25Degrees in Africa JNL 5'10

Vol 5 Nr 5 2010 – R49

International energy markets

?

How comparable are emission reductions

between countries

Energy management

101

GAS

The evolving energy source

Contents Number 5 2010

cover story Piped gas was first used in the form of town gas for street lighting in South Africa in the 19th century. Since then, a huge gas network has been created to supply gas from neighbouring countries in Africa. Although Government is determined to increase the amount of oil and gas projects, this energy source still accounts for less than 3% of the country’s energy needs.

Find out more about gas regulations, new developments and goals being set to diversify the country’s energy mix on page 30.

8

14

26

50

Enervations

Biofuels

Energy efficiency

3

Making waste a useful resource

34 LNG fuel ideal for short sea shipping

54 Low energy technology

6

Vulnerability atlas

35 New biofuels company

55 Millions for energy-efficiency

7

Modern lantern design

56 Melamine resin foam

Renewables

59 Improve power quality and save

Country profile

36 Over $200-million for clean power

8

40 Kenya to boost geothermal

CDM

41 Oklahoma windfarm uses Siemens

60 Key questions on climate change

An overview on Algeria

Climate change

62 SA smelter project

10 Assessments in the South African context

perspectives

12 Uncertain future for companies

42 From an ecomomic perspective

Instant update

44 What water loss reduction can mean

64 Five SA wind energy projects

46 Declining demand for coal

65 Don’t miss this convention

ENERGY MANAGEMENT 14 Energy management: 101 24 How accurate are energy meters?

65 Getting the youth involved

Nuclear energy

66 SANEA Energy Awards 2010

48 Does Africa need nuclear energy?

Oil and gas

50 Thorium: the fuel of the future?

Energy events

28 Margets update

52 Uranium resources for 100 years

68 Energy events

30 Gas regulations and rights

53 First pressurises water reactor

www.25degrees.net

Oil and gas exploration in Africa This issue carries several very interesting articles on the oil and gas industries in Africa, flowing from several reports issued of late on these sectors and following the recent National Gas Conference in Gauteng.

“Gas as a commodity emphatically fits in South Africa’s energy policy position,” said SA Energy Minister Dipuo Peters. However, the uptake of natural gas in South Africa has been slow. According to NERSA, this is due to a number of factors ranging from limited infrastructural capacity, the low cost of electricity distribution historically and limited residential availability of gas.

Although the Minister admits gas is a natural fit for our energy mix, only 3% of primary energy consumption is attributed to natural gas.

Why so? What are these challenges, opportunities and risks to the oil and gas industry in South Africa and on the continent as a whole? The recent launch of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) survey, ‘Energy & Utilities: The Africa Oil & Gas Survey 2010’, might shed some light on these questions. Undertaken with 16 countries across the continent and with 57 respondents, this is its first continent-wide survey. A massive challenge for the industry in Africa is the availability of skills. Highly qualified and specialist skilled individuals are lured away by large corporate companies and big paychecks unequalled in their own country. There is a definite lack of qualified workers in the oil and gas pool.

The problems are multitude, but can be summed up as follows: a dire lack of skills coupled with shared technical competence; inefficient plant operations (most refineries work at less than 10% efficiency); ineffective maintenance plans (due to lack of skills and funding). Another face of the oil and gas industry is the governmental interface to these transactions. In Africa, the oil pricing is politically very sensitive: the price is inherently government-capped and run at a loss. Oil isn’t a dirty word in Africa, as it might be in the States at the moment and the exploration parties are flooding onto the African continent with dreams and big contracts, hoping to get their share of the black gold. PWC believes refining capacity will grow from 4% to 10%. I live in hope that this precious resource and highly priced commodity will be protected for the economic benefit of Africa.

Read more from pages 28.

Marlene E van Rooyen

Publisher:

Media in Africa (Pty) Ltd www.mediainafrica.co.za • www.25degrees.net International Contact Information: Tel: +27 12 347 7530 • Fax: +27 12 347 7523 E-mail: marlene@25degrees.net Postal Address: PO Box 25260, Monument Park, 0105 Republic of South Africa Physical Address: First Floor, Unit G, Castle Walk Corporate Park Cnr Nossob & Swakop Streets, Erasmuskloof Ext. 3, Pretoria, Republic of South Africa

The 25º In Africa team:

Editor Marlene van Rooyen Tel: +27 83 327 3746 E-mail: marlene@25degrees.net Founder Schalk Burger (1943 – 2006) senior Sales executive Andre de Wit Tel: +27 84 513 2580 E-mail: andredw@25degrees.net Journalist Adrienne Brookbanks Tel: +27 82 468 4566 E-mail: adrienne@25degrees.net business unit coordinator Zuerita Gouws Tel: +27 12 347 7530 E-mail: zuerita@25degrees.net Imbewu Sustainability Andrew Gilder – Climate change and CDM legal specialist Publishing Manager Liezel van der Merwe Financial Manager Fanie Venter

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.

Design and Layout Ilze Pohl Accountant Sietske Rossouw E-mail: sietske@mediainafrica.net Proofreader Elizabeth Kruger Reproduction & Printing Business Print Centre

ENERVAT I O N S

Making waste a useful resource with small plants

E

ECOFuels, a Gauteng-based green technology company, has been producing energy solutions since 2003 and has a string of high-profile clients such as Enviroserv, BHP Biliton and Sun International requesting energy solutions from the firm. Marcel Steinberg, Managing Director of EECOFuels, told 25º in Africa what types of renewable products are being used by South Africa’s commercial, energy-intensive industries.

“EECOFuels is focused on using various streams of waste and turning it into energy. The technology we use isn’t new technology, but it is perfected technology,” says Steinberg before listing used cooking oil, animal fats, macadamia shell nuts, sewage sludge and other waste products as some of the things they convert into energy. “We have developed our own gasification technology that is not only very efficient on both small and large applications, but also produces gas with a tar content of less than 10ppm. The gas engines are manufactured by Shengdong, the world’s largest producer of gas generators. Our anaerobic digestion systems are able to produce biogas for use in gas generators to offer clients off-grid electricity solutions.”

The term “biogas” refers to gases created by the anaerobic fermentation of biological materials. Their main constituents are methane and carbon dioxide.

Considerable quantities of biogas are produced by sludge digestion in the tanks of sewage treatment plants (sewage gas) and anaerobic fermentation of agricultural waste and organic residues in garbage tips (landfill gas).

“Waste shouldn’t be seen as waste if it can be used as a resource to generate electricity. Our goal is to take something that is seen as having zero value and turning it into something that can provide a clean source of energy,” says Steinberg.

Robust, African solutions EECOFuels have designed and developed a complete power plant solution using a state of the art updraft gasifier and GASTECH engine combination. It converts waste streams (biomass) into electricity and is revolutionary in its tar removal system. This technology is now also seen as a waste management and power generation plant as it can accommodate municipal solid waste.

