Dr Stephanie Borchardt is a sociologist whose research examines the socio-political dynamics of green energy transitions in arid regions of southern Africa. She completed her PhD at Stellenbosch University, titled Illuminating Energy Poverty: A Case Study of the Energy Needs and Challenges of Low-Income Households in De Aar, a Renewable Energy Hub in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province. Her earlier work explored public participation and communication processes during the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for shale gas development in the Karoo.

She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology at Stellenbosch University. Her research focuses on the local impacts of large-scale renewable energy investments, particularly questions of governance, infrastructural inequality, and energy justice in rural landscapes of the Karoo.
She also lectures on Environmental Sociology to third-year undergraduate students and teaches Social Research Methods to second-year students in the Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University.
Stephanie also supervises students working on topics including green hydrogen development in Namibia, development narratives within South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), and game hunting in the Eastern Cape province.

She serves on the scientific committee of the Arid Zone Ecology Forum (AZEF), a non-profit organisation that brings together landowners, researchers, government officials, managers and students to address ecological and socio-economic challenges in the arid and semi-arid regions of southern Africa.

Website: https://azef.co.za/