Inside renewable energy land deals
Long-term leases turn public land into corporate profit, but how are these deals structured, and are communities seeing their share? #PowerTracker investigates...
17 October, 2025
#PowerTracker: Tracking renewable power projects and the decommissioning of coal plants in Sub-Saharan Africa.
LATEST #POWERTRACKER INVESTIGATIONS
Court case tackles not-so-proudly-South African solar power
A landmark High Court case challenges the government and independent power producers to apply localisation laws designed to drive South Africa’s green industrial development
07 November, 2025
Deep threats of drilling the Orange Basin
Climate change, over-fishing and oil-related pollution are collapsing the marine environment off the West Coast. Now there’s the added threat of off-shore oil and gas exploration
14 November, 2025
Court case tackles not-so-proudly-South African solar power
A landmark High Court case challenges the government and independent power producers to apply localisation laws designed to drive South Africa’s green industrial development
07 November, 2025
Deep threats of drilling the Orange Basin
Climate change, over-fishing and oil-related pollution are collapsing the marine environment off the West Coast. Now there’s the added threat of off-shore oil and gas exploration
14 November, 2025
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People power: Off-grid communities light up
Local organisations are pioneering off-grid solutions for rural households left waiting in the dark by Eskom. Thabo Molelekwa investigates...
05 September, 2025 -
Red flags along KZN’s South Coast
Andiswa Matikinca tracks concerns around critical minerals mining applications – and now a small harbour – in KwaZulu-Natal’s tourism mecca...
15 August, 2025 -
People who own the sun
#PowerTracker visits a solar project owned by a township cooperative that serves as a model for energy democracy in action...
31 July, 2025 -
The Boegoeberg Blues: A small Nama tribe holds the key to the Orange Oil Basin’s future
A landmark ConCourt ruling has made the Nama people the gate-keepers of ambitious plans to turn the Northern Cape into an energy and mining hub. John Grobler investigates...
18 July, 2025 -
Beyond the Grid: Pinging power from farms to factories
Solar power moves virtually from farmland in North West province to factories hundreds of kilometres away. How does it work, and what does it mean for the energy transition?...
22 May, 2025 -
Whose land, whose power? South Africa’s renewable energy conundrum
Wind farms feed power into the national grid, but the stories behind the land deals are rarely told. Tunicia Phillips investigates a case study in the Eastern Cape...
15 April, 2025 -
On the trail of lithium smugglers in Southern Africa
International data shows a recent boom in lithium exports from Southern Africa to Chinese markets. Where’s it coming from, and how does it get there? #PowerTracker investigates...
07 April, 2025 -
Community trusts are greening the future
Community trusts linked to renewable energy projects are designed to ensure profits benefit the locals. #PowerTracker visits a Free State project to witness their real-world impacts...
17 March, 2025 -
Limpopo rare earths project aims to clean up
A rare earths venture at the gateway to the Kruger National Park plans to rehabilitate environmental damage caused by at least six decades of mining. Marcia Moyana investigates...
12 February, 2025 -
Free State’s helium gamble: A new energy frontier?
The province is home to SA's biggest gas and helium project. Will it speed up the shift towards renewable energy sources, or hinder progress? Refilwe Mochoari investigates...
10 December, 2024 -
Critical futures: What SA wants from its transition minerals
With vast deposits of minerals that make South Africa a key player in the green energy transition, Andiswa Matikinca investigates the future that stakeholders want to see...
02 December, 2024 -
Mining’s mess is JET’s opportunity
Mine rehabilitation presents an opportunity for environmental restoration and economic empowerment in the energy transition. Thabo Molelekwa investigates...
07 November, 2024 -
Elections take the shine off green hydrogen
Oxpeckers tracked 14 GH2 projects in Namibia, finding implementation has been slow and the only real growth has been in bureaucracy. John Grobler investigates...
11 October, 2024 -
Potential impacts of gas flaring in Soyo, Angola
Journalist Neusa e Silva travelled to Soyo to discover the potential human and environmental costs of gas flaring on the ground...
30 September, 2024 -
Stuck between lithium rocks and a hard place
Zimbabwean communities living around lithium mines have to put up with noise pollution, gas emissions, dust, flying-rock hazards and ground vibrations. Oscar Nkala investigates...
20 September, 2024
TOOLS
#WildEye allows you to track environmental crime across the globe
#PowerTracker allows you to track renewable and coal based energy sources
#MineAlert allows you to track and share mining applications and licences
Track biodiversity threats caused by mining licences across Africa
Use ClimaTracker to track weather changes and how these will affect you
Exposing global environmental crime stories
Track developments in rhino poaching court cases across Southern Africa
Instant access to data on rhino deaths and poaching incidents since 2010
#GreenAlert helps you track & share environmental impact assessments
GET INVOLVED
#PowerTracker is a project of Oxpeckers Investigative Environmental Journalism and is based on the #WildEye tool.
#PowerTracker is supported by the African Climate Foundation’s New Economy Campaigns Hub and the Pulitzer Center | Developed by Artman Designs
