25 Degrees in Africa

Vol 5 Nr 6 2010 – r49

Country profile:Gabon

WWF Living Planet Report

2010Eskom Lighting Award winners

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Who's tracking our climate

change finance

ContentsNumber 6 2010

166 38 51

Africa’s increased demand on available resource and unstable energy environment have cause building owners and companies to seek out energy management solutions to absorb rising electricity prices and ensure sustainability. In this issue, we take a look at energy management in buildings and large facilities, both locally and internationally.Find out more on page 16

cover story

EnErvations4 “Greener”insulationalternatives

5 sasolproductcutselectricitybills

CountryprofilE6 anoverviewonGabon

ClimatEChanGE8 Carbonfootprint

11 livingplanetreport2010

12 Greenscorpions

13 Cop16:moreviews

EnErGymanaGEmEnt16 Energymanagement:102

22 Greeninvestments

27 smartmeteringgivesback

oilandGas36 Globaloil&gasmarketuncertain

37 Cleanburningfuels

38 Capturingcarbonfromfluegas

BiofuEls40 land-grabsforbiofuels

41 sustainablecompostprogramme

rEnEwaBlEs44 overcomingchallenges

46 sa’sepicrace

nuClEarEnErGy48 doessahaveenoughuranium?

48 necsahostsworldconference

49 Koeberg’scontaminationincident

Cdm50 Euroivfueldistributioneco-fleet

ElECtriCity52 smartgridtechnology

53 21stCenturypowerutility

EnErGyEffiCiEnCy60 Ethiopiasavesus$96-million

61 lightingretrofits

instantupdatE62 worldEnergyCongress

66 mozambiquerefinery

EnErGyEvEnts68 Energyevents

www.25degrees.net

Run-up to COP16: carbon trading in Africa I attended the African Banker’s Carbon Finance and Investment forum hosted by ACAD, Standard Bank, UNEP, UNEPFI and DBSA in Johannesburg recently. I am once again convinced that the CDM and carbon markets is a viable option for Africa (and other developing countries) to launch bankable carbon emission reduction projects while uplifting communities and stimulating economic growth. The

CDM mechanism poses a unique opportunity for Africa to measure our carbon emissions and reduce our environmental impact, while leveraging off the monetary incentives and the financial market provided for by the CDM. China, though it is the biggest emitter world-wide, has embraced the CDM and are actively working on bankable emission reduction projects: the flow of CDM funding into China is massive. China’s expected average annual CER’s from registered projects by a host party is 61.33% of global total amounting to 239 890 438 CER’s, according to the UNFCCC. One thing is clear – there are projects available in South Africa and there are financial institutes willing to fund them. What will ease the marriage? Getting the two parties together, for one, and having them speak the same language. Banks are beginning to realise that the market for carbon trading is there. The question they are asking is “How do we make carbon markets work in SA?”. The avenue to take is this: expressing environmental problems in economic terms backed by developmental issues for the country. Much is already happening in the region and in South Africa, but now we must keep the momentum. So, how do we mobilise available resources to make this happen? Government needs to set the policy framework and business will lead from there. Business understands all too well the importance of change and this market sector is willing to innovate. Also, better access to international funding will advance the uptake of clean technology and upscale bankable carbon emission reduction projects leading to a robust economic change and development. I applaud the leaders in this sector willing to take the risk, lead by example and then share their experiences with others.

We’ll see you in the new year with an analysis of this forum and COP.

Publisher: Media in Africa (Pty) Ltdwww.mediainafrica.co.za • www.25degrees.net

iNterNatioNal CoNtaCt iNformatioN: Tel: +27 12 347 7530 • Fax: +27 12 347 7523E-mail: [email protected]

Postal address: PO Box 25260, Monument Park, 0105Republic of South Africa

PhysiCal address:First Floor, Unit G, Castle Walk Corporate ParkCnr Nossob & Swakop Streets, Erasmuskloof Ext. 3, Pretoria, Republic of South Africa

the 25º iN afriCa team:editorMarlene van RooyenTel: +27 83 327 3746 E-mail: [email protected]

fouNderSchalk Burger (1943 – 2006)

JourNalistAdrienne BrookbanksTel: +27 82 468 4566E-mail: [email protected]

busiNess uNit CoordiNatorZuerita Gouws Tel: +27 12 347 7530E-mail: [email protected]

imbewu sustaiNability Andrew Gilder – Climate change and CDM legal specialist

PublishiNg maNagerLiezel van der Merwe

fiNaNCial maNager Fanie Venter

desigN aNd layoutIlze Janse van Rensburg

aCCouNtaNtSietske RossouwE-mail: [email protected]

ProofreaderElizabeth Kruger

reProduCtioN & PriNtiNgBusiness Print Centre

25º in Africa: Africa’s Independent Energy Publication covers the whole gamut of energy sources, production needs, environmental impacts and the current issues surrounding them.

25º in Africa’s mission is to disseminate information on any and all energy-related issues, with an emphasis on developments in Africa and the impact on the environment.

The focus of the publication is on energy, but it carries related information to provide a broad, unbiased and independent view of all the pertinent issues.

COPyRIGhT: The copyright for all content of this publication is strictly reserved. No part of this may be copied in part or fully without the express written permission of the editor.

DISClAIMER: Views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, the editorial team or its agents. Although the utmost care is taken to ensure accuracy of the published content, the publisher, editor and journalists cannot be held liable for inaccurate information contributed, supplied or published.

CONTRIBUTIONS: The editor welcomes contributions and encourages items of interest to our readers in the energy sector. All advertisements and editorials are placed solely at the discretion of the editor and subject to prior approval. 25º in Africa reserves the right to edit, withhold or alter any editorial material to complement the style of the publication.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: 25º in Africa is published bi-monthly as a print publication. 25º in Africa is also available as a free web download. For more information, please contact the editor or editor’s assistant on Tel: +27 347 7530 or visit us on www.25degrees.net.

Marlene E van Rooyen

ENERVATIONS

25o in Afr ica 3

Although the current energy landscape in South Africa is challenging for companies, there are still viable opportunities if they are

proactive about their energy usage profile and choose their projects wisely, says Golder Associates energy specialist Paolo Gianadda.

“Significantly higher costs for energy are a certainty in South Africa. Electricity costs have been rising rapidly over the past number of years – the first of three significant price increases took effect earlier this year. Coupled to this, there remains concerns about state-utility Eskom’s ability to supply uninterrupted power in the coming years as demand recovers following the global recession and new plants are still to come on-stream,” says Gianadda.

Improve yourbusiness energy profile

“There is also the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. South Africa has made reduction commitments of 34% (by 2020) and 42% (by 2025) relative to business as usual scenarios.”

Despite this “dark cloud”, Gianadda believes that there are many opportunities for companies that think out-of-the-box and are proactive. “For example, companies that pursue co-generation projects will have the effect of improving electricity supply security and reducing carbon impact. Cogenerated power carries a significantly lower carbon

footprint relative to power imported from the national grid,”

explains Gianadda.

“There has also been much talk about the so-called Cogeneration Feed-in-Tariff (COFIT) programme, and while regulatory clarity around this incentive is still required, companies need to start looking into opportunities to take advantage of the incentive when it becomes available,” says Gianadda.

Furthermore, Gianadda points out that the National Treasury is also providing incentives for energy-efficient projects and brownfields projects that achieve at least a 10% improvement in energy-efficiency (relative to a baseline) over a 12-month period are eligible. South Africa is further a non-Annex I country, which means that it is possible for projects in South Africa to earn certified energy reductions under the clean development mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol.

“It makes sound business sense to improve energy-efficiency – the quickest way to save cost and

reduce carbon impact is to reduce energy usage,”

says Gianadda.

Golder Associates Durban: +27 31 717 2790Johannesburg +27 11 254 4800 E-mail: [email protected]: www.golder.co.za

Managing energy uncertainties effectively

Golder Associates’ Energy Division is equipped with the technical skills and expertise to help clients manage these energy uncertainties within their business. The division offers a comprehensive range of services to clients, ranging from simple energy-efficiency assessments to energy and carbon management strategy development. Additionally, the division has expertise in co-generation and renewable energy feasibility studies, and is also active in the areas of carbon footprinting and clean development mechanism (CDM) project work.

Gianadda says that the division’s focus is to provide cost-effective solutions to clients in the mining and industrial sector who wish to improve their energy-efficiency, improve their supply security and reduce their carbon impact.

“The energy and carbon management services offered by Golder is new to the African region. Globally, however, we have been offering services in energy and carbon management for several years. Apart from our local expertise, we can draw on our energy and carbon experts from across the world in providing solutions to clients,” concludes Gianadda.

It is ultimately Golder’s intention to establish the energy and carbon management service offering in the South African region as the energy and carbon management service provider of choice for its clients.

ENERVATIONS

4 25o in Afr ica

Shifting to “greener” insulation alternativesLeading rigid insulation supplier of eco-friendly thermoset products, Rigifoam, first introduced “green foams” into the African market in 2003. The company has continued to improve and expand their range of environmentally-friendly foams and 2 component systems.

“All of Rigifoam product range complies with both the Montreal and Kyoto protocols regarding energy-efficiency and its impact on the

environment. Our products are blown with Hydro Carbons (HC), making them extremely environmentally friendly,” says Goldsmith.

Resichem, the systems division of the Rigifoam Group was the first company to introduce a two-component polyurethane system with no harmful Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC’s). Resichem was also the first to commercialise a fully water-blown system in 2004, but due to it not being a cost-effective system (higher densities and poor thermal performance creating the need for thicker insulation), it was replaced with the HFC blown system.

“We are the only HFC system supplier in Africa at present,” says Goldsmith before adding that these systems are used for spray applications, refrigerated display cabinets, discontinuous panels for cold rooms and housing panels.

In 2007 Resichem started negotiations with FSI (Foam Supply Industries) about Ecomate technology, which is the only blowing agent with zero ODP and harmful VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). Resichem is currently phasing out the remaining HCFC’s and HFC systems and replacing them with Ecomate.

Due to Rigifoam/Resichem’s push for green foams in Africa, the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) invited the company to do a presentation on the phasing out of HCFC’s and HFC’s in Africa at a recent convention in Nigeria. The UNDP are funding users and offering financial incentives in order to help people shift from the use of HCFC to more environmentally-friendly alternatives.

“With ongoing development, Rigifoam remains committed to remain the preferred polyurethane supplier in Africa. Our commitment is to remain green and stay market leaders in product development,” concludes Goldsmith.

RigifoamTel: +27 11 421 0313 Fax: +27 11 421 0410E-mail: [email protected]: www.rigifoam.com

Customised products for niche applications

Rigifoam offers a vast range of Polyurethane (PUR) and Polyisocyanurate (PIR) foams, with densities ranging from 32 kg/m3 up to 80kg/m3. One of Rigifoam’s features that have led the company to become market leaders, is the company’s ability to supply customised products for niche applications. Some of the turnkey solutions and applications Rigifoam has provided, include insulated panels for cold rooms, refrigerated transport, modular buildings, pipe-lagging for child water, petro-chemical plants, breweries, cryogenic and any below ambient operational conditions.

“High density PIR foam is also used as pipe-saddles, replacing wooden blocks to provide better insulation and durability when coming into

contact with moisture,” explains Duncan Goldsmith, managing director of Rigifoam.

In 2008, the company launched Lambdaboard, a continuous laminated PIR flexible-faced insulation board primarily for the building industry as a roof liner, cavity wall or underfloor insulation material.

“Being a thermoset product, Rigifoam PIR foams offer great insulation properties as well as excellent fire resistance, as it does not melt and drip at low temperatures, does not propagate fires and doesn’t spread flames,” continues Goldsmith.

Due to Rigifoam/Resichem’s push for green foams in Africa, the United Nations Development Programme invited the company to do a presentation on the phasing out of harmful Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC’s).

ENERVATIONS

25o in Afr ica 5

Sasol product cuts electricity bills at Waterfall Country Estate

Sasol’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for the domestic market, called Sasol Homegas, was recently implemented at the newly built Waterfall Country Estate in Midrand. According to Fin24.com, this estate is currently the largest property development in the country and the first to use this gas.

Sasol Homegas is stored in 6 2000-litre to 22 500-litre gas tanks on the premises and this gas source is set to become an alternative source of energy that will provide thousands of homeowners with cleaner, cheaper energy. Pieter Claassen, Sasol Oil’s manager for new business development, said the gas will be used to heat water for indoor heating and cooking at the Waterfall Country Estate and that this product is a step in the direction for a “greener” future.

The product is targeted at developers of new housing and the low-income housing market. Claassen also explained that the infrastructure to install Sasol Homegas will add to the developer’s cost. “A ZAR1.5-million house will cost an average of 1% more to build and low-income houses about 2% more,” comments Claassen.

Source: www.fin24.com

E+PC Engineering & Projects Company Limited is a Business Unit within �e Aveng Group of Companies and thus enjoys the strong capital base and broad contracting expertise provided by such a large South African Group.

E+PC has access to various sources of funding for bankable feasibility studies and export credit financing

for foreign capital projects in Africa.

�e company is ISO 9001:2008 certified and employs a broad range of skills within four business divisions

located across South Africa.

E+PC serves the mining, chemical, petro-chemical, power and energy industries providing comprehensive project management, engineering design, technology sourcing, procurement and construction management services for

large-scale multi-disciplinary projects.

Its Power & Energy Division focuses on supplying services, in conjunction with technology supply parties, to the power and energy industry and share synergies

with the other E+PC business divisions. Power projects are undertaken on an EPC or EPCM basis and our clients benefit from our experience in optimising and selecting the most suitable power island technology to fulfil the

specific project needs. �e materials handling and balance of plant systems are engineered and procured in-house.

E+PC’s Operations Division operates and maintains various types of plants, with major international companies, on a Build, Own & Operate basis in

compliance with OHSA 18001.

[email protected]

Tel: (021) 912 3740

99 Jip de Jager Avenue, Vineyards Office Estate

Vineyards Square South, East wing, 1st Floor, Bellville 7530

cOuNTRy pROfIlE: GAbON

6 25o in Afr ica

Gabon:

Location: Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea.Climate: tropical, always hot, humid.Terrain: narrow coastal plain, hilly interior, savanna in east and south.Elevation extremes:

Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m.Highest point: Mont Iboundji 1 575 m.

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, niobium, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, hydropower.Land use:Arable land: 1.21%Permanent crops: 0.64%Other: 98.15% (2005)

Current environmental issues: deforestation, poaching.GDP (purchasing power parity): US$21.16-billion (2009 est.)GDP (official exchange rate): US$11.02-billion (2009 est.)GDP – real growth rate: -1.1% (2009 est.)GDP – per capita (PPP): US$14 000 (2009 est.)GDP – composition by sector:

Agriculture: 98%Industry: 1.3%Services: 0.7% (2009 est.)

Industrial production growth rate: -2% (2009 est.)Electricity production: 1.774-billion kWh (2007 est.)Electricity consumption: 1.446-million kWh (2007 est.)Electricity exports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)Electricity imports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)Oil production: 241 700 bbl/day (2008 est.)Oil consumption: 14 000 bbl/day (2008 est.)

Oil exports: 227 300 bbl/day (2007 est.)Oil imports: 4 185 bbl/day (2007 est.)Oil – proved reserves: 2-billion bbl (2009 est.)Natural gas production: 90-million cu m (2008 est.)Natural gas consumption: 90-million cu m (2008 est.)Natural gas exports: 0 cu m (2008 est.)Natural gas imports: 0 cu m (2008 est.)Natural gas – proved reserves: 28.32-billion cu m (2009 est.)Current account balance: US$321-million (2009 est.)Exports: US$5.876-billion (2009 est.)Export commodities: crude oil 70%, timber, manganese, uranium.Export partners: Russia 30.62%, US 16.56%, China 15.87%, France 4.28% (2009).Imports: US$2.347 billion (2009 est.)Import commodities: Machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, construction materials.Import partners: France 32.21%, US 7.92%, China 7.02%, Belgium 4.99%, Italy 4.81%, Cameroon 4.56%, Netherlands 4.35% (2009).Debt external: US$3.065 billion (31 December 2009 est.).

Information courtesy of www.cia.gov, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

Ali Ben Bongo was elected as the president of Gabon in 2009. He is the son of El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba, the previous president of Gabon, who was one of the longest-serving heads of state in the world. He has been dominating the political scene in this African country for over four decades. Since Gabon’s independence from France in 1960, only two autocratic presidents had ruled the country.

25o in Afr ica 7

Despite unstable political conditions and a small population, Gabon’s abundant natural resources and foreign support have helped to make

the country one of the more prosperous African countries. Gabon’s per capital income is four times that of most sub-Saharan African nations, but income inequality across the citizens of the country remains large and a big part of the population is poor. In January 2010, Gabon assumed a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2010-2011 term.

Gabon is rich in oil and the country’s oil sector currently accounts for over 50% of the country’s GDP. In the 1980’s, Gabon’s oil industry boomed, with optimists comparing the African country to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait (www.bbc.co.uk).

There is tension with Equatorial Guinea over three small islands in oil-rich offshore waters. Although Gabon used to produce 350 000 barrels of oil per day, output is down to approximately 240 000 (www.tradeinvestafrica.com).

The government issued a statement in August 2010 saying that the country has signed a US$4.5-billion deal with India and Singapore to revamp and diversify the economy due to dwindling oil reserves. Gabon’s new government (who took office last year) has vowed to diversify the economy through strategic partnerships. The project is set to include an upgrade of 1 000 km of roads, developing palm oil and timber processing and building 5 000 low cost homes (www.tradeinvestafrica.com).

During a staff mission by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Gabon in March 2010, which was held to discuss Gabon’s emerging economic plan and the new government’s priorities, it was stated: “Although investment is necessary for Gabon’s long-term growth and development, the government’s very ambitious investment plan, focusing mostly on infrastructure, may not bring the expected results. The mission encouraged the authorities to review the pace of investment acceleration and to rapidly put to the test the new measures taken to improve efficiency and rationalise the public expenditure chain, focusing mainly on government investment expenditures.”

In 1997, an IMF mission to Gabon criticised the government for overspending on off-budget items, overborrowing from the central bank, and slipping on its schedule for privatisation and administrative reform.

In January 2009, the Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp. discovered an oil field in Gabon, raising hope for more energy production in West Africa. According to www.tradeinvestafrica.com, the oil field, which is in the Atlantic Ocean, has up to 14 million barrels in possible reserves. Mitsubishi said its subsidiary, MPDC Gabon Co., has a 50% stake in the oil field. The other half is held by France’s Perenco.

Uranium in Gabon

Uranium mining in Gabon has been closely linked with Niger due to the role of the French Atomic Energy Commission and Cogema (now Areva NC). Niger is the world’s third- to fifth-ranking producer of uranium. In 2005 it produced 3434 tU, and cumulative production from the country passed 100 000 tU in November 2006. About 56 000 tU of this has been from underground and 44 000 t from open pit (www.world-nuclear.org).

After nearly 40 years of uninterrupted mining, uranium production ceased at the end of June 1999 in Gabon. The Comagnie des Mines d’Uranium de Franceville (Comuf), which is a 68% subsidiary of Cogema, France, announced that the Mounana Uranium Mine in the Haut Ogooue Province has ceased operations because reserves were all depleted (www.mbendi.com). The country is in the process of opening uranium mines which were shut down in 2001 because of competition on the global market.

Gas turbine technology a solution

According to growth and research company Frost & Sullivan, power project developers in sub-Saharan countries such as Gabon are shifting their focus towards gas turbine-powered power stations in order to solve the current power crisis on the African continent.

Frost & Sullivan’s energy programme manager, Cornelis van der Waal, says that gas resources can be found in countries such as Gabon, Nigeria, Angola and Côte d’Ivoire. Gas is emerging as the preferred option due to its quick turnaround time, high efficiency and the general reliability of the technology. A sizeable amount of financial resources, both from government coffers as well as development finance institutions (DFIs), have been channelled towards the development of gas power projects.

However, the availability of competing resources such as water and coal present a serious challenge to the growth of the gas turbines market. “The high operational cost of gas technology is significantly hampering the potential growth of this market. The cost is mainly driven by the volatile price of natural gas and the requirement for frequent major maintenance,” concludes Van der Waal.

Sources: www.imf.org, www.tradeinvestafrica.com, www.mbendi.com, www.world-nuclear.org, www.frost.com.

Energy in

Gabon

cOuNTRy pROfIlE: GAbON

clImATE chANGE

8 25o in Afr ica

There are many myths and fears of implementing a carbon footprint strategy throughout an operation. This article, which was written by

Andrew Johnston of Allied Electronics Corporation Limited (Altron), hopes to dispel some of these myths and provide practical advice on how to achieve a carbon footprint strategy.

