CRSES has been contracted by the Presidential Climate Commission, together with NEDLAC and the Danish Energy Agency, to provide comprehensive modelling services to answer key questions relating to the long-term planning and grid integration of renewable energy source in South Africa. The project addresses South Africa’s grid capacity challenges that limit the integration of large-scale renewable energy projects and will be done by developing advanced models which incorporate energy generation and demand together with transmission grid complexities and constraints. These models will guide infrastructure investments and policy decisions to support a sustainable and economically viable energy pathway for South Africa.

The project will produce three models that aid in decision making regarding the technical and economic impacts of different power generation mixes on grid expansion, as well as inform infrastructure investments and policy decision:

• Energy Systems Model (Including Capacity Expansion and Production Cost Model):

  Optimizes the selection and utilization of power generation technologies to meet electricity demand at the lowest cost.

• Geo-Spatial Renewable Energy Resource Model:

  Identifies optimal locations for new renewable projects based on resource mapping, grid integration, and socio-economic factors.

• Transmission Grid Simulation Models:

  Analyses both steady-state and dynamic grid performance to assess the technical feasibility of the proposed energy mixes.