I’m relatively hacked off. It appears as though someone scaled our electricity cables last night, which leaves us electricity-less, and we can’t blame Eskom this time around.

So we’re thinking of ‘getting off the grid’, going solo. We're as tired of Eskom as we are of Telkom. Up until now we've been aware that our electricity is 'dirty', but thought that alternatives were too costly and so we've put the issue on the back-burner. But this morning was the final straw, so we've decided to investigate our options.

So what are the practicalities of finding alternative electricity in SA?

We’re obviously not in the market for hydroelectricity – the gravitational descent of a river needs to be involved, and as Vic falls is a little far away... erm, no go. Nuclear energy is a no-no and a biomass digester, requires more, well biomass, than our compost heap and kitchen scraps can provide.

Wind power is a great idea – it produces no water or air pollution and there are no waste by-products, but you need a consistent wind supply to ensure continuous power. If the wind speed decreases, you get less electricity. So, whilst this is practical for the Darling wind farm, for an individual urban household it isn’t feasible unless we could create a hybrid system that combines solar panels for electricity in summer, and wind turbines in winter – all sounds way too complicated.

Wave power isn’t an option, despite our living next to a huge body of water in Cape Town – we’d need some sort of structure on the floor of the ocean to harness wave energy.

Solar power converts sunlight into electricity and as long as the sun exists, in theory, we will have energy. There is no water or air pollution and in sunny countries, like South Africa, it can even be used in remote locations.

The downside of solar is that it’s not completely predictable – it depends on the amount of sunlight that reaches the Earth at any given time. And then there’s the cost competitiveness factor – the solar photovoltaic cells can be expensive. Apparently you need an average of R30 000 – R50 000 to equip a house with solar electricity systems. A bit out of our price range!

Whilst other countries in Africa, like the Cameroon, are using solar power [IOL] and South Africa’s white paper on renewable energy has set a target of energy to be produced from renewable energy sources (mainly from biomass, wind, solar and small-scale hydro) by 2013, we haven’t seen much in the way of solar power being put into practice.

But while Eskom is apparently working on plans to offer an incentive on solar water heaters [busrep] we continue to look to the rest of the world for examples of living with solar power [IOL] Bottom line: solar power is highly under-utilised in South Africa.

Enter Professor Vivian Alberts and his team at the University of Johannesburg. He’s developed solar panels that will take solar technology closer to mainstream due to cost reductions achieved with his ultra-thin panels - hailed as revolutionary in harnessing cheap, clean and unlimited solar power.

Alberts has developed a cheaper alternative to the photovoltaic panels that create electricity from the sun’s energy that involved over 12 years’ research. He uses four elements – copper, indium, gallium and diselenide - that may cost as little as 50% of the silicon-based PV solar panels!

Of course, it took a German company to recognise his brilliance and the Berlin factory has already begun their roll-out of his product. A similar production is anticipated in SA, but any alternative to Eskom’s anticipated PBMR nuclear stations are hardly getting a look in by government. [IOL] (Eskom has been talking about it's own electricity-from-the-sun project since 2001 but now wants another feasibility study done [engineeringnews])

Alberts has obviously had his share of frustration, and has called on the government to subsidise solar power.

"We can't compete internationally if in Germany our competitors get 30 percent government subsidies. The tax on imports also needs to be looked at. Eskom, Sasol and Denel were all subsidised when they first began," said Alberts. [IOL]

What's become apparent writing this, is that SA is still in its infancy when it comes to solar electricity and that rushing out tomorrow to get us 'off grid' would prove an expensive decision.

Speaking to Trevor of SA Solar Products, going solar, if you're on Eskom's grid, just doesn't make sense. He advises that if you're wanting to cut back on your electricity and dependence on Eskom there are two things to do: switch to gas for your cooking etc and use solar heating for your water. You stand to cut your bill by as much as 70% this way.

There is a cheaper alternative at our fingertips with Alberts' technology but government inertia is again proving a stumbling block.