August 3, 2022 - South Africa has a large, energy-intensive coal mining industry and mostly uses coal to meet its energy needs, given the country’s limited proved reserves of oil and natural gas. South Africa also has a sophisticated synthetic fuels industry, producing liquid fuels from its coal-to-liquids plant in Secunda and its natural gas-to-liquids plant in Mossel Bay. Although South Africa has a high level of access to electricity relative to other sub-Saharan African countries, its electric power sector experiences frequent power outages as a result of insufficient investment in the infrastructure. South Africa is seeking to diversify its power generation mix by attracting investment in renewable energy sources, but coal will likely remain the main fuel source to meet its energy needs for the near future.