Renewable Energy Toolkit

Land is a finite physical asset and cannot be reproduced. Without land the necessary development (economic, social, cultural, and environmental) for transforming South Africa’s spatial context cannot take place. Appropriate land use should enable citizens to access services, facilities, and employment and livelihood opportunities. Therefore, land restoration is vital to encourage:

• Sustainable land use, especially solutions which integrate impacted/degraded land into the development framework of local municipalities;
• Optimising existing land parcels to the economic benefit of communities and municipalities alike; and
• Allowing for innovative land use to maximise the co-benefits and the interrelated opportunities within the context of rehabilitation. Developing renewable energy facilities on impacted land can be a holistic solution for local communities.

Local communities and related social issues play critical roles in the discussion around post-mine life sustainability. This study acknowledged the valuable contribution that communities can make towards post-mine life sustainability through participation and ownership. Development projects within communities must bring release – not relief – from poverty. Community based renewable energy projects can address a number of integrated social challenges such as job creation and skills development. This toolkit offers guidance on how to align renewable energy projects within the context and development objectives of local communities.

The South African energy sector has historically been dominated by fossil fuels. This is not a sustainable trajectory.  Affordable energy services are critical to economic development within South Africa. Modern energy provision, mainly provided by liquid and gaseous fuels, as well as electricity, is essential for building enterprises and creating jobs. Increasing access to modern energy is a vital component in enhancing economic growth, along with the maximisation of natural resources to support innovative and emerging economic streams and to ensure sustained service provision. The shift to a low carbon economy necessitates a move to renewable energy consumption. This toolkit offers means to develop sustainable, long term renewable energy facilities that will benefit communities, whilst addressing rehabilitation of mine-impacted land.

One of the biggest challenges in modern-day mining is to find sustainable alternatives for both land and communities in the era after an ore deposit has been mined out.  Mining is generally not perceived to be sustainable as the nature of the business is based on the depletion of a finite resource.  This means that there is a limited amount of mineral resources in the ground, and once it is exhausted, the business comes to an end.  This toolkit can offer alternative post mine life economic and land use scenario that can provide sustainable economic activity for the communities in the vicinity of exhausted mines.  It also provides alternatives for the sustainable use of the land.

Community development is the process of increasing the strength and effectiveness of communities, improving people’s quality of life and enabling people to participate in decision making to achieve greater long-term control over their lives. Sustainable community development programs are those that contribute to the long-term strengthening of community viability. The essential element of a sustainable community development program is that it can survive without input from a mining and metals company, especially after the mining project is finished. Thus, community sustainability can be supported by mining practices that help convert one local asset, namely non-renewable natural resource capital, into other local assets, namely sustainable social, economic and environmental capital.