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

