UHURU DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS MD Aretha Charles talks about: powering the green economy for rural municipalities

How did you get into the sector?

The Green Economy and the Renewable Energy revolution are not just pie-in-the-sky playthings for academia and tree-hugging environmentalists in rich developed economies. They can solve real energy and power problems for poor rural communities. Indeed, finding a young African woman pioneering in this sector is rare; Municipal Focus chats to Ms. Aretha Charles, Director of Uhuru Development Projects about her passion for the sector.

Director: Ms. Aretha Charles

I originally studied quantity surveying and went on to work in the construction sector mainly in the Gqeberha and surrounding areas. I then started my own construction company where, in 2011, I was given an opportunity to implement a pilot project on renewable energy that was partially funded and promoted by the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI), and Department of Science and Technology. The University of Fort Hare was the implementing agent.

This, together with my humble origins have a lot to do with how I ended up in the renewable energy sector, otherwise known as the Green Energy Sector. In the rural parts of Queenstown, a small town in the Eastern Cape Province where I come from, we had no street lighting and some far outlying houses were not electrified. I had first-hand experience of the challenges faced by communities in rural, outlying areas.

What were the major things you’ve learned along the way?

First having worked with standard electrification projects I had to learn about renewable energy and energy efficiency in construction. Most importantly though, I learned about the importance of partnerships. I learned that partnerships make the high costs of implementing projects more affordable. They also reduce the limitations of scarce skills and resources. In this regard I realized that my dream of lighting up the streets of rural communities at an affordable cost to them was possible. At a technical level I learned about biogas digesters, solar power and wind as sources of energy and how to work with these forces.

It is against this background I formed Uhuru Development Projects and that was the beginning and not the end of the challenge!

What was the major challenge(s) that you identified?

At a country level I realized that most of the renewable Independent Power Producer (IPP) technology vested outside of South Africa; a lot of it in Europe – so bringing it into the country will be costly and challenging. At a sectorial level South Africa needed to learn pretty quickly whilst addressing legislative and capacity challenges as well as dealing with implementation framework issues; and still catch up with the rest of the world – considering that the migration from fossil fuel energy to renewable was a global phenomenon and South Africa is the highest electricity producer and consumer on the continent. So, we are a significant player. At a business level, I was entering into a sector that, like many other sectors in South Africa, was majority male-dominated and skewed against HDIs especially women. At a personal level I realized that the capital costs of growing and running a business in this sector would be especially high.

How did this translate into your business?

I had to become an activist for myself as well as for other women and youth out there. To be taken seriously I had to fight for recognition – just to be given an audience. I had to fight the notion that I was fronting for ‘Big Brother’ out somewhere; that I was my own person with my own vision. So we have come a long way for Uhuru to do the things that we do.

What does Uhuru Development Projects do?

We use renewable energy to contribute to the Green Economy by designing and implementing renewable energy projects that will contribute to the supply of electricity to municipalities, towns, industry and the National Grid, whilst creating sustainable jobs and developing critical skills for the country.

Our ethos is Partnerships. Since municipalities are the delivery arm of government, we believe partnering with them to deliver these projects will greatly assist in developing the country and its economy.

What kind of projects do you embark on?

• Development in provision of sustainable energy sources

• Implementation of labour-intensive renewable energy projects

• Creating employment opportunities and alleviating poverty within rural and low Income urban communities

• Reducing electricity demand and energy use

• Energy management and awareness in the rural communities

How do you achieve this?

We install bio-gas digesters in land fill sites as well as pit latrines to produce Green Gas that can be used directly for heating or production of electricity. Land fill sites are owned and managed by municipalities therefore a partnership here will enable them to augment the energy supply in their locality. Rural municipalities are the ones that help build pit latrines in schools, facilities and buildings due to lack of running water infrastructure. So a partnership in this regard will ensure that we can use this shortcoming to their advantage and produce gas.

We are currently refurbishing a school kitchen in the Chris Hani District in the Eastern Cape; we are incorporating biogas digesters for cooking and retrofitting all electrical equipment with energy efficient solutions – we are doing this in partnership with the Department for Science and Innovation (DSI).

We also built off-grid solar systems that can power streetlights and other farflung buildings and facilities. Municipalities can use this partnership to provide power and energy to nonelectrified areas and to meet the social demands of the indigent. The solution we provide is wholistic; we prefer that the municipality implement an energy saving project and greening project simultaneously.

What are the implications of that?

It means that the municipality can retrofit energy saving devices in its buildings and facilities as well as for beneficiaries of their social investments such as, the indigents, whilst rolling out alternative energy using renewable energy methods such as bio-digesters and solar panels.

All this will be done whilst training local youth and women on the implementation and maintenance of such projects.

Maintenance cannot be overstated because all infrastructure requires attention as it grows older. The current Eskom situation being the case in point in the energy sector.

Partnerships

You said skill levels in this sector are low, so how do we then implement the above?