The system has been robustly built and designed to be as maintenance free as possible with minor maintenance being done by the operators in the field, which is another reason for the solution being seen as “appropriate for Africa”.

EECOFuels’ technology is specifically designed for the African environment, with robustness and ease of use key factors in the success of their specific solutions.

Waste is a resource “We mix different products with different calorific values to provide energy solutions. Some of the projects we have been involved in include a waste-toenergy plant at Backsberg Estate Cellars in Paarl, Western Cape, where we convert chicken manure and grape peels into biogas. The first step of this project was to become carbon neutral and the next step is to become carbon negative,” says Steinberg.

One of the other projects that EECOFuels is working on involves the creation of biogas from used tyres for a leading local tyre manufacturer. “Many landfill sites overseas do not accept waste tyres for disposal and South Africa, along with the rest of the world, faces a major environmental problem with the volume of waste that used tyres generate. A new law that requires tyre manufacturers to pay ZAR11 to dispose each tyre is being drafted and these companies are looking into creating energy from this waste, rather than disposing of the used tyres in increasingly full landfills,” explains Steinberg.

The largest waste-to-energy plant that EecoFuels has created, is a 2 MW plant for a small mine. “Mines are very interested in creating alternative energy solutions, increasing their electricity supply security as well as creating additional revenue streams through these types of projects,” says Steinberg.

“EecoFuels believes in creating robust solutions that are suited for South Africa’s infrastructure and needs. Our products generally have a ten year maintenance cycle and the technology that we use is of such a nature that it can be replaced with minimal effort and disruption. Understanding the different challenges of various industries in Africa has helped us to design and manufacture waste-to-energy solutions that meet our country’s needs,” concludes Steinberg.

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

EECOFuels Cell: +27 83 282 4247 Fax: +27 86 616 1312 E-mail: marcel@eecofuels.com Website: www.eecofuels 25 o in A f rica

3

enervations

Proven clean fuel technology reaches the African market

Centron is a patented, EPA-registered diesel and petrol fuel saver that improves fuel economy by 10% – 20%. The product also dramatically improves air quality by reducing Nitrous Oxide output of your vehicle by approximately 42%, hydrocarbons by an average of 60% and Opacity (black smoke) by 50% or more.

“T

he need for business to keep in pace with the unrelenting increases in fuel, maintenance costs and heightened EPA standards has made the need of meaningful improvements in fuel economy greater than ever before,” says Steve Mummery, Managing Director of Centron Energy.

“Centron clean fuel technology has proven to save money, the environment and equipment across a broad range of applications,” says Mummery.

Centron has been field and laboratory tested for over seven years and 480-million kilometers and documented data demonstrates the following benefits in three critical areas: 1. Typical improvement in fuel economy of more than 5%.

2. Reductions in fleet fuel operating costs by 10% to 20%.

3. Typical reductions in harmful exhaust emission level of: • Carbon Monoxide (CO): 37% – 57% • Carbon Dioxide (CO2): 10% – 20% • Hydrocarbons (HC): 53% – 67% • Nitrous Oxide (NOx): 40% – 43% • Opacity (Black Smoke): 27% – 81%

4

25 o i n Africa

The product has been extensively tested on both petrol and diesel engines and the product’s ability to reduce emissions. On diesel engines, for example, the average reduction in CO was 57%, reductions in HC emissions averaged 67% plus NOx and Opacity reductions averaged 50%.

“Emission results were confirmed through the use of the Palm Pilot II Quick Check Computer, which hooks up directly with the five gas EPA Probe device which is installed directly into the vehicle’s tail pipe,” adds Mummery.

Fuel technology reduces consumption and emissions on a Lesotho mine Paola Trevisan from Clean Air Testing Solutions, an independent testing firm, used Centron, among other fuel additives in order to improve fuel economy and reduce harmful emissions at Letšeng Diamond Mine in Lesotho, and Centron was the only performer.

“Pollutant regulations are not only a matter of concern for engine manufacturers, but they also require policy implementation, commitment and important effort by the mining industries in order to provide environmentally friendly working procedures and conditions,” says Trevisan.

“The use of fuel enhancers will help to achieve reduced emissions and improve the performance of new engines (2 000 hours or 50 000kms) as well as older engine types and thus also reducing fuel usage among both engine types.”

Trevisan was contracted to perform a comparative study, which took over 14 months to complete, of the effect of a fuel enhancing additives added to 500 ppm diesel on the combustion emissions, fuel savings and related savings on maintenance and engine life on the earth moving equipment at Letšeng.

Trevisan’s testing was done according to the standardised EPA protocol for cumulative effect fuel additive testing for diesel fuels, using an EPA compliant Autologic Gas analyser and the standard methodology for snap acceleration testing performed with the Autologic Opacity meter according to SAE J1667.

All-in-one package delivers: • • • • • • • • • •

Improved fuel economy Reduced greenhouse gas emissions Reduced equipment and vehicle operating costs Fuel system and fuel injector cleaner Cetane and octane booster Maintains fuel integrity Contains lubricants, emulsifiers and algaecides Substantially increases performance Extended equipment life Improved air quality

enervations

“The use of Centron resulted in cleaner, more efficient fuel combustion, thus less overall harmful emissions and improved fuel economy performance,” said Trevisan.

“The results of the Centron evaluation confirm the manufacturer’s claims of reduced emissions and improved fuel economy performance. Therefore it is reasonable to conclude that the potential for maintenance benefits as well as financial benefits exist when treating the entire fuel supply on a continuous basis with Centron fuel additive,” concludes Trevisan.

Tomorrow’s fuel technology today

The results of her studies and testing showed an average 9.9% fuel consumption saving, 32% emissions reduction savings (which equals a reduction of 2 968 metric tones of CO2 per year) and a 244% return on investment, which was based on the average consumption saving figures from the testing performed, taking into account the cost of fuel, volume of fuel currently being used per month as well as the cost of Centron.

Centron: Tel: +27 12 342 1727 Fax: +27 12 342 7932 Julie: +27 82 579 8567 Paola: +27 82 887 8863 E-mail: info@centron.co.za.

Website: www.centron.co.za

25 o in A f rica

5

E NE R VATIO NS

SA Risk and Vulnerability Atlas O

n 13 August, South Africa’s Department of Science and Technology (DST) launched a risk and vulnerability Atlas with the goal of enhancing the country’s resilience to global change. Research for the project was done by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the atlas is designed to provide global change sensitivity and vulnerability information at regional, national, provincial and municipal levels.

Derek Hanekom, Deputy Science and Technology minister, told delegates that the atlas will help municipalities and decision makers identify risk and plan for the future. “Raw global change data needs to be analysed and reworked into practical information sets to assist policy-making in South Africa,” said Hanekom.

