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 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.

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.

JO JOs FOR JOZI

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

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 BY BARRY BREDENKAMP, SANEDI

CO2 LEVELS AFFECT DUNG BEETLES

A new study led by Wits University postdoctoral researcher, Dr Claudia Tocco, provides evidence that elevated CO2 levels directly affects the development and survival of tunnelling dung beetles. The study, published in the international journal, Global Change Biology, presents a possible explanation for the current “insect apocalypse” – a global decline in insect populations that is still not well understood. “When raised under CO2 levels predicted for the year 2070, a third fewer beetles emerged and were 14% smaller in size when compared to pre-industrial CO2 levels,” says Tocco. Courtesy: Wits University

THE BIG 4 ACCOUNTING FIRMS BALANCE ESG

WHEN I GROW UP

PwC put the demand for ESG advice at the heart of a $12-billion investment plan it recently announced that involves adding 100 000 employees and launching “trust institutes” to train clients in ethics. Deloitte announced a “climate learning programme” for its 330 000 employees. KPMG’s ESG work has included helping Ikea to analyse social and environmental risks linked to the Swedish furniture retailer’s raw materials and advising on the first green bond issued in India. Alongside EY, all four have been at the table as business groups try to thrash out new international standards for measuring sustainability. Courtesy: Financial Times

This is a book about 21 people who are working in clean energy; what they all have in common is that they are passionate about their job, and work on tackling the climate crisis. Meet Swarna who studies the wind to put her turbines in the best locations; Nicolas who flies drones to check for cracks in the blades; and Jos who builds playgrounds from old wind turbines. There are people from all continents who will tell you about their clean energy jobs, what subjects they studied and the skills they needed to be able to do what they do now. SAWEA Chair, Mercia Grimbeek has contributed to @WindEurope’s latest children’s book.

UCT AND SASOL: CATALYSTS FOR GREEN JET FUEL

The UCT and Sasol have made advancements in the use of commercial iron catalyst, produced cheaply and at large scale at Sasol’s Secunda plant, which would enable conversion of unavoidable or biogenically-derived CO₂ and green hydrogen directly to a variety of green chemicals.

The companies said in a statement that the collaboration had revealed that Sasol’s iron catalyst could achieve CO₂ conversions greater than 40%, producing ethylene and light olefins, which could be used as chemical feedstocks, and significant quantities of kerosene-range hydrocarbons (jet fuel).

“Conversion of green hydrogen together with CO₂, a process called CO₂ hydrogenation, is gaining significant interest worldwide and is a promising way to produce sustainable aviation fuels and chemicals which have a significantly lower carbon footprint,” says Dr Cathy Dwyer, the vice president: Science Research at Sasol Research and Technology. Courtesy: Business Report

RENEWABLE POWER

The City of Cape Town is looking at options to develop Athlone Power Station. Mayco member for Energy and Climate Change, Phindile Maxiti, said the site was considered unsuitable for mixed-use residential purposes, so the emphasis had shifted to looking at uses in line with its existing permit, including for energy and/or industrial use, particularly considering the emerging energy crisis.

The power station was decommissioned in 2003 as it was no longer economically viable. Finance and Economic Opportunities MEC David Maynier said the department was collaborating with the City and welcomed its announcement of a Request For Information (RFI) for funding and financing instrument solutions for its Renewable Energy Programme.

“This RFI is aimed at development banks and multilateral development funds for projects that the City will own and operate, located on city-owned land and buildings (typically within the City distribution grid), ranging in size from less than 1MW to 100MW per project, with the potential to explore larger-scale projects connected to Eskom’s network.” Courtesy: Shakirah Thebus, Cape Argus