NEWS & SNIPPETS
RIP NTOMBIFUTHI NTULI SAWEA and the sector, at large, mourns the loss of Princess Ntombifuthi Ntuli, CEO of SAWEA. Fondly known as Ntombi, she leaves behind two young children and an extended family who will no doubt feel the full extent of this loss. Ntombifuthi has steered the wind power sector in her leadership role. During this time, she drew on her depth of knowledge and talents, and crafted over more than 15 years in the energy and related sectors. Ntombifuthi’s leadership was defined by her charismatic yet gentle nature, resilience and determination to successfully steer the industry towards playing a central role in South Africa’s energy transition, while being a uniting force. She built strong bridges throughout the energy sector, founded on her sound logic
JO JOs FOR JOZI
and ability to see the bigger picture. Her lobbying efforts for the country’s transition to cleaner power were underpinned by supportive government policy and smooth procurement, which will help to ensure the sector’s exponential growth for years to come. Her legacy will live on not only through her successes, but also in the hearts of the people that make up this industry. “Ntombi changed the face of the wind industry in our country. She made the industry relatable with her ability to engage with the most stubborn naysayer, helping them to see her point of view and winning everyone over with her charming smile and her calm strength,” said Mercia Grimbeek, Chair of SAWEA. Green Economy Journal extends our heartfelt condolences to Ntombifuthi Ntuli’s friends and family.
CITY CALLS CITIZENS TO CLIMATE ACTION Cape Town has encouraged residents and businesses to join their climate action movement following their recently released Climate Change Strategy. This is to adapt to the impacts of climate change, mitigate climate change, significantly reduce carbon emissions and harness opportunities of the green economy. A few of their mitigation efforts to reduce carbon emissions include driving energy efficiency in municipal operations, moving towards net-zero carbon buildings, procuring energy from Independent Power Producers (IPPs), reducing and diverting waste and building an efficient transport network. Courtesy: Cape Argus
THE BEST MEGAWATT
Joburg Water says its system is under severe pressure, with water demand consistently exceeding supply. Reservoirs are affected across the Gauteng region. Spokesperson, Eleanor Mavimbela, said that the intermittent water supply would continue indefinitely. “Citizens of the City of Johannesburg are urged to use water sparingly as the city is still under level one water restrictions.” Courtesy: Eye Witness News
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BY BARRY BREDENKAMP, SANEDI
As the country focuses on improved energy capacity, energy savings must not be forgotten. The IEA regards energy efficiency as the “first fuel”, and we should strive to save every possible kWh before adding new generating capacity. Companies must prioritise energy savings, not just self-generation. While I agree that the new 100MW threshold is great news for the stability of supply and our economic potential, I would like to see every installation targeting a baseline load of 110MW. My take is that there is at least 10% energy savings potential on the demand side of the meter at virtually all proposed installations, before adding additional supply-side capacity. The more energy (consumption) we avoid or save, the smaller the size of the load required to operate those end-use technologies. We urge project developers not to lose focus on first exploring the energy efficiency potential, by setting an “internal” target to save 10MW of electricity for every 100MW of renewable power generation capacity installed. All new build projects come with an environmental cost. Even clean energy projects come with a carbon footprint. If you consider the manufacture and transport of every component required for a solar farm, you can understand how this will add up when companies across the country adopt generation plants. Added to that, it is cheaper to save energy than to generate it. Building new generation capacity is a big investment, regardless of the energy source. There are additional cost and environmental savings to be gained by including energy efficiency in the overall mix. Regardless of how and where power is generated, someone still pays for the megawatt consumed, whereas the avoided megawatt is “free”. In my opinion, the best megawatt is the megawatt not used.