The Atlas consists of two formats – a hardcopy prototype and the Atlas electronic spatial database – an electronic data repository on global change in South Africa which is continuously updated with new research by national and international global change researchers from various disciplines. The National Business Initiative (NBI) will assist in introducing the atlas to the corporate sector. One of the major benefits of the Atlas is that it consolidates the latest findings on global change impacts on key sectors in South Africa (such as biodiversity, water, health and agriculture).

Practical case studies Case studies in the Atlas facilitate a virtual exploration of global change impacts, risk and vulnerability as well as adaptation and mitigation strategies.

The case studies enable Atlas stakeholders to explore synergies and apply relevant scientific principles underpinning the case studies to their own adaptation strategies and implementation plans.

According to available research, extreme rainfall events such as thunderstorms may increase in frequency and intensity due to climate change. The City of Johannesburg is one of the case studies used to show the magnitude of the potential impacts that will be experienced due to this consequence of climate change.

Johannesburg usually experiences a number of thunderstorms in the summer season. These storms can either be a challenge (infrastructure damage) or an

6

25 o i n Africa

opportunity (potential source of water if effectively captured). The issue now arising in view of climate change is whether these storms are changing in type, in number and in the amount of rainfall they bring.

Hanekom added that the atlas will help refine the current plans of most of the big municipalities in South Africa to enhance their resilience against the percieved risks and vulnerabilities due to global change.

Gap between science community and the public Dr Bob Scholes, a researcher at the CSIR, said the atlas offers the opportunity to strengthen the currently existing and formation of new partnerships and collaboration between policy makers, business community and the public at large to effectively address global change in South Africa. He highlighted that it was also important to establish a common language between business and the government in the area of adaptation to climate change. In the language of Business, Risk is a well understood word and the Atlas is one tool to be used in mitigation of risk. Dr. Scholes encouraged companies to use the electronic based atlas and give feedback to the CSIR on how the Atlas would add value for business in general and for supporting sector specific issues.

The Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, echoed the latter sentiments in her speech by saying: “The South African Risk and Vulnerability Atlas project is a testament to the desire of the science community’s willingness to rise to the occasion to provide relevant science which is supportive of our goal to build a sustainable future.

“Scientists have articulated the uncertainties around the science of global change, but one thing they are sure of is the enormous burden that will be levied on the most vulnerable among us. As a developing country the effectiveness of our response to global change impacts will not depend on the quality of life among the most prosperous of South Africans, but should be measured by the loss of quality of life among the most vulnerable,” concludes Pandor.

A hardcopy prototype of the Atlas is published at www.rvatlas.org.

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

ENERVAT I O N S

Modern lantern design from SA design student

L

anterna, a simple, lightweight and practical LED lighting product in the shape of a kerosene lantern, recently received a Special Award at the 2010 Eskom Energy Efficient Lighting Design competition. Designed and constructed

by Sanet Stegmann in her final year of her first degree in Interior Architecture at the University of Pretoria, the product forced judges and colleagues to take note of what local design students are producing.

“My goal was to create a compact and portable, modern lamp,” explains Stegmann. “I looked at what the common problems are associated with the traditional lantern, and what could be done to solve them, whilst contributing to the energy-efficiency drive.”

Lanterna has a minimalistic, clean-cut look, consisting of 2 steel frames that are fastened at the top of the lamp. The connection point is slightly off-centre, creating a gap where one’s fingers can be inserted and enabling easy transportability.

The product can be used in other contexts as it is not restricted by the use of cabling. “I experimented with a variety of materials to see what types of lighting could be created. There are also outdoor possibilities when the lamp is made of polyethylene.”

The product’s name, Lanterna, is derived from the Italian translation of the word ‘Lantern’. “It was inspired by the hurricane lamp as practical lighting solution dating back to the 18th century. The hurricane lamp was used for hundreds of years as a source of light before gas and electric lighting were developed,” says Stegmann. “Today we need to turn to more energy-efficient lighting solutions that are not only practical, but promote sustainability,” concludes Stegmann.

Technical datasheet of Lanterna Mounting: Table Dimensions: 90 x 163 x 280 mm.

Finish: Powder-coated mild steel, shade available in wood veneer, ceramic, mild steel.

Description: Mobile luminaire providing directional lighting.

Electrical: Supply: Rechargeable lithium-ion battery (will illuminate for over 24 hours when charged).

Lamp: 12 – 15 LED strips.

Voltage: 12 Volt.

25 o in A f rica

7

cou ntry prof ile: Lesotho

: Algeria Algeria achieved independence from France in 1962 and the country’s primary political party, the National Liberation Front (NLF), has dominated ever since. Unsatisfied Algerians, however, countered the FLN’s centrality in Algerian politics and the surprising balloting success of the Islamic Salvation Front (ISF) in 1991 spurred the Algerian army to intervene.

A

fter a crackdown on the ISF that saw the party’s supporters attacking government, the Algerian government allowed elections featuring moderate religious-based and pro-government parties. Activists widened their attacks, resulting in over 100 000 deaths in 1992-1998. Abdelaziz Bouteflika won the election in 1999 and was overwhelmingly re-elected to a second and third term after the government amended the constitution in 2008 to remove presidential term limits. Problems such as unreliable electrical and water supplies, government inefficiencies, large-scale unemployment and housing shortages continue to face Bouteflika.

Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia.

Climate: Arid to semiaric. Mild, wet winters with hot, dry summers along the coast; drier with cold winters and hot summers on the high plateau; sirocco is a hot dust/sand-laden wind especially common in summer.

Terrain: Mostly high plateau and desert; some mountains; narrow, discontinuous coastal plain.

Elevation extremes: Lowest point: Chott Melrhir – 40m Highest point: Tahat 3 003m Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc.

Land use: Arable land: 3.17% Permanent crops: 0.28% Other: 96.55% (2005)

8

25 o i n Africa

Natural hazards: mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes, mudslides and floods in rainy season.

Current environmental issues: poor farming practices, desertification, petroleum refining wastes, dumping of raw sewage. The Mediterranean Sea, in particular, is becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion and fertilizer run-off.

GDP (purchasing power parity): US$239.6-billion (2009 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): US$136.4-billion (2009 est.)

GDP – real growth rate: 2.6 % (2009 est.)

GDP – per capita (PPP): US$7 000 (2009 est.)

GDP – composition by sector: Agriculture: 8.4% Industry: 61.2% Services: 30.4% (2009 est.)

Population below poverty line: 23% (2006) Industrial production growth rate: 1.1% (2009 est.)

Electricity production: 34.98-billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity consumption: 28.34-million kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity exports: 273-million kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity imports: 279-million kWh (2007 est.)

