Renewable energy is much spoken up about in South Afria, but uptake of this energy has been slow. We need a renewable energy revolution in South Africa in order to diversify our energy sources, to improve energy security and to mitigate climate change. Central to promoting the growth of renewable energy is providing the appropriate incentives.

A cross-party group of concerned members of parliament, led by Dr Ruth Rabinowitz (IFP) and supported by Gareth Morgan (DA), Lance Greyling (ID) and Judy Chalmers (ANC) have introduced a private members legislative proposal on feed-in-tariffs for renewable energy. The concept entails the energy utility (in the South African case, Eskom) ensuring private providers of renewable energy a fixed tariff to feed energy into the grid for a fixed period of time. It fosters entrepreneurship, creates jobs, offers certainly to the industry, and encourages the provision of energy other than conventional coal and nuclear power. Such tariffs are being successfully used in Europe, and parts of the USA and Australia.

There is urgency in getting a feed-in-tariff bill passed in the South African parliament. The undersigned support the initiative of the cross-party group of MPs.