“The Altron group recognises the following three cornerstones relating

to climate change:

Climate change is significant both locally and globally and Altron fully • supports the intentions of international agreements such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).In order to be effective, such agreements need to be developed in • partnership with industry.Altron acknowledges that human activities related to the production and • consumption of fossil fuels, primarily for the purpose of producing energy, result in the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and are the leading causes of climate change.

“Up until 2007, this was not always the case. One of the contributors to this was the widespread belief that climate change was an agenda driven by scientists. “Before 2007, Altron was very much focused on the financial bottom line rather than the triple bottom line,” says Johnston. “Getting the organisation to embrace the whole concept of climate change and the impact this was going to have on the group, as well as the world, proved to be challenging.”

“Altron’s carbon footprint journey, which commenced in 2007, has experienced many highs and lows, but remains firmly on track. This has not been achieved by magic, but rather hinged upon a firm, unwavering commitment from senior management; clearly thought out, yet practical strategy; and lessons learnt by trial and error,” explains Johnston.

According to Johnston, the most difficult and important lesson learned is that any carbon footprint initiative needs to be implemented from high-level executives within an organisation.

“A carbon footprint strategy needs to have buy-in from the board or else it is destined to fail. If the strategy follows a top-down instead of a bottom-up approach, the initiative will flounder. In order to achieve this buy-in, plenty of preparatory work needs to go into understanding the reasons why the organisation wants to embark on a carbon footprint journey in the first place and what will guarantee the buy-in from the organisation,” says Johnston.

Johnston explains that the factors to consider include the following:

Understand the culture of the organisation, such as what drives it, what • are the risks, what support structures and channels are in place to drive such an initiative.

Will the organisation embrace carbon footprinting as a green imperative • or as a business imperative?Bigger isn’t necessarily better – but be prepared to grow! Avoid a big • bang approach at all costs. Not only will this cost the organisation a fortune, but it will most probably be unsustainable in the long-term.Learn to crawl before you walk. Adopt a strategy that is both incremental • and sustainable.Be patient, but be tenacious.•

Creating a business case model for carbon footprinting

“At Altron, the management has historically focused primarily on the balance sheet. From the beginning, it was obvious that any strategy around climate change would need to be driven from a business perspective rather than purely an environmental perspective. Hence, if Altron was to embrace carbon footprinting, the strategy needed to first and foremost be built around a business case model, with environmental factors and reputational issues following a close second and third,” says Johnston.

The strategy which was eventually adopted by Altron followed a phased approach. This strategy was conceived by a carbon committee, reviewed by Altron’s executive committee, debated by the risk management committee and recommended to and approved by the Altron board. Altron’s strategy took all of the following into consideration during the planning phase:

Where does Altron want to operate in the climate change industry? Is the • strategy going to be proactive or reactive? Will Altron strive to be innovative and become a leader within the industry • or is it going to be following the example of other companies? Is Altron going to exploit carbon opportunities or simply take a defensive • position?Will Altron focus on the business aspects and opportunities around • carbon footprinting or merely become involved for environmental and reputational reasons?

Executive buy-in is not enough

The second most important lesson Altron learned through their experiences is that senior management involvement and buy-in wasn’t enough to effectively implement a carbon footprint strategy. A dedicated committee, comprising of real champions who would drive the initiative throughout the group, was deemed a necessity. The Altron group has a carbon committee comprising of 35 employees from executive to supervisory level and traversing the fields of finance, health and safety, information technology, legal and secretarial. “This committee ensures that the strategy not only reaches every corner of the group, but

Carbon footprint – Lessons learned and strategies appliedBy Andrew Johnston, Altron Group company secretary

clImATE chANGE

that it is rolled out efficiently and effectively. It is also the engine room of the group’s carbon footprint strategy and is responsible for collecting the data on an annual basis for purposes of calculating the group’s carbon footprint, as well as reviewing and monitoring emission reduction targets,” says Johnston.

The various phases of Altron’s carbon footprint strategy was broken down into four distinct components:

Phase one – Awareness and communication

“If the organisation does not understand what climate change is all about or what it entails, how can you expect it to buy-in to the initiative?” asks Johnston.

The first phase of the strategy focused on:

Communication.• Debating, consultation and strategising of Altron’s approach to climate • change.Addressing the risks of not addressing climate change.• Making climate change a standing item on the agenda of risk • management and board meetings.Circulating newspaper clippings and articles on climate change to • all interested and affected parties throughout the group, as well as creating a separate carbon website with unique branding to use as a communication tool.Appointing a professional and experienced consultant who could partner • with Altron;Developing a position paper on climate change;• Communicating Altron’s position paper and stance towards climate • change to stakeholders as well as publishing the paper on Altron’s Intranet and in the company’s annual report.

Phase two – Carbon footprint calculation

“Any carbon footprint journey can only truly begin once an organisation understands and has calculated what its carbon footprint is,” says Johnston.

The second phase of the

strategy continued to build on

the foundations that phase one

established:

Multiple workshops involving • the carbon committee were held to educate the company on carbon footprinting, plan strategic milestones, deadlines, scope and source of emissions, identify target companies which would participate in the exercise, build systems and procedures to capture data and conduct feedback sessions.Ongoing communication and awareness of Altron’s carbon footprint • exercise was cemented with competitions being held amongst employees, awareness was created in in-house magazines, profiling of the carbon website and even a carbon footprint stand at the annual awards function to measure each individual’s carbon footprint.The Altron Group’s initial carbon footprint was calculated and reported in • the company’s 2008 sustainability report.

Phase three - Refinement of scope and carbon footprint methodology

manual

“Before an organisation can embark on setting carbon emission reduction targets, it is imperative to have comparative data against which to measure trends. Ideally, an organisation needs to identify, capture and calculate its carbon footprint as soon as possible. This calculation needs to be based on source and scopes of emissions,” says Johnston.

While phase two calculated Altron’s initial footprint, phase three was

concerned with the following aspects:

Refining the scope and source of emissions.• Agreeing on the methodology for calculating the footprint, i.e. rands • versus kilowatt hours, kilometres versus litres.Drafting and agreeing on a carbon footprint methodology manual for • future reference and calculations of the footprint.

Calculating the second year carbon footprint.

Continues on page 10

A joint initiative between 250 in Africa and Imbewu Sustainability Legal Specialists

Sponsored by Iskhus Power

250 in Afica: Launching the

Climate Change Thinkers Forum

WHAT IS IT? CLIMATE CHANGE

HINKERS FORUMA gathering of exclusive industry professionals from

industry, business and government. Topics and policy

issues discussed within the climate change arena.

First forum held in November 2010: Altron Group Carbon Footprint – Lessons learned & stategy applied.

clImATE chANGE

10 25o in Afr ica

“Do not be surprised if initially your organisation’s footprint calculation increases. This can be expected, especially as one captures more emissions and scopes, but the processes for capturing become more accurate year after year. However, aim for this phase to be fully operational by year three so that you can start to set meaningful and realistic reduction targets by year four,” advises Johnston.

Phase four – Setting reduction targets and commercial opportunities“Aside from the fact that the organisation will be required to calculate its carbon footprint each year from this phase on, the journey really takes on a two prong approach from here onwards. This two prong approach entails the setting of realistic yet stretching reduction targets – based on emission data, as well as investigating possible clean development mechanisms (CDMs) i.e. carbon credit trading opportunities,” says Johnston.

In considering the setting of carbon emission reduction targets, it is

necessary to consider the following:

Set targets at an operational rather than at a group level for five year • periods. This way managers take ownership of their own reduction plans and can be incentivised based on their ability to attain these targets.Focus on low hanging fruit – electricity consumption invariably • contributes the largest component of a carbon footprint and simply turning off lights and computers at night can substantially reduce a

company’s carbon footprint.Consider operational and group budgets and involve executives in the • process.Base targets on data captured and trends followed in the past few years.• Re-evaluate carbon reduction targets and initiatives annually and report • the findings to stakeholders.

Regarding CDM opportunities:

Choose CDM partners wisely. This exercise can be extremely technical • and expensive and you want to ensure that you are going to realise a return on your investment. Investigate third party funding opportunities.•

“Finally, become committed to playing an active role in influencing government policy on climate change, as well as participate in programmes such as the Carbon Disclosure Project,” concludes Johnston.

Altron GroupTel: +27 11 645 3600Fax: +27 11 726 3009 E-mail: [email protected]: www.altron.co.za

A study by the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI)

shows that global environmental damage caused by human activity in 2008 represented a monetary value of US$6.6-trillion, equivalent to 11% of the global GDP. The most environmentally damaging business sectors are utilities, oil and gas producers, and industrial metals and mining.

The study, an initial effort to quantify in monetary terms the environmental harm caused by business and the possible future consequences for investor portfolios, fund returns and company earnings, estimates that in 2008 the world’s top 3 000 public companies were responsible for a third of all global environmental damage.

The study warns that as environmental damage and resource depletion increases, and governments start applying a “polluter pays” principle, the value of large portfolios will be affected through higher insurance premiums on companies, taxes, inflated input prices and the price tags for clean-ups.

“This report sends a powerful message that the environment is also the business of business. Polluters must pay. Safeguarding the environment and using our natural assets efficiently entail collective action,” comments Paul Clements-Hunt, head of the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative.

“The bottom line is that if we want to achieve a sustainable global economy, then we must stop drawing down our natural capital,” says Clements-Hunt.

James Gifford, executive director of Principles for Responsible Investment, said: “An increasing number of large investors are recognising that environment externalities generated by one company are likely to come back and hit their portfolios in another place or time. This report provides an important rationale why investors need to exercise leadership and responsible ownership by acting together to reduce corporate externalities,” said Gifford.

According to Richard Mattison, chief operating officer of Trucost, large companies and investors are exposed to significant environmental costs. “These costs are largely linked to greenhouse gas emissions, water use, air pollution and unsustainable resource use that continue to threaten our finite stock of natural capital and prospects for sustainable growth. The report highlights opportunities for investors to encourage companies to use resources more efficiently and pollute less before environmental costs rise further,” concludes Mattison.

For more information about the study, visit www.unepfi.org, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

Environmental damage of global GDP= 11%

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25o in Afr ica 11

Environmental damage of global GDP

Using an expanded set of complementary indicators, the report documents the changing state of biodiversity, ecosystems and

humanity’s consumption of natural resources, and explores the implications of these changes for future human health, wealth and well-being.

One of the longest-running measures of the trends in the state of global biodiversity, the Living Planet Index (LPI), shows a consistent overall trend since the first Living Planet Report was published in 1998 – a global decline of almost 30% between 1970 and 2007.

Trends regarding tropical and temperate species’ populations are starkly divergent: the tropical LPI has declined by 60% while the temperate LPI has increased by almost 30%. According to the report, the reason behind these contrasting trends likely reflects differences between the rates and timing of land-use changes, and hence habitat loss, in tropical and temperate zones.

“The increase in the temperate LPI since 1970 may be due to the fact that it is starting from a lower baseline, and that species’ populations are recovering following improvements in pollution control and waste management, better air and water quality, an increase in forest cover, and/or greater conservation efforts in at least some temperate regions,” reads the report.

The report states that in 2007, the most recent year for which data is available, the Ecological Footprint (which tracks the area of biologically reproductive land and water to provide the renewable resources people use) exceeded the earth’s biocapacity – the area actually available to produce renewable resources and absorb co2 – by 50%. This growth in ecological overshoot is largely attributable to the carbon footprint, which has increased 11-fold since 1961 and by just over one-third since the publication of the first Living Planet Report in 1998.

The report also shows that 71 countries are currently experiencing some stress on blue water sources – that is, sources of blue water people use and

don’t return – with nearly two-thirds of these experiencing moderate to severe stress.

“This has profound implications for ecosystem health, food production and human well-being, and is likely to be exacerbated by climate change,” says WWF.

“This report shows that we need a new green economy which assigns genuine value to the benefits we get from nature: biodiversity, the natural systems which provide goods and services like water, and ultimately our own well-being. The new coalition government can take a lead by putting green investment and real sustainability at the heart of its decision-making,” said David Nussbaum, CEO of WWF-UK.

“The loss of biodiversity and habitats undermines the natural systems upon which we depend for the food we eat, the air we breathe and the stable climate we need.

The depletion of natural resources caused by human consumption also poses risks to our economic security – for instance, scarcity of resources and degraded natural systems will increase the price of food, raw materials and other commodities. So the time to take action is now,” said Nussbaum.

For more information about the study, visit www.panda.org, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

WWFHead Office South AfricaTel: +27 21 888 2800 E-mail: [email protected]: www.wwf.org.za

WWF launches Living Planet Report 2010WWF’s Living Planet Report is a health-check on the natural world and this report is launched every second year. The 2010 Living Planet Report aims to raise public awareness of the pressures on the biosphere and spreading the message that “business as usual” is not an option.

Global Ecological Footprint

World biocapacity

Numb

er of

plan

ets

1.6

1.4

1.2

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.01961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2007

Human demand on the biosphere more than doubled between 1961 and 2007.

1970 1980 1990 2000 2007

1.6

1.4

1.2

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0

Living

Plan

et Ind

ex (1

970=

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Global Living Planet Index

The global index shows that vertebrate species’ populations declined by almost 30% between 1970 and 2007.

The governments of South Africa, Denmark and Mexico have established a troika “that facilitates close cooperation by the three governments on the ongoing climate change negotiations under the United Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)”. Last year’s climate change talk, COP15, was held in Denmark. This year’s talk will be in Mexico and the climate change talks of 2011 will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

According to a statement released by the Department of Environmental Affairs, this cooperation aims to provide continuity and to strengthen the ongoing climate negotiations by providing leadership and guidance in the negotiation process.

The governments of the three countries believe that by means of a joint effort and renewed commitment in the negotiations, a broad and balanced package of decisions can be agreed upon at this year’s COP, which will lead to immediate action.

“In light of the serious climate challenges facing the world, the troika is calling upon all parties to contribute to the achievement of substantive progress during the upcoming COP16 in Cancun, Mexico,” said the department.

“A constructive momentum can be obtained during COP16 and last beyond. The troika recognises that fast-start financing is important to build trust. Transparency on what the parties contribute is essential.”

The troika has urged developed countries to deliver on their pledges made in Copenhagen on fast-start financing and put forward concrete actions.

“Furthermore, the troika stresses the need for substantial progress in the upcoming sessions of the ad hoc working groups, to be held in Tianjin, China, from 4 to 9 October 2010,” says the department before adding that the many actions undertaken by national and local governments, businesses and civil society in pursuit of a low carbon world have been welcomed.

“It is acknowledged that climate change is a multifaceted global challenge, which requires combined efforts from all sectors and all actors. The troika is strongly committed to the strengthening of the international regime on climate change,” concludes the department.

For more information, visit www.info.gov.za, to which acknowledgement and thanks are given.

CoP host cities join forces

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The Department of Environmental Affairs embarked on a six-month long campaign to inspect compliance to environmental legislation throughout South Africa. The Environmental Management Inspectorate, commonly referred to as the Green Scorpions, will be carrying out compliance assessments.

A total of 40 environmental authorisations and 20 waste licenses will be inspected during this campaign. “The main objectives of the campaign are to monitor adherence to conditions stipulated in environmental management plans, waste licenses and to improve the general status of compliance within the regulated community through taking proper enforcement actions in the events of non-compliance. The Green Scorpions (EMI) has prioritised and clustered specific environmental assessments per province and will dedicate a week for inspections in each province,” said the department.

The campaign kicked off in the Western Cape. Some of the facilities

that the Green Scorpions will be inspecting include the following:

Eskom Safari Substation in Paarl for construction of 132/66 kv • substation.The upgrade of East Fort Water Scheme by Knysna Municipality.• The development of a reverse osmosis project in the port of Saldanha • by Transnet.

The construction of a substation and relocation of power lines in • Kwa-Nokuthula (Plettenberg Bay) by Bitou Municipality.

The Green Scorpions will also follow up on a Section 31L Compliance Notice issued by the Department of Environmental Affairs to the Western Cape’s Public Works Department for the illegal construction of facilities for the storage of materials and maintenance of vessels in the sea or within 100 metres inland of the high-water mark of sea as well as the illegal construction of facilities for the aboveground storage of dangerous goods.

After the Western Cape Province has been tackled, the Scorpions will be visiting various facilities in KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and the Eastern Cape until 2011.

“The Department of Environmental Affairs acknowledges the important role played by members of the public in reporting environmental transgressions and would like to encourage them to continue reporting environmental crimes and incidents to +27 800 205 005,” concludes the department.

For more information, visit www.info.gov.za, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

Green Scorpions embark on national compliance inspection campaign

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“There remains a serious and significant greenhouse gap between the ambition of nations and science. This needs to be bridged if the world

wants to have a chance of keeping a global temperature rise under 2ºC. Cancun offers the next opportunity to accelerate a transition to a low carbon, green economy,” said UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Achim Steiner, at a Business for Environment (B4E) conference in Mexico City. B4E raised the global business voice ahead of the 16th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP16), which will be held in Cancun this year. “One option is to address non-CO2 pollutants such as methane and black carbon – these represent low-hanging fruit with potentially immediate benefits for climate as well as for public health to agricultural production,” said Steiner.

In a declaration to be finalised at the talks, company and civil society leaders are expected to urge the governments of the world to make the climate negotiations in Cancun a success and call for the creation of legal frameworks for a rapid transition to a low carbon economy.

Gordon Shepherd, leader of the WWF’s Global Climate Change Initiative, said that governments can and must make progress on areas such as adaptation, finance and ending deforestation at COP 16 in Cancun.

“But they will have to increase their efforts now and start seeking areas of convergence in a much more serious way,” said Shepherd explaining that reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) is an example where agreements already achieved in Copenhagen have been opened up again on such basic issues as the definition of what it covers.

According to Shepherd, the discussions in Bonn that moved behind closed doors did not progress issues adequately. “The mitigation discussion even went backwards and became more polarized. We cannot afford these snail-paced negotiations and they must speed up, or we’ll lose all momentum in this process,” said Shepherd.

“Parties also need to make progress in other areas such as the sources for climate finance and not just wait for the UN Advisory Group of Finance. It is important for governments to move away from the all-or-nothing approach at the UNFCCC, and seek breakthroughs for a balanced Cancun package in areas such as forest protection, adaptation to inevitable threats from climate change, and the beginning of real flows of finance for climate action,” said Shepherd.

UN climate panel head expects no deal at Cancun

In August, the head of the UN’s climate science panel, Rajendra Pachauri, said there was little prospect of a breakthrough in efforts to forge a global agreement on climate change in Cancun.

Pachauri told an Indian news agency, The Press Trust of India, that a deal in Cancun “is not possible, particularly considering the situation in some countries”. He said that Mexico needs to be realistic and concentrate on pushing rich nations to provide funds to developing countries to help them adapt to climate change and reduce their emissions.

“For heaven’s sake, please get the commitment on funding,” said Pachauri. The European Union’s Climate Action Commissioner, Connie Hedegaard, has also said that reaching an agreement will be tough and sights might be more realistically set on South Africa in 2011.

Before last year’s COP was officially over, organisations and governments already started to discuss their strategies for this year’s COP in Mexico. Although the UN may have its flaws, it is the only feasible venue that the world has to reach an agreement.

Officials from all over the world will be debating, strategising and negotiating at COP 16 from 29 November to 10 December 2010. Keep reading 25º in Africa and visit our website (www.25degrees.net) to find out whether a concrete agreement will be reached this year!

Sources: www.unep.org, www.wwf.org.za, www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com.

CoP 16: More views

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14 25o in Afr ica

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AFRICA’S INDEPENDENT ENERGY PORTAL

netin africa

A new website has been launched to provide an overview of fast start climate change finance. The website, which can be viewed at www.

faststartfinance.org, was initiated by the government of the Netherlands, with support from the governments of Costa Rica, Colombia, Denmark, Germany, Indonesia, the Marshall Islands, Mexico, Normal, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.

“Clear evidence is needed before Cancun that fast-start funds have started to flow in 2010,” said Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, at Copenhagen last year. During this summit, developed countries pledged to provide developing countries with fast-start finance approaching US$30-billion for climate policy from 2010 – 2012.

This “fast-start” finance will help developing countries, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable, to mitigate CO2 emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change. According to the World Resource Institute, these pledges also present an opportunity to build trust between developed and developing countries in the international climate arena, in turn fostering progress towards a comprehensive post-2012 international climate agreement (www.wri.org).

According to the website www.faststartfinance.org, the goal is to provide transparency about the amount, direction and use of fast-start climate finance, in turn building trust in its delivery and impact. This website was developed and launched in response to a global call from developed and developing countries, non-governmental organisations and others, for publicly available, clear information on fast-start climate finance flows.

The website states that the information is incomplete, but it provides a

structure for the display of information, which countries can use. “Countries are responsible for maintaining the information on their own country pages, including for the level of specificity of information. The aim is to have an overview on fast-start finance on the website in time for the next Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, which will be taking place from 29 November – 10 December in Cancun, Mexico,” reads the website.