Oil production: 2.18-million bbl/day (2008 est.)

Oil consumption: 299 000 bbl/day (2008 est.)

Oil exports: 1.891-million bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil imports: 14 320 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil – proved reserves: 15.15-billion bbl (2009 est.)

Natural gas production: 86.5-billion cu m (2008 est.)

Natural gas consumption: 26.83-billion cu m (2008 est.)

c o untry p ro f i l e : l esot h o

Energy in Algeria Approximately 60% of budget revenues are attributed to hydrocarbons, which are the backbone of the economy (representing 30% of GDP and over 95% of export earnings). The primary source of hydrocarbons, which are a subset of organic compounds, is fossil fuels, which is the primary energy source for today’s civilization. Hydrocarbon fuel is also used to mobile machines such as cars and planes.

Natural gas exports: 59.67-billion cu m (2008 est.)

Natural gas imports: 0 cu m (2008 est.)

Natural gas – proved reserves: 4.502-trillion cu m (2009 est.)

Current account balance: -US$4.262-billion (2009 est.)

Exports: US$43.69-billion (2009 est.)

Export commodities: Petroleum, natural gas and petroleum products 97%.

Export partners: US 23.9%, Italy 15.5%, Spain 11.4%, France 8%, Netherlands 7.8%, Canada 6.8% (2008).

Imports: US$39.1-billion (2009 est.)

Import partners: France 16.5%, Italy 11%, China 10.3%, Spain 7.4%, Germany 6.1%, US 5.5% (2008).

Debt external: US$3.389-billion (31 December 2009 est.)

In 2009, weak global hydrocarbon prices contributed to a 40% drop in government revenue, although a US$150-billion in foreign currency reserves and a large hydrocarbons stabilisation fund provided a financial cushion. In 2009, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that the hydrocarbon industry in Algeria has a projected 2% growth in 2010. The IMF believes that Algeria has managed its hydrocarbon wealth soundly and it must now deepen marketorientated reforms, especially in the financial sector. Little success has come from government’s efforts to attract foreign and domestic investment outside the energy sector.

Algeria is the fourth-largest gas exporter and has the eighth-largest natural gas reserves. According to www.oxfordbusinessgroup.com, Algeria delivered 10% of the gas consumed by Europe in 2008. The country also ranks 15th in oil reserves. Hassi R’Mel is Algeria’s largest gas field and it accounts for approximately half of Algeria’s total dry natural gas production. The remainder of the natural gas reserves come from associated (they occur alongside crude oil reserves) and non-associated fields in the southeast regions of the country (www.eia.doe.gov).

Energy Indaba 0.5 ad

25 o in A f rica

9

climate ch ange

In terms of climate change, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopts two broad approaches to dealing with climate change, namely mitigation and adaptation. Awareness of both of these, and their implications for the undertaking of future activities which may impact the environment, should likely inform the assessments to be undertaken in Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs).

Climate change & environmental impact

assessments in the South African context By: Marie Parramon and Andrew Gilder, IMBEWU Sustainability Legal Specialists (Pty) Ltd.

T

he Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines adaptation as the “adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities”. There are various types of adaptation, including (IPCC, 2001): • Planned adaptation, originated by a deliberate policy decision, aimed at returning to, maintaining, or achieving a desired state.

• Anticipatory adaptation, which is undertaken before the impacts of climate change are observed.

• Autonomous adaptation, triggered by ecological changes in natural systems and by market or welfare changes in human systems.

Planned adaptation is particularly relevant for present purposes due to the deliberateness of decisions required to achieve it.

“Adaptive capacity” is a further notion that needs to be considered. This term describes “the ability of a system to adjust to climate change including climate variability and extremes to moderate potential damages, to take advantage of opportunities, or to cope with the consequences” (IPCC, 2001). It is submitted that environmental assessment might consider the adaptive capacity of an ecosystem, potentially impacted by a proposed activity, as a factor in the undertaking of the activity and as a context to inform mitigation measures.1 South Africa is identified as a country that is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, thus making the implementation of adaptation measures essential to future environmental governance.2 The adaptive capacity of the proposed activity might also be assessed.

Mitigation is “an anthropogenic intervention to reduce the anthropogenic forcing of the climate system and it includes strategies to reduce greenhouse 1 In the climate change context the term “mitigation” (of greenhouse gas emissions) refers to efforts, usually project-based, to emit authropogenic forcing of the climate system by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This is different from the meaning of the term in the EIA context where the reference is to “measures designed to avoid, reduce or remedy adverse impacts” (DEAT, 1998). The 1998 DEAT Guideline Document has been referred to because neither NEMA, nor the NEMA EIA Regulations, nor the proposed amendments to the NEMA EIA Regulations define “mitigation”.

2 For further guidance on the notions of vulnerability and adaptation see UNFCCC, Article 4.8 and 4.9.

10

25 o i n Africa

gas sources and emissions and enhancing greenhouse gas sinks” (IPCC, 2001). The National Climate Change Response Strategy identifies mitigation as an integral part of sustainable development and, in particular, cleaner production strategies. It also notes that mitigation actions require a long-term shift in the national economic/industrial base away from dependence on natural resource export and primary minerals beneficiation to manufacturing and other value-adding activities (DEAT, 2004). South Africa has developed a Long-Term Mitigation Scenario (LTMS), which seeks to establish the foundation for the country’s long-term climate policy and legislation (DEAT, 2007).

Climate change is a global environmental phenomenon which, it is submitted, is not adequately addressed by integrated environmental management and more particularly by EIAs in South Africa, from an adaptation and mitigation perspective. This article examines climate change in the context of integrated environmental management and seeks to provide preliminary guidelines for the integration of climate change into EIAs. Since 3 July 2006, the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 (NEMA) is the legislative basis for EIAs in South Africa. The procedural and substantive requirements for EIAs in South Africa have been dealt with in accordance with the provisions contained in NEMA and the NEMA EIA Regulations (published in Government Notices R385, 386 and 387 in Government Gazette 28753 dated 21 April 2006, and subsequently amended).

In terms of section 24 (1) of NEMA, in order to give effect to the general objectives of integrated environmental management, the potential consequences for impacts on the environment of listed activities or specified activities must be considered, investigated, assessed and reported to the competent authority or the Minister of Minerals and Energy, as the case may be, except in respect of these activities that may commence without having to obtain an environmental authorisation in terms of this Act. According to NEMA section 24 (2), the Minister, and every MEC with the concurrence of the Minister, may identify: • Activities which may not commence without environmental authorisation from the competent authority.

c l i m ate c h an g e

•

•

•

Geographical areas based on environmental attributes, and as specified in spatial development tools adopted in the prescribed manner by the environmental authority, in which specified activities may not commence without environmental authorisation from the competent authority.