Partnerships are the solution. There are pockets of knowledge at institutions such as SANEDI, the University of Fort Hare and other tertiary institutions. The SETAs can play a leading role in facilitating skills development programs aimed at rural youth and women.

I know that the natural next question is where the resources to develop this training and to implement it will come from. Partnerships again. There are various strategic organizations that have a direct interest in this sector such as the Central Energy Fund (CEF), the National Skills Fund (NSF), the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) among others who can marshal resources to this effect. The municipalities’ role as well as that of Uhuru would be to provide the platform for practical application of the training received. The municipality will benefit from the projects implemented and energy saved, as well as the jobs and skills created. A large amount of the power saved from the grid can now be sold to industry, creating revenue for the municipality.

What do you see as your key role in this regard?

Mobilizing resources is no easy task, Uhuru Development Projects will facilitate the resource mobilization through our existing partnerships.

What kind of partnerships have you developed?

We have strategic partnerships with structures such as the Mbuyane Traditional Council in the Mpumalanga Province; the Shembe Church, Ekuphakameni; the Umhlathuze Local Municipality; as well as the Hlomendlini Local Municipality, just to name a few. Over the years we have built a reputation of strategic relationships with the private sector as well as other arms of government and regional and global development organizations. We sit on the National Renewable Energy Masterplan Committee in partnership with NEDLAC. We participate in the BRICS energy working group.

We have entered into a strategic partnership with the Ingonyama Trust of Kwa-Zulu Natal to deliver rural energy projects – something the municipalities can benefit from. We are also working on Green Field off-grid electrification projects in Zambia and Tanzania in partnership with the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) – and can do the same with our Eskom.

What is the main thing municipalities need to consider in this relationship?

The frontloading that is required to create the Greenfield Project. It means that resources must be deployed upfront to develop the requisite statutory documents such as the Land Rights, the Eskom Grid Analysis, the Environ-mental Impact Analysis and the planning and designing of the plant, which requires specialists who are not available in South Africa and who need to be sourced offshore at a huge cost; and that is before the business case, which is in the form of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), can be put on the table. This frontloading is what becomes a barrier of entry for emerging enterprises.

The legislative framework that governs electrification and energy supply needs to be understood and navigated. This is another area where partnership with Uhuru will benefit the municipality. We have navigated this environment as the legal framework metamorphosed over the years and are a part of the structures that are continuously evaluating and implementing it. Co-generation as an Option

Co-generation as an Option

One of the key considerations that municipalities need to make, is the option of co-generation. Instead of relying solely on Eskom, which is the current scenario, or going at it alone which is the other extreme position; municipalities should consider partnering with other stakeholders, especially private sector or other arms of government to generate power using renewables and then on-sell it to their local costumers on a revenue-sharing model with Eskom. In the coastal areas for example, an offshore wind turbine can generate up to 5MW of electricity which can go a long way towards meeting the needs of Eskom’s own customers demand at a local level. Municipalities can partner with private sector to in vest in this infrastructure.

Do you think South Africa is going in the right direction as far as the renewables are concerned?

A kneejerk reaction would say we are slow in implementation and are lagging behind. However, a fair and deeper analysis would show that we have advanced through leaps and bounds over a short space of time with limited resources. Our energy sector inherited a power generation and distribution system that was skewed against the majority of the population and was based on ancient fossil fuel-driven power generation technology. So we have had to grapple with lighting up the backlogs whilst addressing new areas of property development without additional resources or supply. The advent of renewable alternatives meant that we had to divert some of our resources (both human and financial) to learn and catch up to the rest of the world. The traditional resistance to change has not helped but has slowed down progress instead. We therefore have to embrace the new as part of the solution.

Interestingly rural communities see and consider alternative energy and off-grid electricity as inferior to what they view as modern ‘Eskom power/electricity’ and resist it until they see its benefit and affordability. Ironically it is these rural areas that have a lack of energy and power and stand to benefit the most from off-grid alternative energy supply.

Embracing the New Economy

What should then be done to speed up the process?

There is a need for more collaboration between municipalities, the private sector, various arms of government, Eskom and the communities to address alternative energy at local level in a decentralised manner to the benefit of the end user without exclusions. What is in the hands and ambit of the municipality is the use of energy saving projects through retrofitting to create local green economies and a skills pool. Through these projects municipalities can fight crime in rural off-grid communities by installing streetlights powered by solar or biogas digesters from home pit latrines.

Uhuru means ‘freedom’ in Kiswahili and we shall not have attained our freedom if we remain a “dark” continent in the eyes of the developed world. We are here to work in partnership with the municipalities to light up the dark corners of our rural villages without increasing our CO2 emissions -and to create a vibrant green economy for rural communities.

Contact Details

Aretha Charles (Director) Cell: 079 603 9066 Email: aretha@uhurudevprojects.co.za

Email: info@uhurudevprojects.co.za Web: www.uhurudevprojects.co.za

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