@article{Merven:333091,
      recid = {333091},
      author = {Merven, Bruno and Hartley, Faaiqa and Arndt, Channing},
      title = {Quantifying the Macro- and Socio-Economic Benefits of a  Transition to Renewable Energy in South Africa},
      address = {2019},
      year = {2019},
      note = {Presented at the 22nd Annual Conference on Global Economic  Analysis, Warsaw, Poland},
      abstract = {For decades cheaper and easily available fossil fuels has  underpinned the energy system of South Africa inhibiting  the potential for a sustainable low carbon economy.  Favourable developments in renewable energy technologies,  and prices, provides an opportunity for the country to  significantly reduce its emissions without sacrificing  economic development. This paper assesses the technical  potential for renewable technologies in electricity  production and the associated economic implications of a  transition to renewable energy in South Africa. This is  done by comparing two energy pathways for the country, one  in which the deployment of renewable technologies is  constrained and another in which it is not. Our findings  show that over the next two decades renewable energy  technologies will become the largest contributor to  electricity generation in the country under least cost  unconstrained planning. At the national level the shift to  renewable energy has a positive impact on real GDP and  employment despite the presence of a smaller coal mining  sector.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/333091},
}