Geographical areas based on environmental attributes, and specified in spatial development tools adopted in the prescribed manner by the environmental authority, in which specified activities may be excluded from authorisation by the competent authority.

Activities contemplated in paragraphs (a) and (b) that may commence without an environmental authorisation, but that must comply with prescribed norms or standards.

In accordance with these provisions of section 24, there are three key components to the new suite of EIA regulations that now apply under NEMA: • The NEMA “EIA Regulations” (GN R385 of 21 April 2006 (as amended)).

• The NEMA listed activities requiring a “basic assessment” (GN R386 of 21 April 2006 (as amended)).

• The NEMA listed activities requiring “scoping and environmental impact assessment” (GN R387 of 21 April 2006 (as amended)).

The NEMA EIA Regulations include lists of activities which require either “basic assessment” or “scoping and environmental impact assessment”, as well as procedural and substantive requirements of EIAs and the issue of environmental authorisations.

In terms of section 24F (1) of NEMA, notwithstanding any other Act, no person may commence an activity listed or specified unless the competent authority has granted an environmental authorisation for the activity.

Previous draft amendments to the NEMA EIA Regulations strived to address climate change in the EIA process by providing that, when considering an application for environmental authorisation, “the competent authority must take into account any implications of climate change to the implementation of the activity”.3 Unfortunately, such a provision was then deleted in the latest NEMA EIA Draft Regulations.

The current NEMA EIA Regulations do not specifically provide that assessment processes should address climate change issues. However, considering the abovementioned integrated environmental management objectives of EIA, read with the sustainable development focus of NEMA’s Environmental Management Principles,4 and the abovementioned implications to South Africa of climate change, it is submitted that there is a strong argument for the contention that, where relevant, climate change considerations should be addressed during the EIA process. While the introduction, in the abovementioned manner, of climate change considerations into the EIA regime would have been a welcome innovation, it is submitted that the proposed amendment’s fleeting reference did not amount to a comprehensive integration of climate change considerations into the South African EIA process. There are two reasons for this submission. Firstly, the proposed amendment provided no tools to support the competent authority’s consideration of climate change. Secondly, there was no concomitant proposed amendment to the contents of reports providing, for example, for the inclusion therein of climate change considerations.

There are four broad recommendations which might assist in smoothing the

3 GN R. 658, GG 31144 of 13 June 2008. “When considering an application the competent authority must… – (b) take into account all relevant factors, including… – (ii) any implications of climate change” (draft sub-regulation 8(b)(ii)).

4 NEMA, section 2.

introduction of climate change considerations into environmental decisionmaking processes and management related to EIAs. These are: • Climate change could be addressed and be included, where relevant, in assessment reports.

• The Minister or MEC could identify activities, which due to their climate change-related impacts or due to their vulnerability to the effects of climate change, should not commence without an environmental authorisation. Similarly the Minister or MEC might identify geographical areas, vulnerable to climate change, in which activities might not be undertaken without prior environmental authorisation.

• Climate change could be integrated into other statutory instruments for integrated environmental management.

• EIA related national and/or provincial guidelines could be developed to facilitate the integration of climate change adaptation and mitigation considerations into the EIA process.

The inclusion of climate change considerations into EIAs would influence the compilation of the assessment report. In the mitigation context, this might mean providing recommendations for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions associated with the implementation of the proposed activity.

To paraphrase NEMA, EIAs might assess how greenhouse gas emissions associated with the proposed activity might be avoided, where they cannot be altogether avoided, are minimised and remedied. A consideration of adaptation, on the other hand, might lead to recommendations on how to modify the activity’s implementation in light of potential climate change impacts, e.g. recommendations on the need for including long-term adaptive capacity in an operation informed by the imperative of climate change.

While it is acknowledged that NEMA’s very broad assessment requirements are likely, at least notionally, to encompass climate change, it is submitted that the phenomenon is not consistently considered in South African EIAs. Given the importance of the issue to the future of environmental governance, however, it is submitted that a minor amendment to the NEMA EIA Regulations could effectively incorporate climate change into EIAs. IMBEWU Sustainability Legal Specialists (Pty) Ltd Marie Parramon, Sustainability Legal Consultant Andrew Gilder, Director Tel: +27 11 214 0660 Fax: +27 11 880 657 E-mail: marie@imbewu.co.za; andrew@imbewu.co.za Websites: www.imbewu.co.za & www.imbewuregisters.co.za Footnote: 1. In the climate change context the term “mitigation” (of greenhouse gas emissions) refers to efforts, usually project-based, to emit authropogenic forcing of the climate system by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This is different from the meaning of the term in the EIA context where the reference is to “measures designed to avoid, reduce or remedy adverse impacts” (DEAT, 1998). The 1998 DEAT Guideline Document has been referred to because neither NEMA, nor the NEMA EIA Regulations, nor the proposed amendments to the NEMA EIA Regulations define “mitigation”.

For further guidance on the notions of vulnerability and adaptation see UNFCCC, Article 4.8 and 4.9.

GN R. 658, GG 31144 of 13 June 2008. “When considering an application the competent authority must… – (b) take into account all relevant factors, including… – (ii) any implications of climate change” (draft sub-regulation 8(b)(ii)).

NEMA, section 2.

2 5 o in A f rica

11

climate ch ange

Viewing climate change activities as an investment rather than an expense can open doors to hidden opportunities, Ernst and Young (E&Y) stated after conducting a survey on business perspective on climate change policies.

Uncertain future for companies

SA should take action

A

ccording to the Action Amid Uncertainty Report, by E&Y, all survey participants stated that national policies were crucial to guiding and shaping the company’s climate change strategy and policy.

The report revealed five consistent global themes namely: • Executive leadership is critical to good governance.

• Business drivers are dominated by top-line and bottom-line.

• Impact, creating a race to innovate.

• Despite regulatory uncertainty, climate change investment is on the rise. Execution is challenging, but executives are committed to action and transparent reporting gains momentum.

According to E&Y, climate change in the international arena remains uncertain due to the fact that no legally binding agreement was reached in Copenhagen in December 2009.

Loshni Naidoo, senior manager Climate Change and Sustainability Services at Ernst & Young, said that regulation and policy were required to “focus the mind”, and could also assist when trying to justify an investment in clean technology or climate change strategy to the board of a company.

Corporates need to engage with government E&Y recommends that business engages with the government in order to understand the future goals and strategy of the country, as well as engaging with other businesses to leverage cost-saving initiatives in the energy sector particularly.

The E&Y report found that despite recent challenging economic conditions and regulatory uncertainty, global executives said that the climate change agenda would significantly affect business performance and strategy over the next few years.

Findings of the survey reflected that 80% of the South African companies surveyed plan to increase spending on climate change initiatives between 2010 and 2012.

