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South Africa is overlooking solar technology that can keep generating electricity after sunset

The Conversation · 🇦🇺 public Australia · · 1184 words · By Craig McGregor
Renewable Energy Policy Economic Industrialization Energy Transition
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What to know about Renewable Energy Policy

The author, a professor at Stellenbosch University, argues that South Africa should prioritize concentrating solar power (CSP) over photovoltaic solar and nuclear energy in its national energy plan. He contends that CSP is more cost-effective when accounting for energy storage and offers greater opportunities for local industrial manufacturing.

Propaganda risk 20%
Claims checked 13
Techniques found 2
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center100%
Right0%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

South Africa’s coal-fired power stations are retiring.

Why it matters

The country must replace a huge amount of electricity over the next two decades.

Common ground

Currently, coal still supplies 74% of the country’s power.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Oversimplification: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

The author, a professor at Stellenbosch University, argues that South Africa should prioritize concentrating solar power (CSP) over photovoltaic solar and nuclear energy in its national energy plan. He contends that CSP is more cost-effective when accounting for energy storage and offers greater opportunities for local industrial manufacturing.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/south-africa-is-overlooking-solar-technology-that-ca…

analyticsAnalysis

20%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Minor concerns. Some persuasive language detected, but largely factual.

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Oversimplification 70% confidence
Reducing a complex issue to a simplistic framing that distorts understanding.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing oversimplification helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 13 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 6
schedule Pending 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
verified Verified By Reference 2
help
Claim 1: “Modern plants can store enough heat to keep generating electricity for 12 to 20 hours.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided for this claim.
info
Claim 2: “Because of its dry climate, clear skies and low cloud cover, South Africa has some of the best direct normal irradiance in the world, second only to Chile’s Atacama Desert.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific claim that South Africa is 'second only to Chile's Atacama Desert' in direct normal irradiance is only found in one source. While other sources confirm the Atacama has the highest radiation, they do not rank South Africa as second.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Atacama Desert (Spanish: Desierto de Atacama [ataˈkama]) is a desert plateau on the Pacific coast of South America, stretching along a 1,600-kilometre-long (1,000-mile) strip of land in northern C…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atacama_Desert
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Copiapó (Spanish pronunciation: [kopjaˈpo]) is a city and commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal town of Caldera. Founded on 8 December 1744, it is the capital of C…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copiapó
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A desert bloom is a climatic phenomenon that occurs in various deserts around the world. The phenomenon consists of the blossoming of a wide variety of flowers during early-mid spring in years when ra…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_bloom
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 3: “The government’s energy plan also favours nuclear power, which costs US$140/MWh (R2,312) and is about to invest R2.2 trillion (US$128 billion) in this.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific figures for nuclear power costs (US$140/MWh) and the investment amount (R2.2 trillion) are only found in one source.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The government’s energy plan also favours nuclear power, which costs US$140/MWh (R2,312) and is about to invest R2.2 trillion (US$128 billion) in this.
https://theconversation.com/south-africa-is-overlooking-sola…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Nuclear power accounts for about 10% of global electricity generation today, and has "significant potential" to contribute to decarbonization in some countries, including those in the G7 and China, th…
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/10/google-joins-big-tec…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Discover the South Africa Yearbook 2024/25 The South Africa Yearbook provides a… Visit GoZA TV for South African Government digital content.
https://www.gov.za/
info
Claim 4: “ordinary solar looks much cheaper, costing about US$35 (R576) per megawatt-hour.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The cost of US$35 per megawatt-hour for ordinary solar is mentioned in one specific source, but not corroborated by other independent energy cost reports in the provided evidence.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Apartheid ( ə-PART-(h)yte, especially South African English: ə-PART-(h)ayt, Afrikaans: [aˈpart(ɦ)əit] ; transl. "separateness", lit. 'aparthood') was a system of institutionalised racial segregation …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States and South Africa currently maintain strong bilateral relations with one another. The United States and South Africa have been economically linked to one another since the late 18th c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa–United_States_rel…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — White South Africans are South Africans of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of the Dutch East India C…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_South_Africans
