The Energy Council of South Africa has warned of a shortage of energy system modelling expertise in the country at what it says is a critical time, when complex and important choices need to be made regarding South Africa’s energy transition.

“This can largely be attributed to a lack of technical capacity but also due to costly modelling and data platforms, limited collaborations and opaque data sharing practices,” the council said on August 30.

This follows the August 28 launch of the cloud-based Energy Data and Modelling South Africa (EDMSA) platform by the Energy Council, in partnership with energy modelling and simulation software developer Energy Exemplar.

The council noted that educational gaps contribute significantly to South Africa’s lack of technical capacity, as rapid breakthroughs in clean technology and renewable energy have outpaced traditional energy education in South Africa.

It added that a lack of experience was holding South Africa’s technical capacity back.

“Given that the renewable-energy industry is relatively new in South Africa, there is a dearth of real-world experience in specific skills,” the organisation said.

The council also pointed to socioeconomic factors, noting that the energy transition required not only technical skills but also supportive roles in policy development, legal frameworks and community engagement.

“These areas are often underdeveloped, impacting the overall capacity to develop and manage energy modelling projects effectively,” it said.

EDMSA was established as part of the council’s Energy Transition Roadmap work, aimed at supporting the energy sector to meet the country’s climate and just transition commitments.

EDMSA is based on Plexos Cloud, which is multi-stakeholder platform for modelling and data management.

Energy Council senior manager Dr Bonani Seteni will be overseeing the platform, which aims to support national capacity building, collaboration and openness in data sourcing and sharing among stakeholders in the energy sector.

More than 300 participants from civil society, academia, labour, the private sector, and government registered for the EDMSA at launch.

Energy Council CEO James Mackay emphasised that the platform was designed to be independent and encourage all views. The value will be in the ability to factually compare and motivate multiple views.

Seteni pointed out that EDMSA was not a political platform but an opportunity to influence discussions in support of national priorities without criticising any models or government policy processes.

Speaking as part of a panel at the launch, Meridian Economics MD Professor Grove Steyn said that “… building a vibrant modelling community that has access to shared data and knowledge on how to implement modelling would be valuable… ” for South Africa and its just-transition commitments.