12

25 o i n Africa

“Although corporate leaders are aware of the risks and potential opportunities that climate change may have on their organisations, only 10% are likely to spend more than 5% of revenue on climate change initiatives, indicating that there is still some uncertainty on how to mitigate climate change related risks,” said Naidoo.

Key drivers still energy costs The key driver for many organisational activities is still energy-efficiency including expenditure. All the organisations selected energy costs as the motivating factor for driving climate change activities and 90% stated that future investment would be in energy-efficient initiatives.

The South African Department of Environmental Affairs has stated that it will release the country’s White Paper by the end of the year, with the ambition of getting the White Paper ratified by Cabinet in early 2011, to make it legally binding.

What’s holding us back?

“There appears to be very limited engagement with the supply chain on climate change issues, yet 80% of respondents identify the supply chain and procurement areas as key for an organisation’s climate change initiatives to succeed,” noted Naidoo.

Another challenge that was highlighted is that organisations still need to be effectively briefed on going green with their supply chain, the redesign as well as the product innovation.

The lack of focus in these areas could minimise the impact of climate change initiatives and reduce the potential revenue generating opportunities arising from operational excellence or product innovation.

The report was informed by the responses from ten South African companies, which were extracted from an independent, third-party survey of 300 global corporate executives from 16 countries, representing companies with revenues of more than $1-billion in yearly revenue.

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

c l i m ate c h an g e

Post 2012: Reviewing emission

reduction targets between countries

O

ne of the focuses of the United Nations Framework Convention (UNFCCC) climate conference in Copenhagen in 2009 was to come up with a post-2012 climate regime, determining, among other things, long-term greenhouse gas emission targets and the future contributions of industrialised and developing countries. Although COP15 didn’t produce a legally binding international agreement, most Annex I countries pledged quantifiable emission reductions and nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs).

Four key questions arise from the “pledge and review” approach for determining emission reduction targets: • Do the pledges add up to the emission reductions required necessary by science?

• What will it cost to meet these given targets?

• Can one compare the proposed emission reduction efforts of Annex I parties?

• What would comparable efforts look like taking country-specific socio-economic indicators into account?

The environmental research of the German Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety has released a report titled Post-2012 climate regime: How industrial and developing nations can help to reduce emissions – assessing emission trends, reduction potentials, incentive systems and negotiation options.

Absolute emissions levels According to the report, China and India’s targets are relatively less ambitious than the NAMAs submitted by most other developing countries under the Copenhagen Accord and Annex I emission reductions are still 7 – 22 percentage points short of reaching the IPCC target necessary to limit a temperature increase of 2°C. Countries such as Australia, Iceland, New Zealand and Norway show decreases in per capita emissions as high as 30% and more between 2005 and 2020. Except for Belarus, Croatia and the Russian Federation, annual per capita greenhouse gas emissions decrease notably in all countries during this time frame.

Compliance costs highest for Brazil and South Africa One of the main findings on (marginal) abatement cost is that overall, compliance costs for Annex I countries amount to less than 1/3 of the average annual GDP growth rate. Abatement costs for developing countries are the highest in Brazil, Mexico and South Korea; compliance costs in share of GDP are highest in Brazil and South Africa (around 1% of GDP).

Comparability of efforts

The report addresses the above-mentioned questions and explores the economic and environmental implications of the pledges and NAMAs submitted under the Copenhagen Accord. (View the full report online at www.24degrees.net.)

The criteria used to determine the efforts of individual countries greatly influences the comparability between countries. According to the report, Canada, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the USA have all pledged commitments that are below the GHG reduction targets calculated in the scenario analysis and both Norway and Switzerland exceed the reduction targets calculated in the scenario analysis.

Analysis for the report was performed using the GHG effort-sharing tool that was designed to allocate GHG reduction targets for Annex I parties and the ClimStrat tool (a flexible analytical tool based on marginal abatement cost curves resulting from a partial equilibrium framework).

For more information, visit www.umweltdaten.de, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

net in africa

AFRICA’S INDEPENDENT ENERGY PORTAL

HAVE YOU JOINED OUR ONLINE COMMUNITY? 250 in Africa has extended its online presence, visit www.25degrees.net WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT?

ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES

t t t t t t

t

Latest magazine content Insightful articles & live news feeds Interactive content, including forums & blogs Energy events Products Reports

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

t t t

Gain valuable exposure in front of a community of experts and professionals.

Become a featured company Participate in a company directory Advertise your products and events online

in A rica 2 5details 13 To subscribe to 25degrees.net’s insightful newsletter Email your to fadmin@25degrees.net o

E NE R GY MANAGEMEN T

Energy This is the first article in a 3-part series in energy management. The first article will focus on the basics of energy management, processes, audits and tools, while the second and third articles will give in-depth insight on energy management in buildings, mining and industrial plants and processes.

B

uildings account for approximately 40% of energy consumption.

Climate change and a shrinking energy supply have accelerated the growing business case for energy management systems. Globally companies are incorporating energy management technologies and design principles to reduce the crippling effects of rising electricity prices and further promote their corporate image by reducing CO2 emissions. “Energy efficiency is about managing costs and thus these measures will enable operational savings without compromising on operational efficiency.

Therefore energy efficiency solutions are paramount - South Africa’s economy

14

25 o i n Africa

is relatively small, but globally we rank among the top twenty countries in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. To ensure a long-term energy supply that can sustain our economic growth, business being the largest consumer group, needs to recognise the importance of optimising energy. This will also go a long way to meet our equally important Copenhagen commitments,� says Energy Cybernetics managing director, Gustav Radloff (www.energycybernetics.com).

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), improvements in end use efficiency play a significant role in reducing CO2 emissions to 50% of 2005

ENERGY M A NA G EM EN T

levels by 2050. Energy management is defined as the techniques, processes and activity which drive more efficient energy use. Energy management allows for a reduction in costs, carbon emissions and risk, and ensuring the efficient use of energy. (www.bsigroup.com).

Energy management systems for commercial buildings “Energy has been placed as a priority on the national agenda for both the public and private sector. It is in the interest of everyone to work together to find solutions to the energy challenges facing us. As the biggest consumers of energy, the reduction in energy consumption by the corporate and industrial sectors coupled with the reduction in household consumption is bound to have an impact on the energy resources available all round,” states Prof LJ Grobler, director of Energy Cybernetics.

“We live in a 24/7 environment where buildings and the equipment in them are running all the time. Whether it is heating up the office in the morning before we come in or lights in the offices, parking lots, hallways and in other locations that are on for between 6 and 24 hours each day, or data centres where numerous racks of servers run constantly, our buildings are constantly consuming energy,” reads a report by Pike Research entitled Energy Management Systems for Commercial Buildings.