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 5: “concentrating solar power, which stores heat during the day and uses it to generate electricity after dark, costs about US$95 (R1,565) per megawatt-hour.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The cost of US$95 per megawatt-hour for concentrating solar power is only mentioned in one source.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Concentrated solar power (CSP), also called concentrating solar power or concentrated solar thermal, involves systems that collect solar heat for multiple purposes like cooking, desalination, or the g…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentrated_solar_power
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — By comparison, concentrating solar power, which stores heat during the day and uses it to generate electricity after dark, costs about US$95 (R1,565) per megawatt-hour.
https://theconversation.com/south-africa-is-overlooking-sola…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Ultimately, though, concentrated solar power plants must compete on price with photovoltaic power plants that convert sunlight directly into electricity, using solar cells. The price of photovoltaic p…
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-concentrating…
verified
Claim 6: “These [existing concentrating solar power plants] generate about 600 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power roughly 350,000 to 400,000 average three-bedroom homes each year.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence discusses CSP in South Africa generally, but does not mention the specific figure of 600 megawatts or the number of homes powered.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — South Africa has a developing economy considered upper-middle income. It has the largest economy in Africa as of 2026. It is also the continent's most industrialised, diversified and technologically a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_South_Africa
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel) is an ongoing case that was brought before the International Cour…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa's_genocide_case_a…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The South African Railways Class 35-600 of 1976 is a branch line diesel-electric locomotive. Between September 1976 and June 1978, the South African Railways placed one hundred Class 35-600 General Mo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Class_35-600
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 7: “Up to 60% of the components needed for a concentrating solar plant could be bought from local South African factories.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 8: “Currently, coal still supplies 74% of the country’s power.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence mentions that South Africa consumes almost three-quarters of its coal domestically (as of 2011), but it does not provide a current percentage of total power supply specifically for coal.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — As of 2011, South Africa produces in excess of 255 million tonnes of coal and consumes almost three-quarters of that domestically. As of 2018, South Africa was the seventh largest producer and consume…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_in_South_Africa
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mining in South Africa was once the main driving force behind the history and development of Africa's most advanced and richest economy. Large-scale and profitable mining started with the discovery of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mining_industry_of_South_Afric…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. The country consists of nine provinces, and is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 miles…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 9: “During the day, mirrors concentrate sunlight to heat molten salt to about 565°C.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided for this claim.
schedule
Claim 10: “the modelling we do at the Stellenbosch University’s Solar Thermal Energy Research Group suggests that South Africa’s electricity grid has room for 6 to 10 gigawatts of concentrating solar power.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 11: “adding batteries to store enough electricity to cover a full night raises the cost to about US$166 (R2,735) per megawatt-hour.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific cost increase to US$166 per megawatt-hour for battery storage is only mentioned in one source.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — On paper, ordinary solar looks much cheaper, costing about US$35 (R576) per megawatt-hour. But solar panels don’t generate electricity at night and adding batteries to store enough electricity to cove…
https://www.polity.org.za/article/south-africa-is-overlookin…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — With “dispatchable” increasingly covering BESS (battery energy storage systems), the difference also shows up in wholesale utility costs. Zeitlin cites the figure of $85 per megawatt-hour for the cost…
https://cleantechnica.com/2026/09/05/renewable-energy-virtua…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Flow batteries require three to four times the number of containers than a lithium-ion battery of similar capacity. The containers must be transported to the remote site, leading to higher initial del…
https://www.hatch.com/About-Us/Publications/Blogs/2020/01/Th…
info
Claim 12: “No new projects [concentrating solar power] have been approved since 2014.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim that no new CSP projects have been approved since 2014 is explicitly stated in one web search result, but no other independent sources corroborate this specific date or status.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. The country consists of nine provinces, and is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 miles…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Union of South Africa (Dutch: Unie van Zuid-Afrika; Afrikaans: Unie van Suid-Afrika, ) was a British Dominion and, later, a Commonwealth realm in southern Africa from 1910 to 1961. It was the hist…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_South_Africa
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — White South Africans are South Africans of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of the Dutch East India C…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_South_Africans
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 13: “The award-winning Stellio heliostat... was conceived here and designed for local manufacture. China deploys it at scale.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.