What other climate change finance tools are available?CFO (Climate Finance Options): • This website is supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank and it aims at providing guidance and financial options available for climate action in developing countries. The website also offers tools supporting investment decision-making and sources of multilateral and bilateral funds. Website: www.climatefinanceoptions.org Adaptation fund:• This fund was established by the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to finance concrete adaption projects and programmes in developing countries that are Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. Website: www.adaption-fund.org Climate Funds Updates:• This is an independent website that provides information on the growing number of international funding initiatives. Website: www.climatefundsupdate.org World Bank Group:• The World Bank Group is committed to addressing climate change and helping to reduce poverty. The bank works with over 100 developing countries and emerging economies by assisting them in mobilising and accessing finance, developing policy and deploying new technologies. Website: beta.worldbank.org/climatechange

For more information, visit www.faststartfinance.org, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

new website tracking fast-start climate change finance

Within a month of the website launch, the following contributing countries contributed the

total fast-start finance as pledged and the number of programmes:

Country Total pledged Total committed Programmes

Denmark DKK (Danish Krone) 1 200 million DKK 308-million 0European Union €159-million €50-million 0France €1 260-million €1 260-million 0Germany €1 260-million 7Netherlands €310-million €310-million 7Norway US$357-million 11

United KingdomGBP (Great British Pounds) 1 500-million

GBP511-million 7

Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations.

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netin africa

The UK government has launched a new interactive Google Earth map showing the impacts of a 4°C rise in world temperature. The multi

platform map, which can be viewed at www.fco.gov.uk/4degrees, pushes the barriers of Google Earth technology, highlighting some of the changes that may occur if the global average temperature rises by 4°C above the pre-industrial climate average. Things to note include the higher temperatures over land compared to the sea and the extreme temperature increases in the Arctic.

The map was developed using peer-reviewed science from the Met Office Hadley Centre and other leading impact scientists and it lends a human face to climate science by featuring videos of climate scientists from the UK explaining the latest scientific research behind the climate impacts shown.

Google representatives have said that this type of technology can help to promote climate mitigation. “This is a great example of the benefits of using the latest web technology to visualise scientific information and promote a better understanding of the potential human impact on climate change. Allowing scientists to talk about their research to the general public is a way to enable the public to fully understand how the process of scientific investigation works,” said Ed Parsons from Google.

Launched by Foreign Office Minister Henry Bellingham and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker alongside Chief Government Scientist, Professor John Beddington, the map also includes videos of FCO and British Council climate change projects currently taking place around the world.

“The threat from climate change has not gone away and this government is committed to doing what it can to take action. We are committed to being the ‘greenest’ government ever,” said Foreign Office Minister, Henry Bellingham.

“The Foreign Secretary said recently in his first major foreign policy speech that he is keen to engage with new audiences. This Google Earth map supports his commitment to tackle climate change and will hopefully communicate with a bigger audience globally about why the UK government is being an activist in championing the transition to a low carbon economy.”

The map projection was generated using the Met Office Hadley Centre’s HadCM3 QUMP ensemble model runs for the A1B and A1FI scenarios for all the models that showed a global average temperature rise of +4°C before the end of the century. There were 23 runs in total, and these were averaged at the point where they each reached a +4°C rise. Therefore this projection does not represent a particular point in time, as each model reached +4°C at a different time.

Vicky Pope of the Met Office said: “If greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, global average temperatures could increase by 4°C by the end of the century, and possibly as early as 2060. This new mapping onto Google Earth illustrates some of the potential impact of such a rise. It uses the latest climate and impacts science to highlight the consequences of not reducing emissions.”

For more information, visit www.fco.gov.uk, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

Google Earth shows the effects of a

4°C rise in temperature

Map projeCtion

ENERGy mANAGEmENT


In May 2009, the Department of Minerals and Energy was di vided into two separate departments, namely the Department of Mineral

Resources and the Department of Energy. The Department of Energy is responsible for ensuring explo ration, development, processing, utilisation and management of South Africa’s energy resources. As the country’s economy con tinues to grow, energy is increasingly becoming a key focus (www.gcis.gov.za).

Eskom will invest more than ZAR300-billion in new-generation, transmission and distribution capacity up to 2013. The refurbishment of three power stations – Camden in Ermelo, Grootvlei in Balfour and Komati in Middelburg, Mpumalanga – will add 3 800 MW to the system. Besides the various initiatives such as promoting local refining,

improving operational efficiencies in power stations and investing in freight rail operations, the department is also promoting energy-efficiency and other demand-side initiatives in all sectors of the economy.

“Businesses in South Africa can expect mandatory energy-efficiency standards, for both fuel and buildings, in a new domestic climate change policy being drawn up,” sustainability lawyer Andrew Gilder told delegates in March this year.

New rating tool for South Africa

The Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) has two tools to rate the sustainability and energy-efficiency of buildings (an office rating tool

Energy management: Africa’s increased demand for available resources and unstable energy environment have caused building owners and companies to seek energy management solutions to absorb rising electricity prices and ensure sustainability. Architects and design professionals need to change the way they design, incorporate electricity saving measures and guide clients on how to create more energy-efficient environments.

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16 25o in Afr ica

The new Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) building in Port Louis is a new, highly futuristic and eco-friendly project being built in the high-tech Ebene Cyber City business office park

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Continued from page 16

and the retail rating tool, which were both developed based on the Australian Green Star and adapted for local climate regions) and the organisation is busy preparing for the launch of their third tool – a multi-unit residential tool.

The multi-unit residential tool is expected to be launched in May 2011 and it has passed the necessary pilot phases. The ongoing strategic expansion of available rating tools by the GBCSA is being driven by the demand for increased coverage of the property sector and the acknowledgement of environmental issues attributed to specific building types,” said Nicola Douglas, chief executive of the GBCSA.

According to SA Property News, recent estimates show that multi-residential units represent approximately 8% of all residential dwellings in South Africa, and there is a definite trend towards higher density units with flats and townhouses accounting for about 27% of new floor space or about 29% of the number of dwellings/units being built. This sector also consumes over 17% of all electrical energy generated by Eskom, which is equivalent to the mining sector (www.sapropertynews.com).

“Energy-efficiency and GHG mitigation strategies for residential buildings will have a huge positive impact on the environment,” said Douglas.

The new multi-unit residential rating tool will analyse and assess

the following components of the building:

HVAC, electrical, vertical transportation, plumbing, stormwater • systems and fire suppression;Common areas such as shared amenities, entry lobbies, covered • car parks and communal facilities;Outside areas on the project site such as external car parking, • exterior lighting systems, irrigation systems and landscaping;Fixed joinery, cabinetry, fixtures within the control of the design • team.

In October, Menlyn Maine Investments, which is a mixed-use precinct under development in Pretoria, announced that they will be co-sponsors of the development of the tool.

Market poised for growth

According to leading growth development company, Frost & Sullivan, the South African market for green buildings is still in its infancy, but it is poised for rapid growth. Sustained development in this market would be ensured through collaboration between government, non-governmental organisations and the private sector.

The launch of the Green Star SA rating system led to a race amongst South African companies to achieve the first certified rating. The South African market for green buildings had one certified building in 2009, but the increase in the number of members joining the GBCSA can be interpreted as an indication of market awareness, which has seen membership rates growing exponentially since 2008. During 2010 the number of members is expected to surpass 1 000.

“Our recent analysis of the South African green building market found that this market, whilst still in its infancy, has high potential for growth,” says Frost & Sullivan environmental technologies analyst Linda Harding. “The growth in membership of the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) indicates that the South African market is responding well to green building initiatives.”

Peter Rumsey Principal of Rumsey Engineers

ENERGy mANAGEmENT

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The Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) is one of the first and most prominent commercial banks in Mauritius. Their head office, which is based in capital city Port Louis, is building a new highly futuristic and eco-friendly building in the high-tech Ebene Cyber City Business Office Park.

MCB is incorporating the latest energy-saving technology that

will allow energy savings of a staggering 32% compared with a

conventional building of the same size. These features include:

A 3 078 m² photovoltaic farm, which will allow an average of • 258 kW to be generated during sunny weather, balancing out the consumption of the water chiller, which on average requires 265 kW to run.A CIAT CRISTOPIA cold storage unit with a nominal capacity of 5 000 • kWh will be used in conjunction with a 1 000 kW Powerciat LX water chiller. Thanks to this system, cold can be stored up at night during off-peak times and then used during the day, which helps to even out consumption peaks and enables load-shedding during the peak period between 6 pm and 10 pm (this will also allow the building’s owner to benefit from the cheapest electricity tariffs).HEE motor-driven fan coil type comfort units, noted for their low • electricity consumption.

Besides the above-mentioned technologies, the orientation of the building will be east-west, with glazed facades facing north and south. Sun shades and tinted windows will also reduce the impact of solar energy and heat transmission to the building.

Case study: MCB Building in Mauritius

ENERGy mANAGEmENT

20 25o in Afr ica

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Throw away the HVAC system to achieve

a net-zero energy building

Besides the numerous HVAC reconfigurations and automation that can be implemented to manage a building’s energy consumption, there is also a number or design professionals who believe that other heating and cooling methods should be used to achieve a net-zero energy building.

In a presentation entitled “The New Generation of Super-Efficient HVAC Systems”, the principal of Rumsey Engineers, Peter Rumsey, told Arhictectural Record’s innovation conference that one of the most daunting challenges facing architects and engineers in their struggle to deliver net-zero energy buildings is a four letter acronym: HVAC (www.archrecord.com).

According to Rumsey, HVAC systems account for 25-50% of a building’s total energy use and the key is to accept that VAV reheating systems are a solution “of the past” and that we should “throw them away and start afresh. We need to be looking at completely different mechanical systems.”

Some of these reheating systems include:

Night sky: • Water is sprayed on a roof at night and the chilled water is used to cool the building during the day.Radiant heating and cooling: • According to Rumsey, these systems should appeal to architects because it means using small pipes instead of design-ruining, large ducts.Night flushing:• Using chilled night-time air to flush the heat of a building.Larger ducts:• This option is for architects who can handle the design implications.Natural ventilation:• In areas where the climate allows this option.

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ENERGy mANAGEmENT

22 25o in Afr ica

“First of all, it does pay to invest in greening buildings or production facilities,” says Frikke Malan, business development manager of

Energy Cybernetics. “Having said that, it is important to realise there is a big difference between calling a building ‘green’ or ‘efficient’ after spending a bit of money on a few isolated energy-efficiency projects, and having truly transformed a building’s energy consumption according to your customised integrated energy management plan with supporting documented proof in the form of measured and verified results,” says Malan.

Organisational investment in “greening” initiatives is growing – not surprising if you consider the state of South Africa’s energy supply, the rising prices, the risk of not being able to do business without electricity and the undisputed benefits of investing in energy-efficiency, including social, environmental and economic factors. While the imperative to become green is rarely questioned, returns from these efforts are often in doubt.

“Energy-efficiency savings are often overstated, mostly due to aggressive marketing by vendors of energy-efficient products. On the other hand, gains are frequently not clearly visible, due to various factors, like production and changes in operations that affect energy consumption,” explains Malan.

“The challenge arises because energy-efficiency projects are often conducted without due consideration for how the gains will be measured. For example, if the only measurement of electricity consumption is your monthly utility bill, how will you adequately quantify the energy-efficiency gains? Keep in mind that your bills only provide twelve data points representing electricity consumption for the year, and many of these data points can be estimates. What about climatic conditions, production volumes, occupancy and so forth?”

Measurement and verification, or M&V for short, is an internationally accepted practice used to quantify energy-efficiency gains. M&V in South Africa is governed by the recently published SATS 50 010 (SABS technical specification). Some key principles of the M&V approach are that it should be technically sound, repeatable, transparent, objective and (in many cases) independent.

The benefits of incorporating sound M&V as part of energy-efficiency investments are plentiful.

Independent M&V provides you with an unbiased quantification of • energy-efficiency gains and the consequent financial savings. This information can be used to motivate (or even fund) further • expenditure towards becoming “even greener”. The savings from initial projects can be applied to fund subsequent initiatives. Independent performance evaluation lends credibility to greening •

projects, and avoids a project being labelled as “green washing” (claiming to be green without tangible and independently measured results). Establishing a proper M&V baseline during the project scoping phase • allows anticipated savings to be calculated more accurately, thereby reducing the project risks. Most importantly, independent M&V forms the basis for participating • in government’s proposed energy-efficiency tax rebates, due for implementation in 2011.

In terms of the proposed regulations that will govern the energy-efficiency tax rebates, a consumer can claim a substantial tax rebate for every kWh of energy saved as a result of energy-efficiency, provided that the savings are measured and verified by an accredited M&V provider. “These rebates will reduce the payback period and increase the ROI of investments in successful energy-efficiency projects. The rebate will make the investment decision easier. Keep in mind that if an M&V plan and baseline is not formulated before project implementation, it becomes more difficult and expensive to measure efficiency gains after the fact. Measurement and verification should start before project implementation. It is important to identify a reputable M&V service provider if you intend to invest in energy-efficiency projects,” advises Malan.

With rising electricity costs and South Africa’s electricity supply under pressure for at least the next five years, energy-efficiency is becoming an increasingly important driver of our economy. The cost to the economy of every kWh lost to load-shedding was estimated to be ZAR75. When this is compared to the 45 to 90c it costs the average consumer to purchase a kWh of electricity, it is clear that we cannot afford load-shedding again.

“Many consumers, from residential to large corporate and industrial sectors, will increase their spending to become more energy-efficient. Given the scarcity of funds in these difficult economic times, it would be wise to consider every possible means that will increase the returns on these investments. A holistic approach to sustainability and energy management and partnering with a reputable energy-efficiency consultancy with M&V experience are key components towards achieving this objective,” concludes Malan.

Energy CyberneticsTel: +27 12 369 9880Fax: +27 12 348 9175E-mail: [email protected]: www.energycybernetics.com

A sensible approach to “green” investmentsWhy do organisations increase spending to “green” themselves and what is required to realise real returns on energy-efficiency investments?

ENERGy mANAGEmENT



Rumsey concluded his presentation by saying that better HVAC systems are not about creating energy-stingy, but uncomfortable spaces – but about making fundamentally better buildings. “Truly integrated design means engineers and architects getting together in the process to discuss how systems will affect each other,” said Rumsey before citing a building in California that, instead of being done in the standard steel, was done in concrete when the architect realised, in consultation with the engineer, that this material would allow a much simpler and cheaper HVAC system (www.archrecord.com).

Some of the rules that Rumsey gave the crowd at Architectural

Record’s conference include:

Achieve elegant solutions through simple engineering.• Use passive energy sources where possible.• Right-size buildings.• Where possible, use controls, but beware of controls that are so • complicated that they don’t get used.

Sources: 25º in Africa would like to give full acknowledgement and thanks to Rip Wyma from Shared Energy Management, www.frost.com and www.ciat.com for information contributed to this article.

ENERGy mANAGEmENT

25o in Afr ica 25

Power factor correction for your business Until fairly recently, the return on investment for power factor correction

equipment in South African commercial and industrial applications was extremely long. Avoidance of wasteful electricity demand and consumption was in the past not given the attention it deserves and energy-efficiency has only very recently become a strategic objective for most companies.

What can be done to alleviate the problem of rising electricity costs for commercial and industrial consumers? “Become more energy-efficient and lower your electricity bills by using your power more efficiently and protect your sensitive electrical and electronic equipment from potential damage caused by the harmonics generated by power electronics, such as variable speed drives” says Eric Solot, Managing Director of Alpha Power Solutions.

Alpha Power Solutions offers customised power factor correction and harmonic filtration solutions, based on measurements taken with their state-of-the-art test and data logging equipment. After the data obtained has been analysed, proposals are submitted, complete with savings and investment payback estimates. “Once the recommended hardware has been installed, you will notice an immediate improvement in power factor, a decrease in maximum demand and a reduction in total harmonic distortion (where applicable) and of course monthly savings in your electricity bills,” says Solot.

Benefits of power factor correction

Reduced electricity costs: • A reduction in apparent power (kVA) will result in electricity savings.Reduced losses: • excessive reactive current flowing through conductors as a result of a poor power factor leads to additional heat losses. The associated watt-related charges can be reduced through power factor correction. Increased system capacity: • power factor correction equipment can free up capacity on supply transformers.Improved voltage conditions: • By correcting the power factor of an installation, the system voltage is improved, which in turn results in improved motor efficiency, life and performance.

Alpha Power Solutions has more than 23 years of experience in the field of power factor correction in Europe and Southern Africa. “The supply, installation and servicing of power factor correction and harmonics filtration equipment is our core business. We combine innovation, technology, expertise and superior quality to offer tailor-made solutions and endeavour to create long-term and mutually beneficial relationships with our clients,” concludes Solot.

Alpha Power SolutionsTel: +27 11 615 4640Fax: +27 866 542 390Cell: +27 72 546 5185E-mail: [email protected]: www.alphapowersolutions.co.za

Tel: +2711 615 4640 • Fax: +27866 542390Cell: +2772 546 5185E-mail: [email protected]

www.alphapowersolutions.co.za

REDUCED PROFITS

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INCREASED BILLS

Help your clients reduce their maximum electrical demand with our trusted products and services.

• 24 month guarantee on our product range• The possibility to enter into service contracts• We provide training if necessary• Free audits of electrical installations• Flawless aftermarket service• A stock of spare parts and complete assemblies• Estimated ROI is between 6 – 18 months

MAXIMUM DEMAND EFFICIENCY

ENERGy mANAGEmENT

26 25o in Afr ica



The Auckland Park Campus of the South Africa, National Broadcasting Corporation is situated in Johannesburg and the building is divided into the Radio Park Campus and the TV Centre. The SABC complex has a total netto floor area of approximately 70 000m2 consisting of radio park offices, radio park studios as well as TV centre news studios and offices. All netto floor areas are air-conditioned by central chilled and hot water systems.

Left: The SABC building in Auckland Park, Johannesburg.

Shared Energy Management (SEM) performed a detailed energy audit of the SABC building in Auckland Park during 2006 to identify energy savings opportunities and calculate the potential for electricity cost savings. During the audit new air-conditioning control, dry mist evaporative pre-cooling and pump variable speed drive savings strategies were identified and proposed to the client. “Implementing the proposed strategies will result in estimated cost savings of ZAR3.5-million per year with a direct payback period of less than 12 months,” says Rip Wyma of SEM.

The performance contract was awarded to Johnson Controls Facility Management (JCFM) and the contract was based on the agreement that the contractor finances all the required capital to implement electricity cost savings strategies and retain 50% of the savings over a 5-year contract period as the only project remuneration.

Wasted HVAC resources

The SABC site operated at an average maximum demand of approximately 11 500 kVA, 74-million kWhr/year and an electricity account of ZAR18-million per year due to the various air-conditioning,

chilled water plants, lighting, heating and boiler plants.During SEM’s energy audit, it was determined that the HVAC systems consume over 60% of the facility’s total energy. The findings of the investigation include the following:

Office air-conditioning and lighting systems were on after hours • when the respective areas were unoccupied, even with a BMS in place for remote switching from the main control room. The Variable Air Volume (VAV) and reheat AHUs (Air Handling Units) • supply a constant air temperature throughout the year, irrespective of the change in building cooling and heating loads. This resulted in over cooling and unnecessary re-heating.The chilled water pumping systems consume a total electricity • demand of 800kW constantly throughout the year irrespective of the change in building cooling and heating loads.

Savings strategies

As a result of the findings during the energy audit, the following energy savings strategies were proposed to reduce the electricity cost of the facility:

Extend the BMS with a phone switching module to switch lighting • and air-conditioning remotely via phone (including cellphone) when required. This strategy implies fixed operating hours during office hours and remote switching after hours on demand with automatic shutdown on a rundown timer.Reconfigure and reprogramme all the AHU cooling and heating • controllers to a logic minimising over-cooling and unnecessary reheating.

Re-commission the air economiser • control cycles and install dry mist evaporative cooling in the plant rooms at the outside air inlets to pre-cool and humidify the dry outside air during winter .Install Variable Speed Drives • (VSDs) on the chilled water pumps to reduce the flow and energy consumption of the pumps during part load conditions.

Case study: Energy management at SABC, Auckland Park

Right: Dry mist nozzle at air intake.

Below: Dry mist panel with pump.

ENERGy mANAGEmENT

25o in Afr ica 27

For savings, control and efficiency, contact Green Technologies:

Tel: +27 11 726 8092Fax: +27 11 726 7736E-mail: [email protected] www.gtech.co.za

Advanced METERING INFRASTRUCTURE for energy management in buildings

Advanced Metering Infrastructure AMI is a complete two-way data communication system for automatic meter reading (AMR) that uses low voltage power line grid as the medium (known as PLC technology).

ROBUST, RELIABLE DATA

Designed to meet International Standards, it provides robust and reliable data communication by using low speed, error detection and error correction techniques.

