Energy consumption in South Africa
The most important figure in the energy balance of South Africa is the total consumption of207.10 billion kWh
of electric energy per year. Per capita this is an average of 3,487 kWh.South Africa could be self-sufficient with domestically produced energy. The total production of all electric energy producing facilities is 235 bn kWh, which is 113 percent of the country's own usage. Despite this, South Africa trades energy with foreign countries. Along with pure consumption, the production, imports and exports play an important role. Other energy sources, such as natural gas or crude oil are also used.
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Energy Balance
| Electricity | total | South Africa per capita | USA per capita |
|---|---|---|---|
| Own consumption | 207.10 bn kWh | 3,486.99 kWh | 11,756.77 kWh |
| Production | 234.50 bn kWh | 3,948.33 kWh | 12,338.29 kWh |
| Import | 10.56 bn kWh | 177.80 kWh | 219.11 kWh |
| Export | 16.55 bn kWh | 278.66 kWh | 29.21 kWh |
84.4% of the country's population (as of 2020) has access to electricity.In rural areas, the share was 75.3% | |||
| Crude Oil | Barrel/day | South Africa per capita | USA per capita |
| Production | 1,600.00 bbl | 0.000 bbl | 0.033 bbl |
| Import | 404,000.00 bbl | 0.007 bbl | 0.024 bbl |
In 2018 there were still 15.00 m barrels of recoverable but not yet used crude oil reserves in the currently known deposits of South Africa. Worldwide, there are still proved oil reserves totaling around 1.6 tn billion barrels. South Africa therefore has a share of 0.001% and ranks 84th out of 98 countries with crude oil reserves. | |||
| Natural Gas | Cubic meters | South Africa per capita | USA per capita |
| Own consumption | 5.07 bn m³ | 85.35 m³ | 2,312.79 m³ |
| Production | 906.10 m m³ | 15.26 m³ | 2,328.46 m³ |
| Import | 4.16 bn m³ | 70.08 m³ | 259.57 m³ |
CO₂ emissions
| CO₂ emissions in 2019 | South Africa per capita | USA per capita | |
|---|---|---|---|
| total | 439.64 m t | 7.57 t | 14.67 t |
Development of CO₂ emissions from 1960 to 2019 in million tons
See also: CO₂ equivalents by country
Production capacities per energy source
The given production capacities for electric energy have a theoretical value, which can only be obtained under ideal conditions. They are measuring the generatable amount of energy, that would be reached under permanent and full use of all capacities of all power plants.In practice this isn't possible, because e.g. solar collectors are less efficient under clouds. Also wind- and water-power plants are not always operating under full load. All these values are only useful in relation to other energy sources or countries.
| Energy source | total in South Africa | Percentage in South Africa | Percentage USA | per capita in South Africa | per capita USA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fossil fuels | 372.45 bn kWh | 85,0 % | 70,0 % | 6,271.00 kWh | 20,083.19 kWh |
| Nuclear power | 17.53 bn kWh | 4,0 % | 9,0 % | 295.11 kWh | 2,582.12 kWh |
| Water power | 4.38 bn kWh | 1,0 % | 7,0 % | 73.78 kWh | 2,008.32 kWh |
| Renewable energy | 43.82 bn kWh | 10,0 % | 14,0 % | 737.76 kWh | 4,016.64 kWh |
| Total production capacity | 438.18 bn kWh | 100,0 % | 100,0 % | 7,377.65 kWh | 28,690.27 kWh |
| Actual total production | 234.50 bn kWh | 53.5 % | 43.0 % | 3,948.33 kWh | 12,338.29 kWh |
Usage of renewable energies
Renewable energy includes wind, solar, biomass and geothermal energy sources. This means all energy sources that renew themselves within a short time or are permanently available. Energy from hydropower is only partly a renewable energy. This is certainly the case with river or tidal power plants. Otherwise, numerous dams or reservoirs also produce mixed forms, e.g. by pumping water into their reservoirs at night and recovering energy from them during the day when there is an increased demand for electricity. Since it is not possible to clearly determine the amount of generated energy, all energy from hydropower is displayed separately.In 2019, renewable energy accounted for around 10.5 percent of actual total consumption in South Africa. The following chart shows the percentage share from 1990 to 2019:
Greenhouse gases emissions by country
Global warming by continents
List of the 36 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries