> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.transitionzero.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# South Africa
> This section provides specific details about Scenario Builder's model of South Africa.
The South Africa model is **uncalibrated**. It has not been through
TransitionZero's [model calibration standard](/methodology/model-calibration),
so results have not been checked against historical capacities, generation,
emissions, or trade. Use it for exploratory analysis out of the box, and calibrate it for modelling work.
# Changelog
South Africa model (uncalibrated) added to Scenario Builder, with support for
capacity expansion and dispatch scenarios
# Model scope
## Capacity Expansion
* Base year: 2023
* End year: 2050
* Spatial resolution: National (1 node only)
* Temporal resolution:
* Low resolution (24-hourly and yearly) - 1 timeslice
* Medium resolution (3-hourly and 3-monthly) - 32 timeslices
## Dispatch
* Spatial resolution:
* National (1-node)
* Temporal resolution:
* High resolution (hourly and single year) - 8760 timesteps
* Available for single years between 2023-2050
# Data sourcing table
Several inputs are drawn from [pypsa-rsa](https://github.com/MeridianEconomics/pypsa-rsa), the open-source South African capacity expansion model maintained by Meridian Economics.
| **Input variable** | **Data source** | **Data standard** |
| :------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | :---------------- |
| Demand profiles - current | 2021 Eskom demand profile, as documented by [pypsa-rsa](https://github.com/MeridianEconomics/pypsa-rsa/blob/master/data/eskom_data.csv). More recent data has been requested from Eskom and will be incorporated when it is received. | Silver |
| Demand profiles - future | Shape of the demand profile does not change in the future. | Bronze |
| Annual demand - current | 2023-2024: [CSIR Utility Statistics Report (January 2025)](https://www.csir.co.za/sites/default/files/2025-09/Utility%20Statistics%20Report_Jan%202025_Final.pdf) | Gold |
| Annual demand - future | 2025-2050: CSIR historical demand, grown at the annual growth rates used by pypsa-rsa | Silver |
| Renewable profiles - current | 2021 Eskom renewables profile, as documented by [pypsa-rsa](https://github.com/MeridianEconomics/pypsa-rsa/blob/master/data/eskom_data.csv). More recent data has been requested from Eskom and will be incorporated when it is received. | Silver |
| Renewable profiles - future | Shape of the renewable profiles does not change in the future. | Bronze |
| Renewable potentials | [DST Bio Energy Atlas for South Africa](http://bea.dirisa.org/) (Hugo, W. (Ed.), 2016, Department of Science and Technology) and World Bank data, alongside existing and planned/target capacities | Silver |
| Technology costs - current | pypsa-rsa, AETOS, [IEA World Energy Outlook 2024](https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2024), DEA, and [NREL](https://atb.nrel.gov/) | Silver |
| Technology costs - future | pypsa-rsa, AETOS, [IEA World Energy Outlook 2024](https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2024), DEA, and [NREL](https://atb.nrel.gov/) | Silver |
| Commodity costs - current | pypsa-rsa and AETOS | Silver |
| Commodity costs - future | pypsa-rsa and AETOS | Silver |
| Efficiency / Losses | AETOS and [IEA World Energy Outlook 2024](https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2024) | Silver |
| Emission factors | AETOS | Silver |
| Operating life | AETOS | Silver |
| Minimum and maximum annual utilisation | AETOS | Silver |
| Ramp rates | pypsa-rsa | Silver |
| Storage maximum hours | AETOS | Silver |
| Discount rate | 8%, following pypsa-rsa | Silver |
| WACC | 10% per technology, assumed | Bronze |
| Reserve margin | 10%, following pypsa-rsa | Silver |
| Power plant data (installed capacity) | pypsa-rsa | Silver |
| Capacity expansion constraints | Existing assets are non-extendable: capacity additions are set to zero for all technologies in 2023-2025. All technologies are extendable beyond 2025, except electricity imports and exports. Annual capacity additions are limited by an assumed growth rate of 20-40% per technology, with a floor of 2% of total 2023 installed capacity (flat per technology). | Bronze |