MANAGING YOUR ELECTRICITY USAGE

Green Technologies, an energy management solutions provider in South Africa, provides the three components to build this AMR system:

Digital AMR electricity meter [MTC 1000/SP]: 1. Replaces the old mechanical electricity meter. This hi-tech meter is a complete energy recorder, with built-in power line modem for data communication (PLM).Data concentrator [DTC-1000]: This data concentrator 2. is installed in every distribution transformer, providing a communication bridge between the electricity company and every meter connected to the distribution transformer.Data server [STC-1000]: Installed in the electricity 3. companyʼs office. Provides user-friendly access to all DTCs and MTCs equipments, with built-in SQL database server for easy integration of existing management and accounting software. Access instant and real-time valuable information to effectively monitor and manage your energy consumption.

TOTAL ACCESS TO YOUR ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION

With just a click, you have access to demand profile, maximum demand analysis, technical and non-technical losses analysis, QoS, remote control and monitoring (cut off the energy, read any electrical

parameter), and remote reconfiguration of any parameter (multi-tariff, setup prepaid mode, load control, alarms) of any meter.

Smart metering gives back to the community“With all the talk about smart metering and its potential to manage

the electrical crisis, improve grid-efficiency and curb financial losses for major electricity utilities, one significant point is forgotten”, says the managing director of Green Technologies, Shalin Govender. “Smart metering with all its technological advancements also allows for noteworthy social benefits, besides all the cost-savings and efficiency improvements,” says Govender.

One of the fundamental reasons why Govender has such a great passion for smart metering is that the essence of the smart metering system is not limited to catering for the basic needs of an under-privilege community, but also to protect the community.

Protecting the community

“Two-way communication functionality of smart metering ensures that consumption data is always up to date. This ensures that people only pay for what they use, are accurately allocated their free electricity quota, and that top class reliable service delivery is the norm,” explains Govender.

Shack fires are a reality in South African communities and they can have deadly consequences. “In a modern society, this reality should not exist. With smart metering, the provision of electricity to communities relying on alternate sources would become more affordable as a result of the enhanced efficiency and control that the municipality has over the provision of its services. The bottom line is that theft and wastage drive up the cost of electricity to the under-privilege, and this can be prevented with smart metering,” says Govender.

Green Technologies is excited about the steps that the South African electricity utilities have taken to move towards a new era in electrical supply and supports these initiatives.

Green Technologies:Tel: +27 11 726 8092Fax: +27 11 726 7736Website: www.gtech.co.za

Green Technologies CEO, Yasmin Govender, at an under-privilage play school.

ENERGy mANAGEmENT


Estimated savings

A building and HVAC model of the facility was configured in the simulation programme VisualDOE to calculate the potential for electricity cost savings of the proposed savings strategies. The estimated change in winter electricity demand of the chilled and hot water systems is displayed in Figure 5. The table below displays the estimated savings, implementation costs and payback periods:

“At the end of the contract the annual energy consumption is about 57-million kWhr/year. The actual savings from January 2007 to September 2010 resulted in a 23% energy saving, 4% more than the estimated saving and a total energy cost saving of ZAR23 565 347,” says Wyma. “The building technology team at the SABC, under leadership of Bruce Phipson, the team from Johnson Control Facility Management, lead by Neil Cameron, and our team at Shared Energy Management were able to prove that energy management audits can lead to implementable solutions for large buildings,” concludes Wyma.

NOTES:Energy Saving: Estimated energy saving (kWh) per year.% Saving: Percentage energy saving per year.Cost Saving: Estimated electricity cost saving per year.Installation cost: Excludes all audit, development of specifications and project management costs.DDP: Direct Payback Period in months.

Energy and Combustion Services

Tel: +27 31 765 0443 • Fax: +27 31 765 0444 • E-mail: [email protected] • Website: www.enerserv.co.za

CONNECTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY TO

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PERFORMANCE

WHAT WE CAN DO FOR YOUEnergy usage improvement and management solutions – Providing you with benefits of reduced energy consumption, emissions and costs, and improved production control and capacity.

Fleet and logistics work flow performance management solutions – Delivering mobile work platforms and real-time visibility of your operations for control, reduced energy, reduced operational costs and asset optimisation.

Road function condition monitoring and maintenance workflow management solutions – Delivering cost effective road ownership, improved safety and reduced energy consumption.

Carbon emissions monitoring and reporting - Helping you to turn compliance into opportunities.

ECS has the reputation for delivering innovative solutions in the areas of

performance measurement, visualisation, verification and actionable information.

ENERGy mANAGEmENT

25o in Afr ica 29

ENERGy mANAGEmENT

30 25o in Afr ica

“This project increases the provincially subsidised installations to a total of 1300 solar water heaters in the households of indigent

communities across the Western Cape,” said Provincial Minister of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell.

“Many of the recipients were for the first time afforded the opportunity of having instant hot water in their homes after the installation of the 150 litre, high pressure, flatbed collector solar water heaters,” said Geldenhuys.

“The first phase of the project took place in March and April 2010 and the final installations were completed in October 2010,” says Geldenhuys. The large project consisted of 540 units being installed in low-cost housing units in the area.

Anton Pretorius, a director at SDA explains that Project Darling, as the company likes to call the endeavour, was more than merely a solar water heating installation and that the local community received other benefits from the project. “When we commissioned the project, we made a concerted effort to leave more than just solar hot water behind,” says Pretorius.

“At the start of Phase 1 we trained 14 local community members skills ranging from pipe bending to soldering. Those people were then employed for the duration of the contract. Their initial contribution was that of assistant to the team of qualified plumbers we had on site. As their confidence grew, they eventually took over and they completed the final 100 units of Phase 1 under supervision,” says Pretorius.

“While we were waiting for the second phase to commence, we employed two of the original trained community locals to oversee all maintenance issues and queries that the new recipients of the solar water heaters may have,” says Pretorius.

Bredell commented on the training initiatives: “The installation of these units significantly impacted on the living environment of the households, while at the same time impacting on the livelihood of fourteen community members who were trained to assist with installations during the project, subsequently addressing the skills gap in the solar water heater industry. One of the trainees has been contracted by the service provider to perform maintenance on the solar water heaters in the community over a contractual period.”

Darling residents get solar water heatersThe Western Cape’s Department of Environmental Affairs and Planning awarded the contract to supply and install solar water heating to a number of community members in Darling, Western Cape, to Citrine Solar and their supplier, Solar Distributors Africa (SDA) The Department has set a goal of 14% renewable energy by 2014 and impoverished communities, who often have no access to hot water, will benefit greatly from this type of project, according to Tony Geldenhuys,a Director of Citrine Solar.

ENERGy mANAGEmENT

25o in Afr ica 31

AC Solar Power, which forms part of the larger ACS Group, is a Free State based company that designs and installs new solar water

heating systems, air-conditioning units and ventilation systems. The ACS Group was founded 12 years ago and has branches in the Free State, Northern Cape, Cape Town and Durban.

Besides new installations, the company also analyses existing systems to make them more energy-efficient and they also install heat pump solutions for swimming pools. ACS focuses primarily on servicing the hospitality industry.

The company joined the SDA network and supplies the SDA product range on behalf of the SDA in Bloemfontein. Deon Brits, AC Solar Power Director, says that SDA products conform to the applicable manufacturing standards the network urges all their solar water heater dealers to adhere to the highest installation standards.

“AC Solar Power and SDA strive to supply the best products and right solar solutions for the clients,” says AC Solar Power Director, Deon Brits. The benefits of belonging to the SDA network are:

Offer a range of ESKOM-accredited solar water heating products.• Access to accredited training courses.• Top-quality products with SABS mark of approval.•

Well-trained and qualified staff.• Technical back-up when required.•

“AC Solar Power did several solar installations to increase efficient energy-savings for the Protea Hotel Group countrywide, which includes the Protea Hotels at OR Tambo International Airport, Mafikeng, Nelspruit, Bloemfontein, Willow Lake, Kimberley and the Protea Hotel Fire & Ice in Cape Town,” continues Brits. ACS also supplied and installed energy-efficient air-conditioning equipment that achieved savings of 30% – 40% on electrical costs at these sites.

“We are in a position to supply full installation and service teams on any mechanical installation to the hospitality industry,” concludes Brits.

AC Solar PowerTel: +27 51 448 2735Fax: +27 51 448 7613E-mail: [email protected]

Free State based supplier part of the solar network

Limited funds and challenges

During the second phase of the project, the Western Cape’s Department of Environmental Affairs announced that they would not have sufficient funds to provide the rest of the remaining homes with solar water heaters and that only another 100 homes would be able to receive solar water heating.“Citrine and SDA decided to join forces and contribute in excess of R450 000 to provide each home with a high quality solar water heater,” said Pretorius. “We believe that each and every community member deserved to have a basic need such as warm water provided for.”

“Our generous contribution allowed all the people to benefit. Testimony to the fact that training and empowering can make a difference is the fact that Phase 2 was completed with the now experienced installers in a record time of 4 weeks. Besides the basic training and equipment we provided, SDA and Citrine also planted 100 indigenous trees for the local community,” concludes Pretorius.

Solar Distributors AfricaTel: +27 21 949 9297Fax: +27 86 590 6303E-mail: [email protected]: www.sdafrica.co.za

ENERGy mANAGEmENT

32 25o in Afr ica

Southern Power Maintenance is a company which specialises in extending substation primary plant life by providing dependable

electrical infrastructure products in South Africa. SPM Metering System, a subsidiary of Southern Power Maintenance, has been distributing ZERA GmbH products for a number of high-profile clients’ meter testing over the past few years. ZERA is a German-based company and 25º in Africa recently spoke to ZERA sales manager Felix Gall while he was visiting South Africa to find out more about accurate meter testing solutions.

Prove what you are paying for

Gall says that ZERA fills a unique role in the energy management industry. “We don’t produce electricity meters or instrument transformers, but the test solutions for them. Therefore, we are able to guarantee our absolute neutrality in this highly sensitive field. We are consistently independent and work exclusively in our customers’ interest,” explains Gall.

The ZERA product range consists of both stationary meter tests systems for laboratory use as well as portable meter test systems for on-site applications. ZERA also developed its own instrument transformer test systems and the company has an accredited calibration lab in Germany.

“ZERA has over 90 years of experience in the manufacturing of meter and instrument transformer testing equipment and the company specialises in equipment used for on-site and laboratory testing,” says Gall. “Since 1920, we have continued to innovate and develop a highly specialised product and service offering. We are currently leaders in the field of development and production of high-grade and economical test solutions for all kinds of electricity meters and instrument transformers,” says Gall.

What the testing equipment does

“Electrical watt hour meters, as well as instrument transformers which are used for billing purposes, need to be calibrated by highly accurate meter test systems. With ZERA products, this calibration can be performed accurately and efficiently. Portable on-site equipment can also provide additional functions, such as checking the correctness of meter installations,” says Gall.

ZERA offers a huge range of standard products, from simple and basic

working standard (MT30) accuracy class 0,2 up to high precision transfer standard PPCS with an uncertainty of < 10ppm (0,001) for measuring active, reactive and apparent power.

The company also provides solutions for meter manufacturers in the form of customised measuring equipment for mass production. “Meter manufacturers need this service to ensure that they are producing top-quality products and many of our clients say that they have benefitted from our professional, confidential and trustworthy consultation procedures,” says Gall. “Our international distribution network gives clients access to dedicated customer support and quick service,” concludes Gall.

If you are interested in the renowned ZERA products, contact Southern Power Maintenance, who has been servicing high-profile clients such as Rotek Engineering, Eskom and City Power. Southern Power Maintenance also provides a range of other energy management solutions such as plant condition monitoring, switchgear site repairs and maintenance, transformer site repairs and maintenance and more.

Southern Power MaintenanceTel: +27 11 606 2390Fax: +27 11 606 2396E-mail: [email protected]: www.spmsa.co.za www.zera.de

German meter testing company speaks about

energy management

Winner of the eta Award commercial categoryShared Energy Management won for achieving savings of R4,2 million in the first year and a total of 55 700MWh since 2006 at the SABC facility in Auckland Park. Beka/Osram won a special award in this category for their highly innovative lighting solution for the 408m arch at the new Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban.

ENERGy mANAGEmENT

25o in Afr ica 33

speaks about energy management

ENERGy mANAGEmENT

34 25o in Afr ica

Monitoring is essentially aimed at establishing the existing pattern of utilities consumption, whilst targeting is the identification of consumption levels that are desirable and acceptable as a management goal. A major challenge for companies is not only to achieve utility savings, but how to sustain the savings. A well-structured, integrated and supported approach to utilities management can leverage and maintain utility savings.

Monitoring and targeting

“It is critical that a utilities management strategy includes an M&T system that will continuously measure and report on the status of the utility performance of the facility against predetermined benchmarks. A utility’s M&T application or system is at the heart of any successful and sustainable integrated utilities management programme,” says Curren.

M&T systems are designed to reduce utility costs through improved utility efficiency and management. “Typical utility savings in various industrial sectors of between 5 – 20% can be achieved through a M&T system, which would also allow for tracking of cost reduction measures,” said Curren, before adding that an M&T system cannot only be expected to drive down operational costs, but should also reduce delivery lead times, reduce environmental risk and thereby increase profit margins.

One such M&T system is Carbon Desktop, which is installed in hundreds of businesses internationally and has been developed by Camco. Carbon Desktop is a secure web-based utility M&T application that takes in data feeds from many different sources, allowing companies with multiple sites to consolidate utility or business data onto a common platform with complete, advanced analysis and reporting across the organisation.

“Underpinned by the principle of continuous improvement, M&T is primarily a management technique that involves a regular and systematic collection of information on utilities usage as a way of establishing a basis of management control, to determine when and why utilities consumption is deviating from an established pattern, and as a basis for taking management action where necessary,” said Curren.

Implementation of an effective utilities management programme should incorporate a number of components, as outlined in the figure, based on a continuous improvement approach to utilities management:

As can be seen from the methodological approach, the choice of the M&T system or application should only form one, albeit essential, phase of an integrated utilities management approach, and it should not be the

Utilities such as energy, water and waste can form a large component of costs and operational requirements for companies. There is, however, increasing recognition that reducing utility usage not only lowers operating costs, but can help to achieve environmental targets and regulatory alignment, as well as demonstrate corporate responsibility to shareholders, customers, clients and the wider public.

“In addition to concerns over rising costs, many companies are facing significant potential challenges in terms of security and

quality of supply, especially with regard to electricity and water,” says Jonathan Curren, Managing Director of an emission reduction and clean energy project company, Camco South Africa.

There is also increasing pressure at a global, regional and national level to address impacts on climate change, in particular through the reduction of carbon emissions. “It is therefore necessary for companies to take a holistic, integrated and systematic approach to key business metrics such as energy, water and carbon as part of a wider utilities management strategy,” explains Curren.

To measure is to improve

“To quote Lord Kelvin (Sir William Thomson), who famously said: ‘To measure is to know, and also – if you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it.’ This brings us to what is commonly nowadays referred to as monitoring and targeting (M&T),” said Curren.

Target energy, water, carbon and waste in your organisation

“A dedicated system, such as Carbon Desktop, that includes energy,

water, waste and carbon, that is scalable and implementable across a number of sites,

plants or buildings, and with real time data collection and automated reporting, will ensure that sustainable savings are achieved,” concludes Curren.

ENERGy mANAGEmENT


Carbon footprinting: over 1, 200 organisational and product carbon o footprints. Carbon management: strategic support to the private sector in all aspects of o climate change and carbon risk. Energy management / ‘Carbon Desktop’ - monitoring and targeting software o for energy, water and carbon:

Over 250 industrial applications worldwide, driving down operational cost, o increasing profit margins, reducing environmental risk.Web based dynamic database application, unlimited simultaneous users, o easy to use and scalable.Interactive drill down management graphs and reporting for CDP and WDP.o

Emission reduction project development: industry leader in CDM origination, o qualification and commercialisation with over 100 million tonnes of CO2 under contract.Policy development: national, regional, and international policies and o regulatory frameworks on energy, climate change and carbon markets.

For further information: t +27 (0)11 253 3400 • f +27 (0)11 804 1038 • [email protected]

Building 18, Woodlands Office Park, Western Service Road, Woodmead, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2080

www.camcoglobal.com

A 20-year track record in providing world-class climate change, energy and sustainable development solutions across Africa and internationally.

choice of M&T system that drives or determines one’s approach. Furthermore, the integration of the M&T system into existing business systems is an important element to consider. “It is also essential to align any strategy with the key performance indicators and accountability of the relevant departments,” said Curren.

“A dedicated system, such as Carbon Desktop, that includes energy, water, waste and carbon, that is scalable and implementable across a number of sites, plants or buildings, and with real time data collection and automated reporting, will ensure that sustainable savings are achieved,” concludes Curren.

Camco South AfricaTel: +27 11 253 3400E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.camcoglobal.com

AND Onisms Manyewe, National Energy SpecialistTotal Facilities Management Company (TFMC)Tel: +27 12 641 8000E-mail: [email protected]: www.totalfmsolutions.com

Implementing an effective utilities management programme.

Scoping Audit

ReviewCommitment

Implementsolutions Organise

for action

Auditing

Process mapping

Training

Monitor & targeting

OIl AND GAS

36 25o in Afr ica

The oil and gas industry is facing uncertainty due to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year, followed by conflicting consumer

and business confidence reports, mixed economic data, cutbacks in government as well as the sovereign debt crisis in Europe. These factors are all contributing to a difficult outlook for the remainder of 2010. Although the global oil and gas market is more unstable than at the beginning of the year, there is heightened deal activity in Africa. James Newlands, the leader for Africa at Ernst & Young Oil & Gas, comments: “There have been some notable oil discoveries in West Africa over the last six months. This year will see an important milestone reached in Ghana with the first oil production from the giant Jubilee field expected in the fourth quarter. However, it is exploration success offshore East Africa that is attracting the interest of some of the larger international players. Deal activity in East Africa, which is much less explored than West Africa, has picked up since the Windjammer gas discovery offshore Mozambique earlier this year. ExxonMobil and BG have farmed into blocks across the border in Tanzania and AIM-listed Cove Energy has a farm-in agreement for a stake in five Kenyan offshore exploration blocks. Companies have shown that they are prepared to move quickly to secure acreage in emerging plays in Africa – with the prize being the first large oil discoveries in deepwater East Africa.”

Oil prices remarkably constant

The Ernst & Young Oil & Gas Outlook for the third quarter of 2010 has shown that oil prices have been constant compared to recent years. For

a full year there have been consistent prices in the US$70 to US$80 per barrel range, due to more modest consumption habits and weak developed economies that have eased demand pressures.

Natural gas may not be a “game changer” for certain regions

“Globally, we have not seen the kind of demand growth some organisations are expecting for the year. Despite this, producers continue

to invest substantially in unconventional gas plays, particularly shale, LNG liquefaction and regasification capacity, suggesting a more positive long-term outlook,” says Dale Nijoka, global oil and gas leader for Ernst & Young, before explaining that some challenges remain to overcome to realize the unconventional reserves potential in Europe and Asia, which means that it may not turn out to be a “game changer” for these regions.

Winners and losers in the oilfield services sector

A decline in upstream spending and downward pressures saw the Oilfield Services (OFS) sector facing a relatively weak economic environment during 2009. After successfully adjusting to the new financial environment, the sector started to show signs of recovery in 2010, but now has to deal with the repercussions of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Despite this, the prospects for the overall OFS sector are set to remain fair for some time yet, albeit there will be winners and losers. “Even though the events in the Gulf of Mexico have been difficult for parts of the OFS sector, ultimately we expect to see investment in equipment and resources

Global oIl&GaS market uncertain; heightened activities

in africa

“Producers continue to invest substantially in unconventional gas plays, particularly shale,

LNG liquefaction and regasification capacity,” says Dale Nijoka.

OIl AND GAS

25o in Afr ica 37

to improve the safety and reliability of offshore and onshore operations. Broadly speaking, this is expected to financially benefit the oilfield services equipment manufacturers, whilst bolstering more technological advances,” said Nijoka. “Oil and gas M&A (mergers and acquisitions) activity is starting to increase in the deal markets, and we expect that to carry through to the second half of 2010, particularly in emerging markets. We have seen further consolidation in the OFS sector in the last six months and we expect this trend to continue for the remainder of 2010. Deal valuations will, however, continue to be constrained by a lack of liquidity in debt markets and continued volatility in equity markets. Additionally, the appetite of a number of Asian National Oil Companies (NOCs) for acquisitions that give them access to strategic resources plays remains undiminished,” concludes Nijoka. For more information, visit www.ey.com, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

Clean burning fuels for the aviation industry

Sasol flew the world’s first passenger aircraft exclusively using the company’s synthetic jet fuel. The fuel was produced by Sasol’s proprietary Coal to Liquids (CTL) process and it is the world’s only fully synthetic jet fuel to have received international approval as a commercial aviation turbine fuel.

Due to its limited sulphur content, emissions of Sasol’s synthetic jet fuel are lower than these from jet fuel derived from crude oil. This is a significant development in the adoption of clean burning alternate fuels for the aviation industry and the historic flight, from Lanseria Airport in Gauteng to Cape Town, kicked off Sasol’s 60th birthday celebrations, by staging a fly-past at the opening of the Africa Aerospace and Defense (AAD) 2010 exhibition at Cape Town’s Ysterplaat Air Force Base.

Sasol CEO, Pat Davies, commented at the event: “The development and approval of this fuel is a testament to Sasol’s 60 years of technical innovation and is an important milestone in the company’s history. The approval of this product by the international aviation fuel authorities recognises the need to develop aviation fuel from feedstocks other than crude-oil in order to meet the world’s growing needs,” Davies said.

In 1998, Sasol became the first company in the world to gain approval for the commercial use of a 50% synthetic jet fuel component, which was blended with petroleum kerosene. Most of the aircraft leaving OR Tambo International Airport have flown using Sasol’s semi-synthetic jet fuel and still use this type of fuel today.

“Sasol’s advances in synthetic fuel technology have brought us even closer to integrating viable alternate transportation fuel into the energy mix,” he said.

International aviation fuel authorities, including the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (UK MoD), governing the Defence Standard DEFSTAN 91-91, approved Sasol’s wholly synthetic jet fuel as Jet A-1 fuel in 2008.

“A number of aviation stakeholders, including airframe, engine and ancillary equipment manufacturers, airlines and aviation authorities such as the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and relevant oil companies, were involved in the approval of this fuel,” said Davies.

The fuel is fully fungible and aligned with the current aviation infrastructure through its compatibility with the existing engine requirements and can be used with conventional crude-oil derived jet fuelling systems.

“While this has been a long journey, the delivery of a viable alternate jet fuel solution that meets with the strict specifications of global aviation authorities is a proud acknowledgement of the enormous talent and expertise within the Sasol Technology business,” concludes Davies.

For more information, visit www.sasol.com, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

nigeria gets 434 MW gas turbine power plant

Nigerian power utility, Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), will be building an environmentally-friendly gas turbine power plant in Ajaokuta, located approximately 200 kilometres south of the capital Abuja. The €230-million, 434 MW power plant, called Geregu II, is scheduled to start commercial operation in late 2012.

Siemens Energy, who built the Geregu I power plant in 2006, won the tender for the Geregu II project. The company will supply three SGT5-2000E gas turbines, the electrical equipment and an SPPA-T3000 instrumentation and control system, which will be built as a turnkey project.

“The centrally located power plant is of strategic importance for grid stability and is therefore a key project for power supply in our country,” said James A Olotu, the Managing Director and CEO of NDPHC.

According to Siemens, the power plant market in Nigeria offers good prospects for plant vendors. An installed power plant capacity of approximately 6 000 MW is the mid-term target. “After construction of the Afam and Geregu I power plants, the order for Geregu II marks a further milestone for Siemens in Nigeria and in Africa,” commented Michael Suess, CEO of the Fossil Power Generation Division of Siemens Energy.

“With the latest project the number of Siemens heavy-duty gas turbines in Nigeria will increase to eight,” concludes Suess.

Siemens Southern AfricaTel: +27 11 652 2146E-mail: [email protected]: www.siemens.com

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“We are pleased with this breakthrough, which we have achieved by cooperating closely with BASF and Linde. By enhancing

efficiency and accordingly reducing costs, we have created a critical success factor for carbon capture technology, which in our view is key to climate-compatible power generation from coal,” underlines Dr Johannes Heithoff, Vice-President for Research and Development at RWE Power. “The practical tests met all of the expectations we had after lab-testing the new solvent. This paves the way for scaling up the process to large power plants,” says Dr Andreas Northemann, Business Manager for Global Gas Treatment at the BASF Intermediates Division. “We are very satisfied with

the results of the practical tests too,” says Dr Aldo Belloni a member of the Executive Board of Linde AG. “ The further development of CO2 capture technology for treating power plant waste gases is among the focal points of our activities aimed at clean energy generation.” The three companies started the pilot plant in August 2009 – it is part of the Coal Innovation Center of RWE Power. BASF is testing the newly developed carbon capture process based on improved solvents in the course of this cooperation announced in 2007. Linde was responsible for pilot plant engineering and construction.

Breakthrough in capturing carbon from flue gas

of coal-fired power plants

Since 2009 RWE, Linde and BASF have been testing new technology for separating carbon dioxide (CO2) from flue gas in a pilot plant at RWE’s Niederaussem power station near Cologne.

The results of the practical test are now available: Compared to processes commonly run today, the innovative technology that captures CO2 by means of new chemical solvents can reduce energy

input by about 20 percent. The new solvents also feature clearly superior oxygen stability, which reduces solvent consumption significantly.

© RW

E

RWE’s Niederaussem power station near Cologne.

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Now the partners are working on solutions for demonstration and large-scale power plants. First demonstration plants are scheduled to come on stream in 2015, and CO2 capture is expected to be used commercially in coal-fired power stations by 2020. This technology should allow more than 90 percent of the carbon dioxide contained in the waste gas of a power plant to be captured for subsequent sub-surface storage or for chemical transformation, for example to give fertilizers.

RWE Power will spend about nine million euros on the development project described above. The German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology contributed about four million euros to the cost of the pilot plant.

About RWE Power

RWE Power is Germany’s biggest electricity producer. The opencast mines, power stations, upgrading facilities, research projects, training centres and administrative units have a headcount of more than 17 000. With power-plant capacity of about 33 000 MW, the company makes a contribution to RWE’s wide energy mix consisting of lignite, hard coal, nuclear energy, gas and renewables. RWE Power is investing billions in the construction of new, climate-sparing power plants and the development of even more efficient, environmentally friendly technologies for the power generation of the future. Please find further information about RWE Power online at www.rwe.com.

About the Linde Group

The Linde Group is a world-leading gas and engineering company with almost 48 000 employees working in more than 100 countries worldwide. In the 2009 financial year it achieved sales of EUR 11.2 bn. The strategy of the Linde Group is geared towards sustainable earnings-based growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business

with forward-looking products and services. Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment – in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. Linde is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development. For more information, see the Linde Group online at http://www.linde.com. About BASF

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics and performance products to agricultural products, fine chemicals as well as oil and gas. As a reliable partner BASF creates chemistry to help its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges such as climate protection, energy-efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF posted sales of more than €50-billion in 2009 and had approximately 105 000 employees by the end of the year. BASF-shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

BASFCommunications Intermediates: Klaus-Peter RieserTel: 0621 609 5138

RWE PowerLothar LambertzTel: 0201 122 3984

The Linde GroupStefan MetzTel: 089 357 571 322








netin africa

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Increasing “land-grabs” by European and Chinese companies are causing Africans to lose their land and there are only a few safeguards for local

community land rights. Natural vegetation and forests are being cleared and, according to the report, public information on the extent of the problem is largely absent and current figures are likely to be only a snapshot and gross underestimates.

land-grabs for biofuels is highly underestimated

A new report by Friends of the Earth, entitled Africa: up for Grabs, reveals that the amount of land being taken in Africa to meet northern countries’ increasing demand for biofuels is underestimated and out of control.

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Uganda has launched a municipal waste compost program that promotes solid waste composting in urban areas. This project has made Uganda the first African country to successfully register a Programme of Activities (POA) that will reduce methane emissions into the environment. The project is being done under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and it is the first of its kind in the world, according to the World Bank. This programme assists Ugandan municipalities in setting financially sustainable composting facilities. Waste that is composted over landfills has the ability to return organic matter to soil, prevent land degradation and significantly reduces dangerous methane emissions. The composting facilities are financially viable due to the sale of both compost and carbon credits.

“This POA, the first in Africa, is important not only because of its greenhouse gas mitigation potential, but also because it serves as an example for many other African countries to design and implement large scale mitigation activities. Although the process is complex, it has been an extremely useful learning experience, which we hope to replicate all

over Uganda,” says Henry Aryamanya Mugisha, Executive Director of the National Environmental Management Authority.

Nine municipalities in Uganda have already been identified for these sites and other cities are also being investigated to determine if they will also be getting a sustainable composting facility. The equivalent of an estimated 750 000 tons of CO2 over the next years will be trapped thanks to this initiative. Over 150 000 Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) and over 50 000 Verified Emission Reductions (VERs) will be sold to the World Bank’s Community Development Carbon Fund. Experts from India helped to design the programme and they have also offered to help with monitoring and training support. According to the World Bank, the programme represents an important model because it builds on south-south linkages by harnessing expertise and models of simple composting development.

“With the threat of global warming, there is an urgent need to scale up climate change mitigation, shifting from project-based to programmatic approaches. This is the Bank’s first Programme of Activities under the CDM and we are very happy to see Uganda spearhead such a programme and serve as an example for the rest of Africa,” adds Joëlle Chassard, Manager of the Carbon Finance Unit at the World Bank.

For more information, visit www.worldbank.org, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

uganda launches first of a kind sustainable compost programme

“The expansion of biofuels on our continent is transforming forests and natural vegetation into fuel crops, taking away food-growing farmland from communities, and creating conflicts with local people over land ownership. We want real investment in agriculture that allows us to produce food and not fuel for foreign cars,” said Mariann Bassey, food and agriculture coordinator for Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria.

According to Friends of the Earth, a World Bank report on wider land grabbing corroborates this pattern, stating that “consultations with local communities were often weak... conflicts were common, usually over land rights”. The World Bank has so far refused to release these controversial findings publicly (www.foei.org).

Research by Friends of the Earth found evidence that five million hectares of land, an area the size of Denmark, across 11 African countries is currently being acquired for biofuels. There have been protests following land-grabs by foreign companies in Madagascar, Ghana and Tanzania and companies have been accused of providing misleading information to local farmers by obtaining land from fraudulent community land owners and bypassing environmental protection laws.

According to the report, a number of (often small) EU companies are involved in the land-grabs, sometimes with support or involvement from their national governments. Some of the host countries have also encouraged this investment because they are keen to develop potentially lucrative export crops.

“A growing European and international demand for agrofuels as a transport fuel is creating a market demand for agrofuels. While African politicians may promise that agrofuels will bring locally sourced energy supplies to their countries, the reality is that most of the foreign companies are developing agrofuels to sell on the international market. The EU’s mandatory target for increasing agrofuels is a clear driver to the land-grabbing in Africa,” reads the report.

Adrian Bebb, food and agriculture campaigner for Friends of the Earth Europe, said even more land will be required for biofuels if the European Union is to meet its political targets to increase transport fuels from renewable sources, according to the research. “Our research shows that Europe’s demand for biofuels is a major driver of land-grabbing in Africa. Local communities are facing increasing hunger and food insecurity just so that rich countries can fuel their cars. The EU must urgently scrap its biofuel policy. We must invest instead in environmentally friendly agriculture and decrease the energy that we use for transport,” said Bebb.

Friends of the Earth is calling on the EU to start measuring and curbing its use of land, water, materials and climate emissions around the world. According to the organisation, the drivers (which are political targets that increase the demand for agrofuels) should be scrapped, in particular the EU’s mandatory target. African countries need to suspend further land acquisitions and investments in agrofuels.

For more information, visit www.foeeurope.org, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

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Minister Dipuo Peters of the Department of Energy launched the wind measurement work package of the South African wind atlas

project on 28 September. “The department, with the support of the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and in cooperation with the Royal Danish Embassy and German government, has successfully implemented the South African Wind Energy Programme (SAWEP). It is my privilege today to launch the wind measurement work package which consists of ten wind measurement stations installed in the project area,” Peters told delegates at the second annual Wind Energy Seminar in Midrand.

The project has been running for over two and a half years and this was the second work package of the four-year atlas project. The entire project consists of 10 measuring stations that are going to be installed in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape. Together, these working packages will culminate into a wind atlas and database.

No accurate data

The Clean Energy Ministerial, which took place on 19 to 20 July 2010 in Washington DC, was held due to a decision by the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF) to launch the global partnership to drive transformational low carbon and climate-friendly technologies and other dialogues among many countries interested in fast-tracking deployment of clean energy technologies. During this event, South Africa announced the development of a “multilateral solar and wind working group to promote accelerated deployment of solar and wind technologies”.

“As South Africa we were part of this decision and we therefore have to pool our efforts and work together with other partners in this initiative to realise the achievement of these objectives,” said Peters.

At the MEF, the following observation was made when the argument for developing a global atlas was discussed. “The challenge is that especially in developing countries many of the relevant data simply do not exist and need to be collected or generated from scratch.”

Peters reiterated that current data on wind measurements wasn’t able to facilitate decision-making and investments. “Wind measurements play a critical role in fine-tuning models and planning for the necessary investment strategies. The data we have today is at a low spatial resolution, but we are trying to obtain detailed regional assessments at higher resolutions via the wind energy programme,” said Peters, before explaining that the data often comes at a low temporal resolution and represent monthly and annual

averages, yet insolation and wind conditions vary at lower time scales, resulting in fluctuating electricity generation.

“Analysing these fluctuations in greater depth requires data with higher temporal resolutions to enable investors or project developers to take the variability in electricity generation adequately into account,” said Peters.“The successful deployment of wind technology depends to a large extent on the accurate knowledge pertaining to the practical exploitable wind energy potential. This information is critical, especially for investment planning, and updating the wind atlas is an important step towards closing this gap,” said Peters.

Wind energy to contribute to energy security

Peters said South Africa recognises that renewable energy has the potential of contributing immensely to energy security supply. “We all know that even the leading economies globally are taking this path. Within the electricity sector, ensuring energy security means increasing and sustaining electricity generation capacity through a diverse portfolio of conventional fossil fuels and renewable energy sources,” said Peters. “This principle is reaffirmed on the integrated resource plan (IRP) 2010, which is a mechanism by which key electricity systems, sustainability and government policy requirements are met,” said Peters.

Increasing targets from the 2003 White Paper

The 2003 White Paper on Renewable Energy set a 4% target of renewable contribution to total energy consumption. “This target is currently being reviewed and I am confident that the medium- and long-term targets will be more ambitious, taking into account global advances made in both technology development and finance to allow a significant contribution from both solar and wind technologies,” said Peters.

In 2006, the government committed itself to a target of a minimum of 30% participation by the private sector in our electricity generation industry. According to Peters, this commitment was born out of the realisation that “it is critical for independent power producers (IPPs) to complement electricity generated by our national utility, Eskom, in order to enable us to achieve the goal of ensuring energy security. We have, however, noted with serious concerns that investment by the private sector has not happened at the magnitude that was originally envisaged.”

The deployment of a wind industrial strategy for South Africa was discussed with officials from the Department of Energy at a workshop held on 8 September 2010 at the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA).

Peters concluded by thanking the Danish government for the overwhelming technical and financial support received through the embassy in support of the wind atlas initiative.

For more information, visit www.info.gov.za, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

windworking

packageSa launches

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Solar network to be established in Mozambique

Offgrid specialist Phaesun GmbH in Memmingen, Germany has launched a project to provide rural electrification to Mozambique in

the parish of Pessene, approximately 50 kilometres from the capital city, Maputo. The project launch was held on 23 July, a day after the first Pico system (small offgrid systems with a capacity of up to 10 watts) was built to provide a private school and two teacher’s residences with solar lighting.

The project sets out to provide households, small business enterprises and public institutions in Mozambique with solar energy. The €300 000 project will continue for the next two years and 50% of the costs will be covered by Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft.

The first step of the project consists of Phaesun establishing a sustained trader network for the distribution of the Pico systems alongside their project partner, Coseba, running training courses for 10 to 15 traders in the province of Sofala in the east of the country. Phaesun cooperation partner Sonnenplus GmbH will be training 10 to 15 traders in the province of Maputo.

Solar kiosks to be opened next year

The second phase of the programme will see a number of “solar shops” and

“solar kiosks” being opened across the country.

These shops will sell

systems and rent out lamps and it is anticipated that the first shops will be opened by mid-2011.

Peter Adelmann, a professor at the University of Ulm in Germany, is going to hold lectures on photovoltaics for electrical engineering students at the Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo. Adelmann plans to establish these lectures as a permanent feature at universities in Mozambique.

“Thanks to Pico systems, African people who had to cope without electricity are now given the chance to provide themselves with electric light by virtue of their own efforts and their own funds. Modern Pico systems are up to ten times less the price than traditional solar home systems,” says Adelmann.

Phaesun Managing Director Tobias Zwirner comments: “Simultaneously with the revolutionary advance of highly efficient LEDs that could be observed last year, a very high energy density with lithium batteries and reduced prices for solar modules, we have succeeded in introducing high quality and durable Pico systems at very economic prices on the market.”

“The Sundaya Ulitium Lamp Kits, which are exclusively distributed by Phaesun, are durable high-tech products which low-income buyers can also afford,” concludes Zwirner.

For more information, visit www.phaesun.com, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

wind

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Solairedirect Southern Africa is a power generation company that develops,

builds, co-owns and operates large solar power installations. The company is a subsidiary of the Solairedirect Group, which is based in France. “We develop, finance, build, own and operate solar plants across the SADC region and the group now operates in Southern and Northern Africa, the West Coast of South America and Indian sub-continent,” says Ryan Hammond, managing director of Solairedirect Southern Africa.

Solairedirect is the largest privately owned solar power company in France, with approximately 30MWp of solar parks completed and a further 60MWp in construction. The Groups operations in Southern Africa differ from the rest of the markets in which Solairedirect operates as it has both the power generation subsidiary, Solairedirect Southern Africa, and the groups manufacturing subsidiary, Solairedirect Technologies. Two years ago, the group took the bold decision to establish a state-of-the-art, manufacturing facility in Bellville, Cape Town, which was an investment of over ZAR50-million. Photovoltaic production started in January 2009 and Solairedirect Technologies now produces 35 MW per year.

How the REFIT scheme will affect local PV manufacturers

According to Hammond, there are a number of challenges that PV manufacturers in Africa are currently experiencing. “The market size is currently the primary challenge in the PV manufacturing industry. There’s also a lot of uncertainty concerning the revised REFIT scheme and we are waiting to see what type of allocation solar energy will receive in the programme. The market is also waiting for a number of projects to be implemented, such as the huge solar park that is planned at Upington,” says Hammond.

The Cape Town production facility currently only has a single line that produces 35 MW. “A further two lines capable of producing 70MW are being planned, but this will depend on the size that gets allocated to the REFIT scheme and local demand – we would hope the volume of business will justify increasing the size of the factory,” says Hammond.

Misperceptions about solar technologies

Another challenge for local manufacturers of renewable energy products and sources is common misperceptions, as well as inadequate information, about the value of these products. “PV panels, for example, are still perceived to be an expensive renewable energy source even though the price has been reduced by over 50% during the last three years. When it comes to solar energy, government and other organisations unfortunately often seem have outdated information upon which to base their views about what type of solutions various solar energy technologies can provide,” says Hammond, before adding that solar thermal storage technology is an example of one of these misperceptions.

Solar thermal technology attempts to convert solar energy to steam. One of the selling points of this form of renewable energy is solar thermal’s supposed ability to store energy and deliver electricity to consumers during peak demand. Solar thermal technology is different to photovoltaics, which converts solar energy directly into electricity. According to David Mills of Arusa, only 600 MW of solar thermal power was up and running worldwide in October 2009 and another 400 MW is under construction.

“Some people believe that solar thermal technologies can provide baseload power – a fact that still remains unproven. Less than 1 GW of solar thermal technology had been installed around the world, while over 22 GW of solar PV systems had been installed. Solar PV is without doubt the most tried, tested and proven solar technology that can help Africa to create cleaner, sustainable energy solutions for the future,” concludes Hammond.

Solairedirect Southern AfricaTel: +27 21 953 6000Fax: +27 21 951 2840E-mail: [email protected]: www.solairedirect.co.za

Overcoming challenges in Africa’s solar energy industry

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The Department of Energy (DoE) is to start drafting the documentation to buy power from IPPs (Independent Power Providers) under the renewable energy feed-in-tariff (Refit) programme. At the end of September 2010, the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) invited advisors on behalf of the National Treasury and DoE to bid in order to become a transaction advisor for the country’s Refit programme. Specialists that are needed include legal, financial, technical, environmental and empowerment specialists in the renewable energy environment.

Once this documentation is ready, the IPPs’ selling power to the DoE will be invited to select and secure their specific sites, collect data, conduct all the necessary environmental studies and approvals and to design, build, finance, own and operate their plants under a 20-year (maximum) power purchase agreement (PPA).

International and local transaction advisors, who will help to draft the

documentation, will be providing the following services:

Designing a transparent, fair, open and competitive procurement • process.Develop procurement documentation i.e. the request for pre-qualification • and request for proposals.The selection of evaluation criteria, and technology-specific power • purchase agreements.

Support the DoE during the competitive bidding process.• Support and advise the DoE regarding the design and management of a • fair and transparent evaluation report for final decision-making.Support the DoE with the negotiations and contract closure with the • preferred candidates and the close-out reports.

This announcement marks the beginning of the proposed procurement process of the first and second Refit phases, as announced by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) last year.

“The DoE is committed to an independent, fair, transparent, open and competitive procurement and evaluation process and quick and successful negotiations with potential investors in renewable energy generation projects,” concludes the DoE.

advisors needed for Sa’s refit programme

Refit includes the following technologies:On-shore wind.• Concentrated solar power (CSP) trough with and without • storage (≥ 1 MW).CSP tower with storage of six hours per day (≥ 1 MW).• Large scale grid connected photovoltaic systems (≥ 1 MW);• Biomass solid (≥ 1 MW); biogas (≥ 1 MW).•

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South Africa’s second Solar Challenge race, which was organised by the Advanced Energy Foundation and the Innovation Hub, kicked off on 24

September and ended on Saturday 2 October, with the Innovation Hub in Pretoria as the start and finish line.

Sunny South Africa was no match for the high-speed Tokai Challenger, Japan’s entrant in this year’s South African Solar Challenge. The sleek solar-powered Tokai Challenger completed a total of 4 061 km through South Africa to cross the finish line in first place.

The Tokai Challenger is a project of the Tokai University in Japan. Its victory in what is billed as the most gruelling solar race on the international calendar follows a similar victory at the recent Australian Global Green Challenge. “With a race distance of over 4 000 km and elevation differences of 1 700 m, the South African Solar Challenge can easily be described as the toughest solar race in the world,” says Professor Hideki Kimura, project leader and a member of Tokai University’s School of Engineering.

“As this race was such a gruelling event, I believe it was the best possible opportunity for the students to learn about technology, engineering and the environment. I am sure that these students will introduce major new environmentally-friendly technological innovations to the automotive industry in the near future,” says Kimura. Supporting the driver and crew of the Tokai Challenger was Toyota Prius vehicles, supplied by Toyota South Africa.

“The project not only highlighted the importance of environmentally-friendly technology, but it also allowed us to showcase the Prius, which is one of the boldest steps yet towards mass-produced hybrid and other clean energy vehicles,” says Dr Johan van Zyl, the president and CEO of Toyota South Africa.

The Tokai Challenger was also equipped with Sharp compound solar cells that were developed for outer space applications. According to Sharp-world.com, the cells have a cell conversion efficiency of 30%, the highest level in the world, with an output of 1.8kW.

Japan’s team consisted of 16 people from the Tokai University Challenge Centre Light Power Project, of which the majority were students. Leading driver Kenjiro Shinozuka, who was the first person to win the Paris Dakar Rally, was also part of the team.

Race director Winstone Jordaan said that he would like to see the 2012 event attract more entrants, especially from South African universities.

“South Africa has incredible opportunities to become a leader in solar and other advanced energies, and the Solar Challenge is the perfect place to develop the skills, technologies and teamwork needed to realise our potential,” commented Jordaan. For more information, visit www.solarchallenge.org.za and www.toyota.co.za, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

Solar Challenge 2010: Sa’s epic raceThe National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in America

conducted “one of the most exhaustive and detailed studies to date” which found that solar homes sold 20% faster, for 17% more than equivalent non-solar homes.

The study was conducted across several subdivisions built by different California builders. According to the study, when Shea Homes put solar PV and solar thermal systems on half the homes in a development, all 257 of them sold within a year, two years faster than expected. And while these new houses were priced at US$380 000 to US$500 000, they sold for as much as US$600 000.

The study also concluded that solar homes appreciated 20% more, and sold 17% faster than the non-solar homes. Another interesting finding was that if solar was already on the house, and factored into the price already, buyers were more likely to pick a house with solar. But if it was just one more decision to be made at the point of purchase, the decision got shelved.

This was found to happen because the salespeople were more likely to neglect to bring up the option altogether, for fear of losing a sale to indecisiveness. After all, they can’t even sell the house till the buyer has decided on either the Neon orange Corian or the Tuscan granite for the counter tops. They can sell the house without solar, but not without the counter tops.








netin africa

Solar homes

sell 20% faster and for 17% more – NreL Study

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The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in America conducted “one of the most exhaustive and detailed studies to date”

which found that solar homes sold 20% faster, for 17% more than equivalent non-solar homes.

The study was conducted across several subdivisions built by different California builders. According to the study, when Shea Homes put solar PV and solar thermal systems on half the homes in a development, all 257 of them sold within a year, two years faster than expected. And while these new houses were priced at US$380 000 to US$500 000, they sold for as much as US$600 000.

The study also concluded that solar homes appreciated 20% more, and sold 17% faster than the non-solar homes. Another interesting finding was that if solar was already on the house, and factored into the price already, buyers were more likely to pick a house with solar. But if it was just one more decision to be made at the point of purchase, the decision got shelved.

This was found to happen because the salespeople were more likely to neglect to bring up the option altogether, for fear of losing a sale to indecisiveness. After all, they can’t even sell the house till the buyer has decided on either the Neon orange Corian or the Tuscan granite for the counter tops. They can sell the house without solar, but not without the counter tops.








netin africa

Solar homes

sell 20% faster and for 17% more – NreL Study

NuclEAR ENERGy

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necsa hosts world conference on neutron radiography

The World Conference on Neutron Radiography was held on African soil for the first time from 3 – 8 October. According to the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa (Necsa), using neutrons as an imaging probe unveils untapped areas worth exploring, such as hydrogen fuel cell optimisation, geosciences, palaeo-sciences and more.

The conference was scheduled by the International Society for Neutron Radiology (ISNR). The prestigious event takes place every four years with the aim of inviting scientists, postgraduate students, researchers and fellows from all over the world to share ideas, information and technological developments.

What is neutron radiography?

According to the MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory, neutron radiography is a non-destructive imaging technique utilising fast, thermal and cold neutrons. This technique has been used traditionally for quality control purposes in industries which require precision machining such as aircraft engines, but today the most important application is in testing the performance of fuel cells by imaging water flow in the cells in situ (web.mit.edu).

Necsa’s radiation imaging facility

Necsa hosts the only operational neutron tomography imaging facility within Africa and the Southern Hemisphere. This facility is located at one of the neutron beam lines of the SAFARI-1 nuclear research reactor at its Pelindaba site, west of Pretoria. The neutron imaging facility, with its complementary X-ray tomography capability, is being made available for research to the South African research community as part of Necsa’s mandate to promote nuclear science, training and technology. The facilities are currently being successfully utilised by postgraduate students and researchers from local universities as well as museums countrywide.

Frikkie de Beer, Necsa’s chief scientist on neutron radiography/tomography and current President of the ISNR, says that newcomers to the field of neutron radiography are exposed to high technology systems with limited time within the WCNR-conference programme to familiarize themselves with the basic scientific principles of imaging with penetrating radiation. “For this reason, the organising committee held a two-day School on Imaging with Radiation prior to the conference to educate newcomers and expose South African and visiting young scientists, lecturers and postgraduate students, with minimal or no experience, to the basic principles of imaging with radiation,” commented De Beer.

NECSATel: +27 305 5450Fax: +27 305 5761E-mail: [email protected]: www.necsa.co.za

Does Sa have enough enriched uranium for a

nuclear power plant?“As much as 50% of South Africa’s electricity can be comprised of nuclear energy,” national planning commission member Bobby Godsell said at a public discussion on energy in Johannesburg.

“Between 10 000 and 20 000 megawatts of the possible 40 000 megawatts the country will need in the future could come from nuclear energy,” said Godsell.

Godsell told delegates that nuclear power plants will be built on South Africa’s coasts and that “people with houses on the coast may not like it”.

Energy Minister Dupuo Peters confirmed that nuclear power will be part of the country’s future power mix, along with renewable energy and coal. Peters also raised his concern about the supply of enriched uranium in South Africa. “China is comsuming more and more African imports of the material. By the time we build this nuclear power plant, we will not be able to afford enriched uranium,” said Peters.

Source: SAPA

Marenica Energy studies

uS$260 uranium project in namibia

Marenica Energy is focused on the expansion and development of its 80%-owned Marenica Project in the uranium-rich Damara Province in Namibia. A recent scoping study found that the project in Namibia could deliver of 3.5-million pounds of uranium per annum per annum at the highly competitive operating cost of US$38 a pound.

The study focused on the development of a heap-leach operation that has an estimated capital cost of US $260-million and a 13-year mine life. The capital cost is estimated to be US $260 million with a five year payback. SRK Consulting, who undertook the study, found the Marenica Project could produce a total of 45-million pounds of uranium over the 13-year life, based on the existing defined indicated and inferred mineral resource.

“This study shows that the Marenica Project can become one of the more significant uranium producers in the world,” said Marenica Energy CEO John Young. “This mine is expected to support an operation with a greater production profile than was originally believed possible in an agitated leach circuit. We believe the option presented in this study represents an achievable, realistic view given the size of the resource at Marenica,” added Young (www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk). According to the World Nuclear Association, the project is 30 km north of Areva’s Trekkopje, and early this year Areva bought a 10.4% stake in it.

Source: www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk, www.world-nuclear.org

NuclEAR ENERGy

25o in Afr ica 49

During the refuelling and maintenance period, a radiation contamination incident occurred at the Koeberg Power Station’s Unit 1 in Cape Town

on 12 September. On 21 September, Eskom’s management assigned a technical team to review the incident and recommend steps to avoid a similar occurrence in future.

Koeberg Unit 1 has been been out of operation to enable routine refuelling and maintenance since 23 August 2010 and this maintenance is expected to be completed at the end of October 2010. A total of 91 people had a whole body count (a monitor which evaluates levels of radiation within the body system), of which 79 were positive. Those workers that were found to have a positive result underwent further body counts and analysis to determine the exact dose of radiation that they had been exposed to (this is as per procedure). It was found that the group that was evaluated all had radiation levels below the allowable dose as set down by the National Nuclear Regulator. “The allowable dose per annum is 20 000 microSieverts (Sievert is a measure used for radiation dose). The highest dose measured in the group was 500 microSieverts,” the power utility said in a statement.

The Koeberg management is satisfied that all the necessary precautions were taken and all procedures and regulations were adhered to. Action was immediately taken to protect workers and to reduce contamination levels to an absolute minimum. Airborne radiation levels had returned to normal by 14 September 2010, and workers were then allowed back into the reactor building to commence their work. After a two day shut-down, all the workers returned to work. The dose that was taken up was negligible and there will be no side effects whatsoever. If the workers had taken a couple of flights

to Johannesburg and back they would have been subjected to the same amount of radiation dose due to solar radiation. As no one expects to have effects from flying so too you would not expect effects from this level of dose.

Eskom has briefed the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) and they have informed the utility that they will perform their own independent investigation. Eskom is co-operating fully with the NNR’s requirements.

Pieter van Dalen, spokesman for public enterprises for the Democratic Alliance, has said that Eskom was downplaying the contamination incident and that the party will be lodging a formal inquiry.

“Eskom had mishandled the situation and made the situation out to be normal. “Even if the workers had received only 2.5% of the annual intake of radiation, one has to wonder why it was necessary to close the area for two days,” said van Dalen(www.busrep.co.za).

“Close monitoring of the airborne conditions inside the reactor building continues to be in place. The alarms that monitors the levels of contamination has also been adjusted down by a factor of 10. Any significant increase in airborne radiation levels will require a work stoppage and the evacuation of the reactor building,” concluded Eskom.

For more information, visit www.eskom.co.za, to which acknowledgement and thanks are given.

Koeberg’scontamination incident

cDm

50 25o in Afr ica50 25o in Afr ica

The worldwide transportation industry accounts for 13% of global emissions, according to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). Recent

studies have shown that only 9% of transport companies are currently investing in low carbon initiatives, proving that the sector is lagging behind in terms of carbon reduction strategies.

These countries responsible for over 80% of the global carbon emissions agreed that serious cuts need to be made at last year’s UN Copenhagen Climate Conference. South Africa is one of these countries and contributes an excessive 1.48% to global emission levels, making us the 13th largest contributor of greenhouse gases.

A sister company of Cargo Carriers, Ezethu Logistics, recently set a new emissions benchmark in the transport industry by bringing the first Euro IV fuel distribution fleet into South Africa. Euro IV is the latest standard set by the European Union for reasonably acceptable carbon emissions. According to Cargo Carriers joint CEO Murray Bolton, the Euro IV fuel distribution fleet upgrade, combined with Ezethu’s high levels of health, safety, environment and quality (HSEQ), has already become a key differentiator when looking for new business.

“We have to place a high importance on HSEQ as we transport gas, fuel and chemicals,” says Bolton. “These industries set high standards for sustainability, so embracing a more environmentally-friendly approach is non-negotiable for us. Introducing the country’s first Euro IV fuel distribution fleet proved to be a major advantage in the tender for what is essentially a renewal of our Total contract.”

Total SA was recently awarded the transportation of fuel from Waltloo to Pretoria and Pretoria North to Ezethu. One of the prerequisites of the contract is being able to guarantee the highest levels of HSEQ.

Cargo CarriersWebsite: www.cargocarriers.co.za

toxic pollutants in fuel

Major oil and gas companies insist on such high standards for good reason. There are four toxic pollutants found in fuel: Nitorgen Oxide (NOx), Total Hydrocarbon (THC), Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Particulate Matter (PM). Particulate Matter refers to the fine incombustible particles that are spewed out of the exhaust into the atmosphere. Reducing carbon emissions is something that the transport industry – being such a large contributor – needs to look at very seriously.

Sa’s first Euro IV fuel distribution eco-fleet

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netin africa

eskomcoal sourcing and transportation strategy

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Eskom’s Containerised Coal Terminal was launched at the end of October at the official opening of the Camden Power Station in Ermelo.

Eskom and Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) developed the innovative container solution for the transportation of coal to Eskom’s power stations by rail.

According to Eskom’s Chief Executive, Brian Dames, this initiative will ensure that coal transportation is carried out in a cost-optimal manner and thereby drastically minimising the adverse safety and social risks associated with road transportation.

“One of our key strategic objectives is the continuity and security of supply. With the introduction of containerised coal, we are confident that we are marching towards achieving that goal by ensuring that the appropriate and relevant logistics solutions are put in place to support power stations with the supply of coal from the targeted sources,” said Dames

TFR’s acting CEO, Mr Tau Morwe, said the development of this capital-efficient transport solution required close collaboration between Eskom and Transnet Freight Rail, and was modelled on an existing container train operating between the coalfields and Bellville.

“The containerisation of coal will contribute to better transit times on roads, less carbon emissions and less lives lost on our roads.“Moving rail-friendly traffic off our roads to rail is the right thing to do. It is cheaper overall, will reduce the cost of doing business in South Africa and improve our global competitiveness,” Morwe said.

Eskom’s demand for coal from sources in Mpumalanga has significantly increased due to the return of the Camden, Komati and Grootvlei power stations. Some 25% of coal procured by Eskom is currently transported by road, with rail and conveyor supplying the balance. Some 7-million tons of coal per annum is currently railed to the Majuba power station.

Eskom has obtained approval from the National Energy Regulator to invest ZAR3-billion in the Mpumalanga road rehabilitation programme over the next three years and the organisation invested ZAR550-million in the programme last year.

Rail migration strategy

After a review of its coal sourcing and transportation strategies, Eskom committed to implementing a rail migration strategy, which aims to migrate the transportation of 26-million tons of coal from road to rail over the next five to six years.

“The rail migration strategy will ensure cost-efficiencies, capability of switching modes of transport from the source of supply in the event of supply challenges, minimise the social and environmental impact, as well as improve safety on the roads,” said Eskom.

The Eskom container solution involves the loading of coal at mines into specialised six-metre open-top containers that are pre-placed on 50 flatbed wagons. When the coal arrives at Camden’s rail terminal, reach stackers remove the containers and place them on tipper road vehicles which then travel a short distance to the power station’s coal stockpile, where the coal is offloaded directly onto the stockpiles. Part of Eskom’s long-term plan entails that containers must be directly off-loaded onto a conveyor system at the terminal, which will convey the coal to the stockpile, thereby obviating the need for the short road haul.

The design for Camden, once fully operational, allows for TFR to run up to four trains per day to the power station. Similar container solutions will be installed at Tutuka in 2011, Grootvlei in 2012 and Hendrina thereafter.

For more information, visit www.eskom.co.za, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

re-opening old stations

South Africa’s ever increasing demand for electricity has necessitated the return to service of mothballed power stations, the construction of two new power stations and the operation of the current generation fleet at higher load factors.

O 23 October 2010, President Jacob Zuma and Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan attended the re-opening of the 43-year-old power station. The station will add 1 520 megawatts netto generating capacity to the national electricity supply system.

Brian Dames, Eskom’s Chief Executive commented: “Economic growth in South Africa and the region depends crucially on a continual increase in the supply of electricity. The building programme aims to fuel economic expansion, assist in job creation, alleviate poverty and the extend of electricity supply to an increasing number of poor households.”

The other two power stations that will be opened as part of Eskom’s capacity expansion programme are the Grootvlei and Komati power stations.

new

Camden Power Station in Ermelo.

52 25o in Afr ica

Smart grid

technology

for future feed in renewable energySiemens presented advanced smart metering technology at this

year’s Metering Europe conference and exhibition in Vienna. The technology incorporates automated metering, an information system and an Energy IP metering management system and acts as a data hub which integrates existing utility IT systems via a SAP-certified interface into the smart metering infrastructure. The system allows utilities to use smart metering across their business – from metering to billing and from operations control to network planning (this is one of the few technologies currently available that offers a one-stop holistic solution for smart metering).

This smart metering solution is future-orientated because it helps to handle the increased feed-in of renewable-based power. The core tasks include remote reading and management of all meters in a supply area. Some of the aspects that utilities will be able to record include gas and water meters (which communicate bidirectionally with one another), network parameters such as over- and undervoltage, short-term and long-term failures, and power quality indicators from the medium-voltage network and at the end customers.

Network-wide process automation is also offered by this solution, such as integration of metres, data concentrators as well as the linking up of utility IT systems to the Energy IP data hub.

“This integration is based on a service-orientated architecture, which exchanges measured data, alarms and control data bidirectionally between the SAP, Energy IP and third-party systems such as load management, outage management or job order processing,” the company said in a statement. “The metering management systems is the neutral hub of the smart metering infrastructure. This data and process integration enables utilities to optimise their administrative business processes and at the same time to intensify customer support.”

Siemens Southern AfricaTel: +27 11 652 2146E-mail: [email protected]: www.siemens.com

abb WInS uS$23-million contract for Eskom’s

Ingula project

The Power Technology Group has been awarded the US$23-million contract for the engineering, design, installation and

commissioning of Eskom’s Ingula pumped storage project. The Ingula project is located on the border of KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State and it represents one of Eskom’s three major power generation projects. It is estimated that South Africa will require an additional 40 000 MW of power by 2025. The Ingula plant will have the capacity to generate 1,333 megawatts (MW) of hydropower to be integrated into the South African grid, when fully operational in 2014. Key products that ABB will be supplying for the project include the service and auxiliary transformers, dry-type distribution transformers and medium- and low-voltage switchgear.

About the project

The Ingula power station will consist of an upper and lower reservoir. The reservoirs, 4.5 kilometers apart, will be connected by underground waterways to a subterranean generating plant with four 333 MW pump turbines. When energy demand is low, water will be pumped from the lower to the upper reservoir and during peak energy consumption, water will be released from the upper reservoir through the pump turbines to the lower reservoir to generate electricity. The lower reservoir will have a 26.3 MCM capacity and active storage of 21.9 MCM. The upper reservoir will have a total capacity of 22.6-million cubic meters (MCM) and an active storage of 19.3 MCM. Franz-Josef Mengede, ABB’s Global Power Generation Business Head, said that the project would generate a significant amount of hydropower to help meet the country’s energy demand. “ABB has a strong track record in providing power and automation solutions that enable pumped storage plants to operate at high levels of efficiency and reliability,” says Mengede. “ABB’s technologies help extend the life of the plant and improve plant efficiency and availability,” said Carlos Pone, head of ABB Southern Region. “Our history as a pioneer in the development of the generation and distribution of electrical energy, helps meet the growing demand for electricity in South Africa.” For more information, visit www.abb.com, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

ElEcTRIcITy

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25o in Afr ica 53

Bentley recently launched a White Paper entitled Engineering in the 21st Century Utility: A Changing Industry, saying that

utilities worldwide are facing powerful economic incentives to reduce emissions. According to the study, economic incentives may be just the beginning.

“The failure of utilities to respond proactively and take control of their own destiny will likely result in increased regulation by government. Without question, the tasks faced by today’s utilities are formidable: plan for a sustainable, efficient, reliable, available and affordable electric grid, reduce carbon and other noxious emissions, and simultaneously support the aspirations of developing economies,” reads the study.

During a speech at the World Energy Council, Angel Gurría, secretary-general at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, said: “We are reaching a convergence in our understanding of the main elements of a cost-effective strategy to tackle climate change. Cap-and-trade schemes, or emission taxes, are cost-effective because they induce firms to look for abatement options where they are the cheapest, and boost incentives to scale up climate-friendly R&D. Leaders must build on recent developments and act now to make greater use of economic instruments.”

Besides pollution and climate change, other challenges that utilities face include reliability, aging grids and growing consumption (worldwide energy consumption is predicted to double by 2040 compared with 2007).

Using energy in better ways

Industry leaders have acknowledged that current investment is insufficient to meet new challenges. Paola Petroni, head of network technologies at the Italian energy provider Enel, recognizes that investments must be spent “not just in laying new cable, but trying to use (energy) in better ways.”

According to the White Paper, multidisciplinary teams that utilities assign to reinvent, rebuild and expand the electric grid are expected to use their resources carefully. In order to implement a “smart” grid, electric utilities will need to manage and distribute information more efficiently.

Investment capital is available

Although the recession and increasing electricity demand places utilities in a tough position, studies have shown that there is capital available for generation and transmission. A 2009 PriceWaterhouse Coopers survey, for example, showed that new generation capacity and renewing existing plants are priority areas for most utility companies. According to the survey, 83% of utilities are “seeking to make medium to large investments in new generation and 79% are seeking to do likewise in transmission.”

Micro-generation an option

The use of small scale renewable power generation by home owners and businesses, known as micro-generation, also has the ability to relieve some of the stress on the existing grid. “What smart grid visionaries see coming are home thermostats and appliances that adjust automatically depending on the cost of power, where a water heater may get juice from a neighbour’s rooftop solar panel, and where on a scorching hot day a plug-in hybrid electric car charges one minute and the next sends electricity back to the grid to help head off a brownout,” reads a report in Associated Press Weekly.

Bentley’s White Paper concludes by stating that modern utilities need to develop and support an increasingly broad portfolio of generation types, including large-scale renewables that are a growing part of the power-source mix.

For more information, visit www.bentley.com, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

21st

Access to cheap energy and the ability to generate, transmit and broadly distribute this electricity used to be easier than it is today. This old paradigm, however, can’t sustain energy delivery from fossil fuels while also meeting mandates for a cleaner, safer and more sustainable world.

Challenges of the century power utility

“In South Africa, water is scarce and this resource isn’t always located in the areas where we need it most. Water therefore has to be transported

to where it is needed and after all of that, water is then lost due to poor infrastructure as well as consumers wasting water. To use water efficiently and to implement water conservation and demand management measures will have to become a standard way of living amongst all South Africans,” says Mr Herbst.

Gauteng for example is one of the provinces that are currently at risk. The Lesotho Highlands Phase II Water Project will supply Gauteng with additional water only by 2010 and the implementation of WCWDM by municipalities is crucial. Desalination and Re-use of water are other important aspects that are receiving attention. The implementation of WCWDM is important in all river systems and not only in the Vaal River.

Losses from municipal systems in South Africa are estimated to be approximately 30% of the system input and rising. Municipalities must therefore prioritise asset management and operation and maintanence of their water infrastructure.

Wasted water, wasted energy

Not only is energy in South Africa currently dependent on the use of water, but wasted water also indirectly leads to wasted energy and vice versa. “A lot of energy is used for treating and pumping water to consumers. If this water is wasted or used inefficiently, you are not only wasting water, but also electricity and vice versa. Water as well as electricity are then wasted and all South Africans must therfore save electricity and water where ever they can. For example leaks must immediately be reported to the relevent municipality and users must think carefully how they use water,” says Mr Herbst.

Eskom accounts for 1.5% of the country’s total water consumption annually. “Eskom’s power stations run constantly, supplying in excess of 95% of South Africa’s electrical energy and more than half of the electricity used on the African continent. Without water, this output would not be possible,” says the state-owned electricity provider.

Eskom’s water usage

Eskom uses raw water, which is put through extensive purification and treatment before entering the production processes. The company’s conventional wet-cooled power stations use a re-circulating system in which cooling takes place via evaporation in an open cooling tower. Approximately 85% of the total quantity of water supplied to a power station evaporates through these open cooling towers.

During 2005 (April 2005 to March 2006), Eskom used approximately 292-million cubic metres of water for electricity generation, mainly at its coal-fired power stations. The water catchment areas in which many of Eskom’s power stations were built are relatively water scarce, necessitating the need for inter-basin transfers to supply all users.

Under pressure from the Department of Water Affairs, with water no longer abundant, Eskom moved to dry-cooled systems at some of their power stations (such as the Matimba Power Station near Lephalale in the Limpopo Province, which is the largest direct-dry-cooled station in the world). Although dry-cooling stations are less efficient than wet-cooled stations (and require higher capital and operating costs), the water conservation

Efficiency the only way to secure water supply in SaIt is a well known fact that South Africa is classified as a water scares country. It is also clear that the adequate supply of water for many areas in South Africa can be sustained only if immediate actions are taken to prevent imminent water shortages. Some of the immediate actions is a focus on the efficiency with which all South Africans are and will be using our already-limited water resources now and in future. These are the words of Mr Paul Herbst from the Directorate Water Use Efficiency in the Department of Water Affairs in Pretoria.

ENERGy EffIcIENcy

54 25o in Afr ica

effort results in an estimated combined saving of over 200 Ml/day, or in excess of 70-million m3/annum (www.eskom.co.za). Dry-cooled power stations use only about 10% of the water required by a wet-cooled station. This is a good example of how technological advances in the industrial sector can be used to reduce the demand for water.

Reducing losses

The International Water Association’s Water Balance for municipal water use refers to “non-revenue water” as the difference between system input and authorised (billed) consumption, which includes water losses in municipal systems. Irrigation systems also have water losses either through leaking infrastructure or the inefficient operation of the system. In the industrial and mining sector “water losses” are mainly due to the inefficient use of water due to outdated technologies such as in the case of Eskom’s current power stations. Although agriculture, mining and all the other sectors need to use water efficiently, Mr Herbst believes that apart from contributing to water stress and water security, one can morally not have water losses and non revenue water such as is currently the case in municipalities. The agricultural sector uses the most water of all the sectors and a small saving in this sector can save substantial volumes of water.

“Ageing municipal infrastructure is one of the key causes of losses, but poor plumbing in low-cost housing can also play a big part. This is exacerbated where water use by households is not metered and payment for use above the free basic allowance is not enforced,” reads the “Integrated Water Resource Planning for South Africa: A Situation Analysis 2010”.

“It is the duty of each municipality to ensure that revenue is collected for water services delivered to municipal customers. If municipalities ensure that water that is used is paid for, they could use this revenue to operate and maintain as well as to upgrade their water supply infrastructure, which will greatly help them to reduce their water losses,” says Mr Herbst.

During the 2010 State of the Nation Address, President Jacob Zuma called on local governments to implement measures to reduce water losses by half by 2014. “We are not a water-rich country, yet we still lose a lot of water through leaking pipes and inadequate infrastructure. We will be putting in place measures to reduce our water losses by half by 2014,” said Zuma.

“Municipalities need to prioritise, budget and allocate resources to tackle their non-revenue water problems. The Department has in addition set specific targets for each municipality, such as in the Vaal River System.

According to the report, water resource reconciliation strategies undertaken for large systems has found that water use could be reduced by up to 30% through Water Conservation and Water Demand Management (WC/WDM). A realistic target of 15%, based on water loss reduction has been set, though. Although Metropolitan Councils have made some progress with implementing water demand management measures, the situation in smaller towns is more severe.

The report estimates that losses in small towns is approximately 50% or even higher in some instances. “Very few towns measure their water use properly and thus municipalities have a very limited knowledge of their water use, not to mention losses. Very often these towns now want to solve the problem of water “shortage” by developing additional resources, often at a very high cost, when this shortage is entirely induced by water losses,” reads the report.

Water Conservation and Water Demand Management (WC/WDM) reduces the need for additional new sources of water. So, whilst not in itself strictly a “source”, WC/WDM is a foremost strategy in reconciling water supply and demand.

National shortages

The National Water Resource Strategy (2004) showed that, after allowing for water for ecological flow requirements, half of South Africa’s water management areas are in water deficit despite significant transfers from other systems.

The total available water in South Africa in 2000 was about 2 800-million m3 per annum. Surface water, from dams and direct abstraction from rivers, accounted for 9 500-million m3, or 74% of all the water available, with groundwater, return flows and water used by afforestation making up the rest. A very significant volume of the surface water yield (3 000-million m3 per annum) is also currently moved via inter-basin transfers to areas in the country where requirements exceed supply. According to the Department of Water Affairs, South Africa has enough water to stay in business. “There is no looming disaster and no cause for panic, but a number of steps must be taken to avoid the serious and otherwise imminent risk of shortages in many areas,” says the Department.

These steps include the following:Significant investment in water conservation and water demand • management at municipal , and implementation of strategies countrywide.Investment in groundwater exploration and use.• Concerted input into managing water quality, and especially acid • mine drainage and the pollution of rivers through under-performing wastewater treatment works.Investment in new technologies – both desalination and water reuse.• A focus on management at all levels, which requires creating and • supporting the capacity needed to manage water to a high level of efficiency.Maintaining a long-term planning horizon – monitoring and managing the • situation in recognition of long lead times.

The efficient use of our scares water resource and the implementation of water conservation and demand management measures must become the norm for all South Africans if we want to avert a looming disaster.

For more information, visit www.dwa.gov.za, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

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ENERGy EffIcIENcy

Benlo Schmidt, architectural project manager at Insuseal Advanced Insulation, says that Spray Polyurethane Foam (SPF) is one of

the best solutions to address energy-efficiency and thermal comfort in buildings. “Closed cell polyurethane has one of the highest R-values of any commercially available materials, but R-value alone is not the answer – one has to look at additional factors like installation methods and continuity, and this is where SPF is unique”, explains Schmidt.

Insuseal Advanced Insulation has been operating as architects and managers of building projects for over 20 years and they are committed to getting buildings compliant with energy-efficiency requirements, especially with the new National Building Regulations now being tabled.

The company recently insulated the walls, roof and floors of a private house in the Steenberg suburb of Cape Town with SPF.

SPF was chosen for its versatility, high performance, and cost effectiveness. “Besides being able to provide a seamless insulation system that will reduce a consumer’s electricity expense on heating and cooling, the insulation also adds structural strength and protection to the building”, explains Schmidt.

“Leading-edge Architecture worldwide, has sustainability and energy efficiency as its central focus, but at the same time, new technologies allow for more freedom in design, and unconventional shapes will certainly be seen more in the future. Materials with ‘liquid’ properties, like concrete and SPF fits perfectly into this exciting new paradigm, to satisfy both these demands cost-effectively” says Schmidt.

Zero air permeability

“In Cape Town, we have the challenge of strong winds and driving rain, which makes it difficult and costly to achieve a well-insulated and properly sealed building envelope, with the multiple layers that conventional waterproofing and insulation systems require” says Schmidt.

The project that Insuseal recently completed, consisted of wooden walls, a concrete roof and concrete floor slabs, which needed to be insulated. “The roof was literally re-designed after we discovered SPF. By using only ‘self-healing’ concrete with the SPF sprayed continuous, directly on top of it, ‘thermal shock’ was virtually removed from the structure, and the Structural Engineer could eliminate a couple of movement joints, which resulted in a huge cost-saving”, said Schmidt.

“Although wooden walls usually cause problems due to strong winds and water leakages, this was also made easy with the SPF. OSB boards were installed on the inside of vertical steel studs, and the SPF sprayed from the outside, efficiently insulating and sealing it, while bonding all the components together, which added structural rigidity. The timber cladding on the outside then only had to perform the function of aesthetics and rainscreen –a method used extensively in Europe and North America”, says Schmidt.

Spray polyurethane foam used to insulate Cape town homesThe components of houses and buildings are huge sources of electricity usage. With South Africa’s rising electricity costs and an increased focus on sustainable building solutions, consumers and companies are continually looking for better, cost-effective alternatives to achieve thermal comfort in buildings without causing a hike in electricity costs.

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“New SA Building Regulations now require you to insulate floors if you are installing underfloor heating. We sprayed 20mm of SPF onto the concrete floor slab before placing a fibre-reinforced cement screed on top of this rigid insulation. This ensures that the heat generated does not dissipate into the concrete slab and ground, but is stored in the thermal mass of the screed only, creating a very efficient system”, says Schmidt.

Unique advantages

Seamless, liquid application, means that closed-cell Spray Polyurethane Foam has nearly zero air permeability and acts as an integral vapour barrier. Because the product is sprayed onto the substrate and expands to nearly 30 times its original volume when applied, it conforms to many irregular profiles and fills voids. It requires no fasteners and is typically installed in a single application. The closed-cell structure has the dual benefit of allowing water vapour to permeate through the insulation while simultaneously preventing water from seeping through as it is water-impermeable but water-vapour-permeable.

Although there are numerous benefits of SPF insulation foam, specifiers, developers and architects are only starting to take notice of this versatile product.

“While many solutions exist to insulate walls, floors and roofs, not all solutions meet the requirements of the construction industry,” says Samantha Govender, Business Team Leader of BASF Polyurethanes South Africa. The company has its own polyurethane (PU) spray foam system – Elastopor H – which Insuseal uses for new and retrofit insulation projects in South Africa.

“The introduction of the energy-efficiency standards in buildings requires design professionals to design more energy-efficient buildings thus reducing electricity usage. To insulate a house to the levels which are now suggested

would have meant that you would only recover your costs in 15 years, but case studies have shown that polyurethane spray foam allows you to recover your costs in approximately five years. Many home and general building owners and building owners are looking at energy consumption costs, the predicted cost curve of that energy and how insulation can reduce these expected costs,” says Govender.

The Insuseal-BASF partnership started just over a year ago when a gap was identified in the insulation industry where SPF was used in a limited number of projects primarily because, at the time, there weren’t many building contractors applying the product. “We did a lot of international research about the benefits of SPF foam, but we couldn’t find somebody to apply it in our projects locally, so we decided to aquire a spray-rig and do it ourselves. During this process, we have realised that there are many additional benefits of using this form of insulation because it has all the performance, cost and flexibility advantages that our clients need,” concludes Schmidt.

Insuseal Advanced InsulationTel: +27 21 465 7388E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.insuseal.co.za

BASF Polyurethanes South Africa (Pty) Ltd Tel: +27 11 437 7600 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.pu.basf.eu

Compiled showing OVERALL DESIGN, with progress image of timber wall.

View of Gym and Guest suite (separate outbuilding) – Roof (insulated and covered with stone); Shows floors sprayed, just before screeds.

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The new system will be used to heat 48 000 litres (20 000 litres via solar and 28 000 litres with energy efficient heat pumps) of water a day

saving up to 5% of current building energy consumption. The savings in energy could be used to generate power for 7 households for a year. Standard Bank has installed 100 solar power panels, covering more than 200 square metres on the roof of 6 Simmonds Street, one of its head office buildings in downtown Johannesburg. A back-up and top-up system consisting of two heat pumps will support the solar installation for days when the sunshine is not optimal. The new R2.3m system will save nearly a million Rand a year in energy costs. The system should pay for itself in just over three years. This investment forms a small part of Standard Bank’s long-term commitment to and introduction of cleaner energy solutions across the group. Marius de la Rey, Standard Bank Director of Channel Development says: “Water heating, lighting and air-conditioning are three of the biggest energy consumers at Standard Bank. They are also the areas of energy consumption that can most easily be addressed in existing buildings. The challenge in implementing clean energy solutions is taking the older infrastructure in existing buildings and upgrading and converting to cleaner more efficient systems using alternative power sources where possible. We have to be more creative in reducing the energy consumption in our older assets. The Standard Bank Centre is already achieving benchmark energy efficient performance.” Standard Bank is looking at introducing energy saving measures across the group. The pilot of the large-scale solar system, combined with the use of energy efficient heat pumps could be used in areas where energy

constraints hinder new business development or the full optimisation of the properties that Standard Bank has in its portfolio. ”We are committed to building all of our new real estate developments to 4-star green building standards, and cater for reducing CO2 emissions, optimal energy use and savings, and the introduction of the latest green technology,” says Mr de la Rey. Standard Bank has also upgraded its air conditioning chillers at Standard Bank centre in Johannesburg. Continuous energy audits are also conducted to assist with the introduction of energy efficient technology and other improvements. With the introduction of alternative energy solutions in the areas of water heating, light control and air-conditioning, Standard Bank has reduced its energy demand to 56 watts per square metre well below national averages. Karin Ireton, Standard Bank Director of Group Sustainability says: “This energy efficiency project is part of Standard Bank’s commitment to driving sustainability, and forms part of our contribution to making Standard Bank environmentally and economically efficient. In implementing new technologies, companies like Standard Bank can reduce the demand for fossil-fuel based energy and take pressure of the electricity grid. Energy constraints are currently a potential cap on growth within the economy and the challenge to all companies is to increase economic output with less energy.” Ross LinstromStandard Bank Media RelationsTEL: 083 262 1882E Mail: [email protected]

Standard Bank drives energy efficiency

Johannesburg 4 November 2010 - Standard Bank has taken another major step towards becoming even more energy efficient and reducing its carbon footprint with the introduction of one of Gauteng’s largest solar hybrid energy efficient water-heating systems at its head office in Johannesburg.

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Entries ranged from commercial and industrial applications for the country’s mines and factories, through to power-saving ideas for

lower-income areas and homeowners. “Over the years we have been impressed by the range and ages of South Africans who are prepared to give up their time and apply their minds to the problem of saving energy. All entrants show a high degree of innovation in producing practical solutions to everyday energy problems,” says Dr Steve Lennon, Divisional Executive (Corporate Services) at Eskom.

The awards function was held at Theatre on the Track in Kyalami and the venue was retrofitted over four days to suit the event. Technologies used to retrofit the Theatre included single open channel 58W light fittings that were replaced with single open channel 35W T5 light fittings (with Electronic Control Gears) and twin lamp prismatic 58W light fittings were replaced with twin lamp prismatic 35W T5 light fittings (with Electronic Control Gears).

Category winners:

Commercial category

Shared Energy Management won for achieving savings of R4,2 million in the first year and a total of 55 700MWh since 2006 at the SABC facility in Auckland Park. Beka/Osram won a special award in this category for their highly innovative lighting solution for the 408m arch at the new Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban.

Industrial Category

Magnet Group and Energywise partnered to install a new pump at Sappi’s river plant. The installation has managed to save a massive 2MW and 1MW in the evening and morning peaks respectively as well as saving an average

of 0,5MW, without introducing any new peaks in the system. Even more impressive is the payback period of less than two years.

Residential category

The Geyserwise intelligent energy control system that digitally programs, monitors and controls a geyser’s energy and protects the geyser from malfunctions, scale build-up and element failure. With the 80 000 units installed over the past 24 months, Geyserwise has recorded savings of between 17-50% in both peak shifting and lower energy consumption.

Young Designers category

The passion of the Proteus High School from Atlantis in the Western Cape impressed the judges tremendously. The group of kids tackled the issue of energy guzzling refrigerators, and went on to educate not only their school but also the rest of the community.

Innovation category

The Innovation category was shared by Shield Technologies, the Pick n Pay Longmeadow project and Jana Jordaan from Parys High School. The Pick n Pay Longmeadow and Hurlingham projects are flagships for the retail industry and serve as a role model to be emulated by all retailers in terms of holistic approaches to energy efficiency.Shield Technologies developed a system that saves shielding gas consumption for welding by up to 90%. – a world first.Jana Jordaan from Parys High School combined a turbine ventilator and an evaporative cooling unit, achieving a temperature reduction of 8°C in a three-storey life-size building without using electricity.

Woman in Community category

Mahlodi Letswalo and Lehlohonolo Phala from Tshwane University of Technology developed a sustainable low-cost house concept in Soshanguve, which has created high interest and buy-in from that community.

Woman in Industry category

Louise van Tonder from Klerksdorp has developed a unique and low-cost solar water heater that is made entirely of plastic. It uses no electricity, but rather gravity and solar energy to heat the water

Power Fitness category

Nhlanhla Sikosana from Unisa spearheaded a very comprehensive awareness campaign for Unisa staff at the main campus in Pretoria as well as the other hubs and campuses – impacting some 4 000 people.

For more information about the eta Awards, visit www.eta-awards.co.za, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

eta awards winnersThe 21st prestigious eta Awards, sponsored by Eskom and the Department of Energy, was held on 4 November 2010. Awarded across nine major categories, last year’s competition attracted hundreds of entries from South Africans who were keen to share their energy saving innovations.

2010

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As a result of severe power shortages in 2008 and 2009, Ethiopia’s government launched a project to transform the country’s

approach to energy-efficiency by switching from incandescent light bulbs to CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lamps). The initiative was supported by the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) and managed by its Africa Energy Unit (AFEG).