A number of energy management systems (EMS), which are a combination of building management systems and advanced software solutions that assist in managing building functions in a more energy-efficient way, have been introduced to the market. Although this market is still fairly new, Pike Research anticipates ample opportunities for growth (www.pikeresearch.com).

The cleantech market intelligence firm forecasts that US$67.6-billion will be invested in Energy Management Systems (EMS) during the period 2010 –

2020 and that by 2020, the company expects that annual EMS revenues in the US will reach US$6.8-billion.

The institutional market, which includes healthcare, education and public safety buildings, are anticipated to be the largest segment for EMS with US$17.7-billion investment by 2020. Office buildings ($14.9-billion) and retail buildings ($11.3-billion) are other key segments in this growing market.

According to www.hospitality.net, hotel energy prices have gone through the roof and an entire industry has sprung up to sell energy-efficient devices to hotel owners.

The energy saving efforts of commercial and industrial sector businesses, being the largest consumers of electricity in South Africa, have increasingly come under the loupe as a result of the country’s challenged energy landscape. The recently launched, government supported, Energy Cybernetics Energy Barometer is a national initiative that assists businesses to scientifically assess their energy consumption, compare it to an average energy efficiency benchmark and then improve on it by implementing energy optimisation projects.

“Energy efficiency solutions are paramount – South Africa’s economy is relatively small, but globally we rank among the top twenty countries in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. To ensure a long-term energy supply that can sustain our economic growth, business too, needs to recognise the importance of optimising energy. This will also go a long way to meet our equally important Copenhagen commitments,” says Energy Cybernetics Managing Director, Gustav Radloff.

According to Energy Cybernetics director, Prof LJ Grobler, the Energy Barometer audit process is based upon state of the art normalisation and

www.doctorpowersa.co.za

DOCTOR POWER

” “Your Energy Saving Partner

ESCo Member No. 11064761

Market research has shown that lighting of a commercial building consists of 22% of the total power consumption.

As you can see by our graph below that Doctor Power can reduce lighting consumption by 50% without changing the light colour temperature.

By achieving 50% of the energy saving on lighting we are therefore already in line with Eskom’s 10% energy saving target.

Energy Efficient Lighting

Return of Capex

1.4 1.2

Months

Ampridge

1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 3 x 36W T8 Fluorescent Lighting Traditional Lighting

50W Halogen Down Light

250W MH High Bay Lighting

Doctor Power Energy Efficient Lighting

250W MH Building Flood Light

20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Retrofit 3 x 36W T8 Fluorescent Lighting

Retrofit 50W Halogen Down Light

Retrofit 250W MH High Bay Lighting

Retrofit 250W MH Building Flood Light

At 24/7 x 65c/KWh

WE ARE READY TO SAVE ENERGY! ARE YOU? 2 5 in E-mail: sales@doctorpowersa.co.za o

A f rica

15

E NE R GY MANAGEMEN T

comparison techniques on par with international standards. “We used the average of the normalised annual energy use of all the buildings that participated in the 2009 Energy Cybernetics survey to develop a benchmark or starting point for the Energy Barometer. Participants’ annual energy bills were normalised in relation to key parameters such as location, type of building, occupancy data and floor space. We then compared this participant benchmark to that of the industry average which we assigned at 100 on the Energy Barometer.

“A rating of 120 therefore implies that the building in question uses, on average, 20% more energy than other buildings of a similar type and a rating of 70 would mean usage of, on average, 30% less than the industry average for buildings of a similar type. This comparative data empowers participants to benchmark themselves against the industry average and provides a foundation upon which they can base energy optimisation projects and measure their improvement going forward.”

Central Energy Fund (CEF) CEO, Barry Bredenkamp stated at the launch: “We are also proud to support this energy saving tool and to build on our long working relationship with Energy Cybernetics through our division, the National Energy Efficiency Agency (NEEA).”

The Energy Cybernetics Energy Barometer recognised the commitment of industry players towards energy efficiency at an awards dinner in Fourways in June 2010 where Exxaro (Pretoria, Gauteng), AngloGold Ashanti (Johannesburg, Gauteng) and Barloworld (Boksburg, Gauteng) were awarded respectively first, second and third places in the category for Corporate Head Offices in the 2009 Energy Barometer survey. Oriental Plaza (Johannesburg, Gauteng) came out tops in the category for Shopping Centres followed

by Centurion Mall (Centurion, Gauteng) and Canal Walk (Cape Town, Western Cape).

Consumer behaviour still a problem “The education of all energy users is very important and highlights the responsibility that lies with stakeholders in the value chain to maintain a sustainable model of preserving energy. The challenge is also to ensure that large users understand the need to manage their operational procedures and costs efficiently in the bid to achieve greater energy efficiency,” says Prof. LJ Grobler.

“If you are replacing air-conditioners or even light bulbs, it makes excellent sense to choose energy-efficient models. At the same time, you and I both know that an icemaker offering to produce three more cubes per day for the same power consumption has a payback time of roughly 10 000 years, if your current one is chugging along nicely,” writes Larry Mundy, a columnist for the hospitality industry and deputy-general for the counsel at FelCor Lodging Trust.

Mundy believes that the root problem is end-user behaviour. “I can tell you that guests don’t behave as energy-efficiently in your hotel as they might at home,” says Mundy before explaining that consumers are smarter than energy management devices that organisations put in place.

“I have found, for example, that with a quick counter-clockwise hand movement I can de-install most shower water restrictors in mere seconds. I know that sophisticated energy sensors are completely fooled by holding a small open flame beneath them. Guest education campaigns don’t help much either,” debates Mundy.

16

25 o i n Africa

“Energy management isn’t about changing the light bulbs” According to Dhevan Pillay, Senior Manager at Eskom, defining energy management itself is a huge problem in the energy-efficiency industry.

“Everyone has a different idea of what energy management is. People think it’s about going into a building and replacing inefficient light bulbs with energy-efficient ones, but you can do this as a first step and when it is time to replace the bulbs in two years’ time, another person replaces it with inefficient bulbs and you are back to square one. The key challenge is to achieve sustainable energy management and the only way to do this is to ensure that organisations have energy management strategies and policies in place that drives and aligns the various aspects of the business with respect to energy management. It’s not about changing bulbs and air-conditioning systems – energy management is about having a holistic approach towards energyefficiency,” says Pillay.

Pillay explains that the hotel industry, corporate sector and the residential sector are at times approached by people selling energy management systems and products that do not do what they claim. “There is a level of mistrust in the industry because a lot of suppliers knock on the customer’s door and each of them gives a different sales pitch about energy-efficiency and this can confuse the end user. Another problem is that suplliers tend to be loyal to their products and may not necessarily put the customer’s interests first,” says Pillay.

