how it went from world best to SA's biggest economic risk |url=https://www.news24.com/fin24/economy/eskom-turns-100-next-year-heres-how-it-went-from-world-best-to-sas-biggest-economic-risk-20220927 |access-date=2023-04-22 |website=Business |language=en-US}}</ref> It is the largest of [[State-owned enterprises of South Africa|South Africa's state owned enterprises]]. Eskom generates approximately 95% of electricity in South Africa and operates a number of notable [[power station]]s, including the [[Koeberg Nuclear Power Station]] in Cape Town, the only nuclear power plant in Africa, [[Kendal Power Station]], the largest dry-cooled power station in the world,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-11 |title=100 Years – Eskom Heritage |url=https://www.eskom.co.za/heritage/ |access-date=2023-04-22 |website=www.eskom.co.za |language=en-US}}</ref> as well as [[Duvha Power Station]] which became the first power station in the world to be retrofitted with [[Dust collector#Reverse jet|pulse jet fabric filter]] plants.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-02-16 |title=Coal fired power stations – Eskom |url=https://www.eskom.co.za/eskom-divisions/gx/coal-fired-power-stations/ |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=www.eskom.co.za |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2001 Eskom was named the best electricity utility in the entire world.<ref name=as />

==== Energy crisis ====
{{Main|South African energy crisis}}
[[File:Kusilekragsentrale, Mpumalanga, 2019, a.jpg|thumb|The [[Kusile Power Station]] was built as a response to the energy crisis. When fully operational it will be the 4th largest [[coal-fired power station]] in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Engineering News – Kusile power plant project, South Africa – update |url=https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/print-version/kusilepower-plant-project-south-africa-update-2023-02-24#:~:text=The%20Kusile%20power%20station%20project,power%20station%20in%20the%20world. |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=Engineering News |language=en}}</ref>]]Due to severe mismanagement and [[Corruption in South Africa|corruption]] at Eskom, the company is R392bn ($22bn) in debt and is unable to meet the demands of the South African power grid.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Problems at Eskom Identified as a Main Cause of SA's Energy Crisis |url=https://caes.ukzn.ac.za/news/problems-at-eskom-identified-as-a-main-cause-of-sas-energy-crisis/ |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science |language=en-ZA}}</ref> Due to this, Eskom implemented [[loadshedding]], which is periodically switching off electricity to specific power grids in specific time frames. In South Africa, load shedding is done to prevent a failure of the entire system when the demand for electricity strains the capacity of Eskom's power generating system. Load shedding is characterized by periods of widespread national-level rolling blackouts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How Eskom & The Government Can Put An End To Loadshedding in South Africa |url= https://www.greenpeace.org/africa/en/blogs/53187/how-the-government-eskom-can-put-an-end-to-load-shedding/ |access-date=2023-04-02 |website= Greenpeace Africa |language=en}}</ref> Eskom's latest energy availability factor (EAF) data reveals that mismanagement, corruption, poor maintenance, and sabotage caused power station breakdowns.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dailyinvestor.com/south-africa/14194/eskoms-coal-fired-power-station-breakdown-lie/|title=Eskom's coal-fired power station breakdown lie – Daily Investor}}</ref> In 2023 the [[South African National Defence Force|South African Military]] was deployed to protect Eskom's power stations from sabotage and theft.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Army guards four Eskom power stations |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-17/south-africa-deploys-army-at-four-eskom-power-stations |access-date=2023-04-02 |newspaper=Bloomberg |date=17 December 2022 |language=en-ZA}}</ref>

In 2007 Eskom started the construction of the "[[Kusile Power Station|Kusile]]" and "[[Medupi Power Station|Medupi]]" power stations, the two mega power stations will be the largest dry-cooled power stations in the world and among the largest power stations in the world scheduled for completion in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Davis |first=David |date=2021-08-17 |title=Explosion at Eskom's New Power Unit 'Medupi' May Push South Africa Blackouts to Record |url=https://auctusmetals.com/explosion-at-eskoms-new-power-unit-medupi-may-push-south-africa-blackouts-to-record/ |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=Auctus Metals: Expert Precious Metal Portfolio Management Services |language=en-US}}</ref> However, these power stations have never met their deadline date with only half of their six units completed and operational mainly caused by long delays and massive cost overruns exceeding more than R300 billion ($16bn) for the two power stations combined, and are only expected to be completed by 2024 or 2026.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-29 |title=Energy crisis: Another R33-billion needed to complete Medupi and Kusile |url=https://mg.co.za/news/2022-09-29-energy-crisis-another-r33-billion-needed-to-complete-medupi-and-kusile/ |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref>