Page 17 - IFV Issue 1 January 2026
P. 17

Estate News
















































                                   BORROWED LIGHT


               André de Ruyter on the cost of delay, cautious optimism and the race for
                                                   rational power



                                                 BY JUSTIN RENDER FOR ENGINEERIT

                 outh Africans know the quiet too   having given up senior management to
                 well. That strange calm between   educate, sharing a measured, analytical
           Sblackouts, when fridges hum      and fundamentally hopeful case for
           again  and  the  Wi-Fi  stays  connected.   renewable energy.
           We’re all cautiously optimistic, but ready
           for the lights to go out again. And when   The economics of common sense
           they do, we’ll improvise – because that’s   “Replace uncompetitive generation with
           what South Africans do.           the cheapest form  currently available
             With this peaceful silence, however,   — and that is renewable energy plus
           many of us remain in the dark about   storage,” says De Ruyter. “Beyond the
           the structural changes that could keep   indisputable environmental benefits — a
           the lights on in the long-term. André   value-added plus — on a more level basis,
           de Ruyter understands that silence. He   it just makes sense.”
           has lived inside the engine room of it   For De Ruyter, the energy debate has
           as Eskom’s former Chief Executive and   been over-complicated by ideology.
           an agent of change behind the scenes.   The numbers already speak. Utility-
           He has seen the circuitry of hope and   scale solar energy could be established
           fatigue from within.              in about one to three years, while wind
             Today, De Ruyter is an itinerant scholar,   energy  may  take  around  three  years.   André de Ruyter


                                                                                The Villager  •   January/February 2026  •   15
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