Paul Jacobson

The prevalence of power failures in South Africa due to total mismangement of our power grid has made alternatives to City Power (at least in Joburg) a necessity.  The alternative is a future of increasingly frequent power failures and interruptions of business and personal lives, my business and personal life to be precise.

The one difficulty is that I am not sure what options are available in South Africa.  Johannesburg probably has almost ideal conditions for a solar powered electricity system with the tremendous amount of sunlight we enjoy.  I have heard about advances in solar power systems pioneered by our very own CSIR and yet there is hardly a huge push to sell these systems in a country which so obviously needs alternatives now.

I guess my question is what the options are and who provides them?  I'm not just talking about geysers powered by solar panels.  I am talking about a system that could supply the majority of a house's normal electricity requirements using robust solar powered systems.  Anyone have any ideas?