A total of five million CFLs were distributed to consumers for free in exchange for their incandescent bulbs, saving 75% on lighting costs. This distribution also coincided with a government-run awareness campaign called “Save Energy”, which highlighted the benefits of saving energy at home and at work.

“The turnaround we are seeing in Ethiopia is encouraging,” says Luiz Maurer, a Senior Energy Specialist at the World Bank. “Not only is this lighting brighter, cleaner and more efficient, it is also now affordable to the poorest people. Government officials have taken a more entrepreneurial approach to energy and the local utility can see that every MWh saved can be exported, to Sudan for example. An IDA-financed transmission line will soon enable Ethiopia to export clean hydro-energy and generate foreign reserves for the country.”

80 MW savings within three months

Half of the bulbs were distributed within three months and the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) reported that peak demand was reduced by 80 MW by this time. “Generating this energy using emergency diesel generators would have cost the country an estimated US$100-million,” said Maurer. The price of distributing the CFLs was US$4-million.

Due to the success of the project, Ethiopian government has reduced import duties on certain energy-efficiency equipment and is currently drafting a law banning the use of incandescent light bulbs (if this law is approved, it will be the first law of its kind in a developing country).

Poor benefit most

According to the World Bank, low-income households that consume approximately 20 kWh per month are able to reduce their electricity consumption by 55% if they switch to energy-efficient lighting. The rationale for distributing CFLs is even more compelling when a country is in the midst of a power crisis and has to result to load shedding.

“One CFL, costing US$0.83 cents, saves US$3.5 per month for the power sector,” added the World Bank.

For more information, visit www.worldbank.org, to which acknowledgement and thanks are given.

Ethiopia saves uS$96-million by changing light bulbs

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Egoli Gas (Pty) Ltd1 Annet Road, Cottesloe, Johannesburg, 2092

Private Bag X10, Auckland Park, 2006

Tel: 011 356 5000 Fax: 086 557 6672 e-mail: [email protected]

www.egoligas.co.za

The Natural Alternative

Piping NATURAL GAS from planet EARTH to

JHB’s doorstep! The natural alternative for

cleaner pastures.

Leading lighting retrofitting company, EcoLight Distributors, have been specialising in the commercial and industrial market for the last six years. Many high-profile companies have retrofitted their buildings and operations with Ecolight products and, due to the lifespan of the products, have been reaping the rewards of low maintenance and lower electricity bills. Some of these companies include the American Embassey, PPS, Anglo Coal, municipalities and banks.

“In today’s climate, with rising Eskom electricity tariffs, it is wise to reduce consumption as much as possible,” says Kevin Wilkins, the Managing Director of EcoLight Distributors.

“The EcoLight retrofit option reduces kilowatt consumption and demand and we have documented the following results from our lighting installations: 4-foot retrofits save between 14 and 15 watts per tube while the 5-foot option offers between 30 and 33 watts per tube. Conventional retrofits can only offer between 6 and 9 watts respectively, which makes our products the ideal solution,” says Wilkins.

Local sources

“We pride ourselves on sourcing as much products as possible from within South Africa, and to this end we now have LED replacement lamps made here that suit the domestic market,” says Wilkins.

EcoLight has now introduced an economy range best suited for small businesses and home use. This range of products offers lower prices, making payback times under a year in most instances.

EcoLight has registered agents in most areas of South Africa – contact EcoLight for retrofit solutions that make business sense!

EcoLight & EcoDrive SATel: + 27 11 021 3105Fax: +27 86 672 3839E-mail: [email protected]: www.ecolight.za.com

lighting retrofits that make business sense

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Green energy for 100-million africans

- promises Eu

africa represented at World Energy Congress

The African Development Bank (AfDB) President, Donald Kaberuka, made the world hear Africa’s voice by participating in the World Energy Congress (WEC), which was held in Montréal, Canada, from 12-16 September 2010.

“Access to energy is closely linked to poverty reduction,” says Kaberuka. “Insufficient energy is a major constraint in ameliorating the conditions of poverty, such as poor health, insufficient access to water, poor sanitation and inadequate education. Africa’s energy infrastructure gap is a key constraint on the continent’s economic growth potential.”

According to the AfDB, energy infrastructure development is therefore among the priority sectors outlined in their public as well as private development strategy. At the congress, Kaberuka highlighted threats posed by climate change to the African continent and demonstrated how climate change affects Africa disproportionately.

“The continent does, however, have a number of options for tackling this issue, notably through clean energy development,” said Kaberuka. “African countries, especially from sub-Saharan African, need to make greater use of their huge untapped renewable energy potential – especially hydro power, geothermal energy, solar and wind power, and more efficient utilization of biomass,” said Kaberuka.

Source: www.afdb.org

AFDB President, Donald Kaberuka

Africa and the European Union have joined forces to achieve the goal of setting up over 15 500 MW of renewable energy facilities in Africa and provide sustainable energy to at least 100 million Africans by 2020.

The Africa-EU Partnership (AEUP) was launched in Vienna in September and it will have initial capital of US$6.5-million, which will go towards 500 MW of solar power, 5 000 MW of wind turbines and 10 000 MW of hydropower.

At the opening address of the conference, Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Sprindelegger said: “No sustainable development without sustainable energy solutions. A reliable energy supply drives social development and economic growth, and plays an essential role in fighting poverty.”

Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said the Desertec Initiative will be a prime example of the EU’s work to help with the further development of Africa’s energy sector while also integrating wind farms and biomass.

Source: www.aeep.conference.org

Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger

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BASF again included in the Dow Jones Sustainability indexBASF was again included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World). The company received special recognition by the analysts for risk and crisis management, environmental policy and reporting and climate strategy. The DJSI World is the most important sustainability index and represents the top 10 percent of the largest 2 500 companies in each industry included in the Dow Jones Global Index .

“We are very pleased that BASF is again listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index,” said Dr Eckhard Koch, Vice-President of the BASF Sustainability Centre. “Sustainability is our strategic approach to integrate social and ecological issues in our business processes and ensure long-term economic success – for us and for our customers.” BASF-shares are included in the DJSI World for the tenth year in succession.

The listed companies are considered to demonstrate continuous

improvement every year with regard to sustainability and are assessed by analysts from the Sustainable Asset Management Group (SAM). The basis of the assessment is a comprehensive questionnaire evaluating economic, environmental and social criteria. Examples of these criteria are corporate governance, innovation management and customer satisfaction, as well as climate protection strategy, occupational health and safety, and recruiting.

Additional information on sustainability at BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com/sustainability.

BASF Holdings South Africa (Pty) LtdTel: +27 11 203 2422Fax: +27 11 203 2430E-mail: [email protected]

Developing countries are saving the global economy - World bank

A new book by World Bank economists, entitled The Day After Tomorrow: A Handbook on the Future of Economic Policy in the Developing World, states that developing countries are becoming a new engine of global growth and a pulling force for advanced economies. Almost half of global growth is currently coming from developing countries and, as a group, it is projected that their economic size will surpass that of their developed peers in 2015.

The five factors accounting for the increasing growth are faster technological learning, larger middle-classes, more south-south commercial integration, high commodity prices and healthier balance sheets that will allow borrowing for infrastructure investment.

“The rebalancing of global growth towards a multiplicity of engines will give the developing countries new relevance. It will also change their policy agendas – on average, economic management will be stronger, governments will be better, and the beginning of the end of poverty will be within reach,” said Marcelo Giugale, the World Bank’s Director for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management in the Latin American and Caribbean Region, and co-editor of the study.

According to the book, East Asia, Latin America, South Asia and soon Africa have the potential to turn into “newly developed” economies. Although Sub-Saharan Africa is the world’s poorest region (with an estimated additional seven to ten million people that may have been thrown into poverty as a result of the crisis), the prospects for faster growth are good as long as there is a sustained commitment to sensible policies. “These policies will need to address the challenges of infrastructure, job creation, governance and shrinking aid,” reads the report.

“Developing countries are the new locomotives of growth which will move global growth forward while high-income countries remain stagnant,” commented Otaviano Canuto, World Bank Vice-President for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM), and co-editor of the book.

Source: www.worldbank.org

The South African state-owned power utility, Eskom, has signed two export credit agency loans for ZAR1-billion with the Deutsche Bank and ZAR600-

million with the Credit Agricole CIB, both acting as sole arranger, agent and lender.

The ZAR1-billion loan, arranged by Deutsche Bank, will be used to fund 85% of the eligible German portion of the turbine pump contract for Eskom’s 1 352 MW Ingula pump storage scheme supplied by Voith Hydro, a German and Japanese consortium.

The ZAR600-million loan, arranged by Credit Agricole CIB, will be used for the Coface covered funding for the Control and Instrumentation (C&I) contract supplied by Alstom to the 4800 MW Medupi power station construction in Lephalale.

In a statement released by Eskom, the company said it continues to view ECA-backed financing as a critical component of the overall financing plan and both these loans form part of the Eskom’s ongoing funding activities for its investment in infrastructure.

Eskom’s Finance Director, Paul O’Flaherty, said: “Eskom is a key contributor to the growth of the South African economy. Funding is a critical enabler for the successful execution of the capacity expansion programme and ECA-backed funding compliments our other sources of funding in the Eskom funding plan.”

Source: www.eskom.co.za

Eskom signs two new export credit agency loans

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africa: need to remove barriers to hydropower investment

If governments remove tariff and non-tariff barriers, investment in small hydropower projects in Africa will increase, says a hydropower consultant with the Investment Climate Facility for Africa (ICF), Leonard Kassana.

“Feed-in tariffs should be attractive for developers, and business licenses and environmental impact assessment (EIA) authorisations should be streamlined,” said Kassana at the Ministry of Infrastructure in Rwanda.

According to Kassana, Africa has hydropower resources of about 100GW. “Countries are realising this great opportunity to increase the energy uptake by resorting to hydropower resources which are cheaper, greener and no match to other energy sources,” said Kassana.

Kassana is one of the leading experts who will discuss the future of hydropower electricity generation in Africa during the Hydropower Africa Conference in August 2010 in South Africa.

Source: www.tradeinvestafrica.com.

Sa diplomat’s bid to head

IaEa cost Zar30-million

Abdul Minty, a South African diplomat, lost the bid to become head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano. The Democratic Alliance, a South African political party, lodged a parliamentary question in September for the government to explain why the bid to head the UN nuclear watchdog cost the country ZAR3-million.

“The campaign costs included ZAR1.3-million for transport, an allowance of just under

ZAR1-million, ZAR857 451 for accommodation and ZAR187 723 for entertainment,” said International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.

Amano will succeed Nobel peace laureate Mohammed el Baradei. Amano served as chairman of the IAEA’s policy-making governing body in 2005-2006, when the agency and its head, El Baradei, were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Amano accepted the prize on behalf of the agency (www.reuters.com).

Source: www.timeslive.co.za; www.reuters.com.

Yukiya Amano

EU to build €2-million Jatropha plant in GhanaThe European Union has launched a €2-million Jatropha processing plant in Walewale in the West Mamprusi District. The five-year project is going to use infertile lands in the area for the cultivation of the Jatropha plant and process the seeds to obtain crude-oil and its by-products.

The project is being undertaken in collaboration with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the Technology Consultancy Centre of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and New Energy, a non-governmental organisation.

Professor Giuseppe Enne, Project Co-ordinator of the Ghana Jatropha Project and of the Nuclea Ricerca Desertificatione of Sassari University of Italy, said the project would develop and construct an appropriate and cost-effective expeller for Jatropha oil extraction.

San Nasamu Asabigi, Deputy Northern Regional Minister said Jatropha could be an alternative to reduce the energy crisis facing the country,

adding that “about 69 percent of the total energy consumed in Ghana is from the already depleted forest, 10 percent from electricity and 21 percent from imported petroleum”.

“The project would also develop income-generating activities from the marketing of the primary and secondary products of Jatropha and the setting up of community-based organisations and micro-enterprises to reduce poverty,” said Enne.

For more information, visit www.ghanabusinessnews.com, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

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biomass gasification

a good private power option for Sa

“Lesser-known renewable energy sources such as biomass gasification could be seen as an attractive option for private power in South Africa,” says Frost & Sullivan’s power systems industry analyst, Ross Bruton.

Biomass gasification technology utilises incomplete combustion of organic materials to produce a unique gas consisting of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen and water, referred to as producer gas. This producer gas can be used for the production of biofuels or power generation through the firing of a gas engine, gas turbine or steam turbine boiler systems.

“Biomass gasification is a technology that provides an attractive solution for renewable power generation due to its significantly low carbon emissions as well as its ability to recycle municipal or industrial waste products as feedstock,” says Bruton.

Currently only small, rural biomass gasification projects

Although the biomass gasification market within South Africa is still at its infancy stage, with only small pilot projects being run for community upliftment (primarily in rural areas), macro-environmental factors within the electricity industry are causing major industry within the agricultural and municipal sectors to investigate new forms of electricity production.

With the electricity market in the country facing a period of significant strain on Eskom’s operational capacity, it is expected that the country will once again experience rolling blackouts similar to grid load-shedding that took place in 2008. Large industry is therefore actively investigating options for power solutions adequate to gain a significant degree of independence from the national grid in an attempt to mitigate potential revenue losses from unexpected power cuts. The use of private power also allows for the possibility of additional revenue earnings through the sale of electricity to the national grid through Eskom’s MTPPP or REFIT programmes.

“The use of biomass gasification not only allows for the development of private power by industry, but it also allows for the benefit of industry players from attractive REFIT tariffs offered by government, as well as the awarding of CDM credits for trade in the international CDM market,” concludes Bruton.

Frost & SullivanTel: +27 21 680 3261Fax: +27 21 680 3296 E-mail: [email protected]

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Interior and Homeland Security of the United States and the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has contracted DNV for forensic examination of the blowout preventer (BOP) and lower marine riser package that was fitted to the Mocondo well in the Gulf of Mexico.

The BOP is a 50 foot – 300 ton assembly that has been raised and taken to a NASA facility in Louisiana where it is in custody of the JIT. Since the BOP was retrieved in August, evidence preservation protocols have been in effect.

The final forensic testing protocol will be developed by DNV, in consultation with various commercial, academic and governmental organisations, and will be approved by the JIT prior to the start of testing.

According to a statement by DNV, the company will be using forensic investigation expertise from their Columbus, Ohio, office and its subsea equipment (BOP) expertise from the Houston, Texas, office for the project.

Source: www.dnv.com

US$1-billion offshore gas project approved by Petro SA

Mozambique refinery attracts international interest

Oilmoz is a refinery in Mozambique that develops 350 000 barrels per day. During a recent African oil conference, Oilmoz CEO Fausto Cruz told journalists that the refinery expects to reach a funding agreement with European energy investors before the end of the year.

“We are still procuring the finance. We are negotiating with a group of investors from Europe and very shortly we expect that an agreement will be signed before the end of the year,” said Cruz.

Mozambique has huge gas reserves that have begun to attract interest from international investors. “Potential investors are looking for a range of options, including an equity stake in the refinery, with construction expected to start in the second quarter of 2011 and end in 2015,” said Cruz.

According to Cruz, Shell affiliate Stasco will procure 50% of the refinery’s total output and only 15% of the oil will be earmarked for domestic use.

Source: www.reuters.com.

Investigation of

bP boP from the oil spill

Petro SA has approved a US$1-billion offshore gas project. The offshore gas field, called FO, is located at the South Coast and production is expected to start by the first quarter of 2011.

Sandro Borean, Petro SA’s regional manager for new ventures upstream, told delegates at an African energy conference in Cape Town that this is the next project for the South African national oil company. “Our next project is focusing on FO, which is the gas field approximately 40 kilometres (25 miles) away from the existing platform,” said Borean.

“It’s a very large project, it’s a billion dollar project or thereabouts and we anticipate the first gas in the first quarter of 2013. This has been approved by the board recently,” he said.

The company operates one of the world’s largest gas-to-liquids refiners at Mossel Bay. Petro SA also holds exploration acreage in Egypt, Namibia, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique and Gabon.

Source: www.reuters.com

Back-up power for Black Rock Mine

The Tognum Group company MTU in southern Africa is providing emergency back-up power to Black Rock Mine in order to ensure power security during unforeseen electricity failures.

Black Rock Mine has been in operation for over 65 years and exports the majority of the manganese to Japan, which is then used in steel. The mine area contains around 80% of the world’s known high-grade manganese reserves. The power plant that MTU has built consists of Detroit Diesel derivatives of Series 60 engines, 18 MTU units and the MTU 12V4000G23 engines , which will be used for the genset. Each of the engines produce 1420 kWm mechanical power and operate as an emergency back-up solution for the mine’s operation.

Source: www.mtu-online.co.za

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SANEA is a non-partisan and diverse energy association with international networks.

“We are striving to make a significant contribution to promote a sustainable energy

future for South Africa” – Brian A Statham, Chairman.

Please visit the SANEA website on: www.sanea.org.za

Sa must look at maize for biofuels, says minister

“Agriculture is not only about food production, but it also concerns energy. So with the surplus maize, we as government must look again at our biofuel policy,” said Tina Joemat-Pettersson, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (www.reuters.com).

The minister told delegates at a conference in October that South Africa must review its biofuels policy to include maize. She urged farmers to come forward with ideas on how to best implement the biofuels policy. “The development of the biofuel industry needs a national plan that must not harm food security,” said Joemat-Pettersson.

Joemat-Pettersson acknowledged that policy change was a lengthy process and as such the use of maize for energy production was a long-term solution to the surplus grain in the country. “The opportunities for us to address the surplus maize would be firstly to look at alternative market opportunities,” she said.

Scouting for export markets

According to Joemat-Pettersson, government was still looking for additional export markets for farmers who expected their largest crop of the grain since the record 14.42-million tonnes reaped in the 1981/82 season.

“We are busy travelling the world scouting for markets, we are working hard to find markets,” she said before adding that government was still negotiating with China, Russia and other countries in the Middle East to secure alternative markets for commercial farmers other than Europe.

For more information, visit www.reuters.com, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

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‘102010 Pilot International Conference on

Global Sustainable Development

Climate Change, A Challenge to Businesses in the 21st CenturyDate: 19 – 21 November 2010 Location: Kampala, UgandaContact: Pilot InternationalE-mail: [email protected] Website: www.pilotinternationalconferences.org

Coal Energy Africa

Date: 23 – 24 November 2010Location: Johannesburg, South AfricaContact: Spintelligent Tel: + 27 21 700 3500 Fax: + 27 21 700 3501 Website: www.spintelligent-events.com

Powering Africa: the Financial Options

Date: 24 – 26 November 2010Location: Cape Town, South AfricaTel: Tel: +44 20 85 47 06 98Website: www.energynet.co.uk/PA/PAFO2010/index.html

Power and Electricity World North Africa

Date: 29 November – 2 December 2010 Location: Cairo, Egypt Contact: Prima Castelino Tel: +971 4 440 2506 Fax:+971 4 445 8475 E-mail: [email protected]: www.terrapinn.com/2010/powerna/networking.stm

PPP Africa 2010, Public Private Partnership Africa

Date: 1 – 2 December 2010Location: Tunis, Republic of TunisiaContact James Shindi or Laura Sitzia, AME Trade Ltd – Africa and Middle East Trade Ltd Tel: +44 207 700 5044/5080 Fax: +44 207 681 3120 E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]: http://www.africappp.com

The 20th Middle East and Africa Power and Energy Exhibition

Date: 4 – 7 December 2010 Location: Cairo, Egypt. Contact: Ms. Snjezana Poljanec

November 2010Tel: + 44 1628 782 2516 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.electricx-egypt.com

7th annual West African Power Industry Convention

Date: 6 – 9 December 2010 Location: Dakar, Senegal Tel: +27 21 700 3518 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.spintelligent-events.com

Wind Power Development and Implementation 2010

Date: 12 – 15 December 2010 Location: Cairo, Egypt T-el: +971 4 364 297 Email: [email protected] Website: www.windpoweregypt.com

Carbon Markets & Climate Finance Africa

Date: 25 – 26 January 2011Location: Johannesburg, South Africa E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.greenpowerconferences.co.uk

Carbon Markets & Climate Finance Africa Date: 25 – 26 January 2011 Location: Johannesburg, South AfricaContact: Laura ProctorE-mail: [email protected] Website: www.greenpowerconferences.com

Nigeria Oil & Gas (NOG 11), Conference & Exhibition

Date: 21 – 24 February 2011Location: Abuja, NigeriaContact: Tim MillardTel: +44 20 7978 0083E-mail: [email protected]: www.thecwcgroup.com

International Conference on Energy Systems and Technologies

Date: 14 – 16 Feb 2011 Location: Cairo, Egypt Tel: +(2010) 101 4125 E-mail: [email protected]: www.afaqscientific.com

December 2010

January 2011

February 2011

Documents

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