Dear colleagues, The Department of Economics cordially invites you to the WU Economics Research Seminar on Wednesday, March 12th, with Mario Liebensteiner (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg) on "Mitigating Load Shedding in South Africa: The Role of Intermittent Renewable Energy" Abstract: Our study examines the role of renewable energy in mitigating load shedding in South Africa, where electricity often falls short of demand. Using an instrumental variables approach, we find that each additional MWh of wind power reduces load shedding by up to 0.73 MWh but rarely closes the supply-demand gap. Solar power helps during peak periods despite misalignment at other times. Our estimates show that renewable energy investments have benefits that outweigh costs by approximately one order of magnitude, outperforming coal and nuclear power investments. Date: Wednesday, March 12th Time: 4.30 to 6 pm (CET) Location: building D4, ground floor, D4.0.144<https://campus.wu.ac.at/?q=D4.0.144> With best regards, Harald Oberhofer --- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Harald Oberhofer Department of Economics WU Vienna University of Economics and Business Phone: +43/1/31336-4984 Email: harald.oberhofer@wu.ac.at<mailto:harald.oberhofer@wu.ac.at> https://www.wu.ac.at/en/economics/people/oberhofer-h Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO) Phone: +43/1/7982601-468 Email: harald.oberhofer@wifo.ac.at<mailto:harald.oberhofer@wifo.ac.at> http://www.wifo.ac.at/harald_oberhofer