Currently the pace at which alternative energy technology is growing and improvements are occurring is faster than almost any tech out there. Even before the launch of new solar energy technology, someone else has already developed improvements and improved tech. The costs of alternative energy is in serious decline as mass production and technology improvements gain momentum, alternative energy is set to explode into each and every home on the planet.
Traditional energy is becoming un-competitively priced and with ever increasing power costs the only gaurantee that traditional energy companies can supply is that of massive increases in energy costs. As stated on electricity.co.za most of the electricity infrastructure is so old that it is not even represented on the balance sheets of national providers, like ESKOM. Old networks, old power stations and old infrastructure will not cope with increased demand even with the ESKOM plans to add additional planet killing coal power stations. Strangely, the rest of the world is in exactly the same shape as South Africa, in the USA the infrastructure is even older and even more decrepid and less reliable than in SA.
The last and killer proposition is that every 1 percent economic growth sees huge increases in demands for energy. It is simply impossible to see 5 percent annual economic growth as that would require eight times more energy in 30 years time, than is being delivered now. Based on historic traditional energy numbers it is impossible for ESKOM to provide the energy that would be required in 2025, never mind the increase this would see in carbon emissions if it would even be attempted to spend the trillion rands required.