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From 2013-2016, tarrifs according to Renewable were introduced in 2014. This was to reduce
Energy Fund in Tariff (REFIT) were as below; greenhouse emissions with the aim of getting
US$30 per ton of carbon by 2025. The govern-
• Hydro (9> <= 20MW)- 0.85(USD)/kWh, hydro ment of South Africa allocated R20billion to
(1> <=9 MW)} linear tariffs, hydro (500Kw> <=1MW)- Industrial Development Corporation to invest
0.115 (USD)kWh, in Green projects hence offering tax credits for
• biomass(MSW)-0.103(USD)kWh, investing in green field projects.
• biogas -0.115(USD0/kWh,
• geothermal-0.077(USD)kWh, In conclusion, energy policies in all Afri-
• Wind-0.124 (USD)kWh. can countries have effects on other economic
activities. But does the process and procedure
These tariffs are used by the government to pay for handling and permitting tax exemptions
back foreign loans. and reporting structure on the tax revenue
foregone equate to transparency? This is a
Despite the tax exemptions in the energy sec- question that still remains unanswered.
tor, it still faces challenges such as lack of new power
generation projects, increased demand, high up cost References
technologies needed in the energy sector, rise in in-
ternational oil prices making generation of thermal www.sciencedirect.com
electricity costly. Does this mean the current model www.globallegalinsights.com
needs to be rethought? www.era.or.ug
www.ura.go.ug
But looking away from home, Kenya’s energy www.pwc.com
sector is currently heavily taxed. Kenya has three Taxes and Incentives for renewable energy
main energy sources which include; biomass 69%, -KPMG
petroleum 22%, and electricity at 9%. The energy
sector is in a crisis as result of high cost of electrici-
ty and petroleum products. Cost of energy in Kenya
is very high at US$ 0.150per kWh four times greater
than the cost if energy in South Africa (US$ 0.040 )3.
However, she has come up with effective policy in-
struments on energy import tariffs and sales tax that
will help in controlling energy consumption and in-
creasing government revenue.
South Africa has an infant but growing renew-
able energy industry expected to contribute a to- By Kunihira Flavia
tal of 18. GW by 2030. In South Africa, carbon taxes
