Power crisis may choke green energy drive

Cape Town - South Africa’s hopes of becoming one of the world's top renewable energy hubs are dimming due to poor infrastructure and delays as cash-strapped state utility Eskom is distracted by a scramble to keep the lights on.

Chronic electricity shortages are one of the biggest brakes on growth as regular blackouts strangle industries from mining to manufacturing and pile pressure on President Jacob Zuma’s government.

Zuma laid out ambitious goals last month to increase power generation capacity, including plans to boost installed renewable energy capacity to 9 600 megawatts (MW) by 2030 from just 1 600 MW now, out of a total capacity of 44 175 MW.