South Africa is lagging behind the rest of the world “People should start to be more solution-driven and not product-driven. We need to remain technologically agnostic to achieve energy management solutions that will lead to results. There are many tools available that can make energy management a success – it’s how you package these tools to accelerate energy management that will overcome the challenges that we

ENERGY M A NA G EM EN T

Environmental certification for southern Africa H eritage is southern Africa’s first certification initiative for specifically developed to recognise and promote environmental sustainability and performance by the hospitality and leisure industry. Since the company’s inception in 2001, an increasing number of hotels, lodges and resorts around the southern African region, including large hotel chains such as Sun International, Legacy Hotels and Southern Sun have partnered with Heritage to create more environmentally sustainable solutions for their businesses.

“The Heritage Environmental Certification Programme is based on a number of international and local systems – including international standards such as ISO 14001, and it gives the hospitality industry a unique and globally competitive way of demonstrating its environmental commitment,” says Neal Dickinson, director of operations at Heritage.

In establishing the environmental performance of a business, the Heritage team evaluate each participating business across a wide spectrum of operational activities ranging from procurement; to business relations with other businesses; their construction and design; resource use and management; communications; corporate social investment and other business specific aspects. The Programme aims to ensure improved management of resources such as water, energy and waste; improved community involvement and social responsibility as well as communication and marketing,” explains Dickinson. “Even the smallest initiatives by management can create a lasting effect on the environment and on our communities and we strive to create more sustainable operating practiceswhich in turn lead to greater sustainability and reduced operating costs for the business.

An important aspect of this programme is evaluation of the social impacts that businesses have and Heritage is proud to associate with some awardwinning initiatives across the region. Sun International’s Royal Livingstone and

Zambezi Sun Hotels in Zambia is one such initiative that has won international acclaim for its outreach efforts in the blind community around Livingstone.

This has included the development of community-based hydroponic gardens and a unique initiative aimed at replacing imported fresh produce supplies with local farm produce. “Members from the community are provided with the means and assistance to grow vegetables and to then sell them back to the hotels, creating a mutually beneficial environment as well as a sustainable business for the people in the community,” says Dickinson.

In 2009, Heritage became the sub-Saharan and Indian Ocean island partner for Green Globe International, a leading global sustainability programme endorsed by the UNWTO; World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and UNEP. This not only reflects the high standards practiced by Heritage, but it represents the only global partner of its kind for Green Globe Certification.

The Heritage Environmental Certification Programme offers travellers to southern Africa the opportunity to experience and support sustainable tourism practice at some of the most prestigious hotels in the region. “It represents the leading edge of environmental certification in Africa and one of the top three initiatives of its kind worldwide” says Dickinson.

Heritage has developed environmental certification programmes for nontourist businesses including the retail and business sectors; zoos and aquaria; tourist attractions; the banking sector; events and conferences and other non-manufacturing businesses. The company recently introduced Eco-Choice, southern Africa’s only eco-labelling initiative for products and services.

Heritage SA Tel: +27 12 665 1028 Fax: +27 86 610 7120 Website: www.heritagesa.co.za

2 5 o in A f rica

17

E NE R GY MANAGEMEN T

are currently facing,” says Pillay before explaining that South Africa is lagging behind the rest of the world in this sector.

“There are a lot of inefficiencies in South Africa and we are playing catch-up with regards to the global energy management sector. The greatest barrier at the moment is the perceived capital cost of energy management systems – people keep looking at the once-off cost and don’t take the life cycle costs into consideration,” says Pillay. “Then there is the issue of competency. People may recognise that they need an energy management system, but they are not sure who to approach or how to get these systems. The right people need to be on top of these initiatives.”

One of the other key challenges in the industry is changing the behaviour of consumers. “The perceptions of how to be energy-efficient must be changed on a grass-root level. More awareness, education and communication needs to be given about energy-efficiency because energy management isn’t just about one person – it’s about saving the planet as well as future generations and we need to start looking at the bigger picture,” says Pillay.

Frikkie Malan, Business Development Executive of Energy Cybernetics, says that one of the challenges in South Africa is that consumers are often relying on suppliers of energy equipment to do energy audits and this might in some cases compromise the independence of the proposed solution. “Fortunately the situation is improving through greater industry skills development and training of certified independent auditors. It is important that energy efficiency must independently audited as an integral part of the overall efficiency and cost management of a business, building or industrial plant. One needs a holistic approach when it comes to implementing energy management projects. An independent consultative approach will ensure that real energy efficiency solutions are considered rather than interventions proposed while being skewed towards the objective to sell a specific equipment solution,” says Malan.

Case study: Williston Town Hall Building Energy conducted the energy audit of the 1860 two-storey brick Greek Revival that was renovated in 1988 with 6010 square feet of office and meeting space. The energy audit was so comprehensive that the Williston Town Hall landed a US$12 000 grant that funded all the energy-efficiency upgrades.

Some of the major findings of the energy audit include: • Leaking ductwork in the unconditioned attic space needed to be eliminated.

• Efficient ductless mini-split systems replaced the aging airconditioners.

• Fuel consumption could be reduced by 20% if the air seal in the attic was re-insulated.

• Electricity costs could be cut by 50% if inefficient lighting was replaced by energy-efficient light, movement sensors and controls.

• A 16% saving on fuel costs could be achieved (as part of a long- term fuel reduction strategy) by installing a new fuel-efficient boiler.

• 50% of the electrical usage is provided by a 15 Kw solar photovoltaic power system. The payback period for this system is 11 years at the current cost of electricity.

• A gasification (clean burning) wood pellet boiler will be installed to heat the town hall and adjacent buildings.

18

25 o i n Africa

“Energy efficiency makes a lot of good business sense and holds real commercial value for companies as long as they can clearly measure and certify the savings on an independent basis,” states Gustav Radloff, Managing Director of Energy Cybernetics. Commercial and industrial users are by far the biggest energy consumer in South Africa and are therefore under pressure to optimise their energy consumption.

“Contrary to industry fears of decreased production levels due to compliance with energy efficient standards, organisations that embark on improving a particular previously-neglected aspect of their operations, such as energy efficiency, often find that success in this area leads to unexpected improvements in other areas.

“A good rule-of-thumb is that an energy saving of between 10% and 30% can be achieved by implementing measures that have a payback period of less than two years. Over the long-term more energy efficient operations generally yield higher throughputs and better quality products with a positive impact on the economy,” elaborates Radloff.

“Business efficiency improvements often result in a reduction in energy consumption (for the same throughput). This also means a measured change in behaviour, not only installing or changing some equipment. However, this reduction in energy consumption must then also be measured explicitly to avoid missing out on reaping the full benefit from one’s energy saving initiatives,” Radloff says.

Energy audits An Energy Audit reveals where, when, how and why energy is consumed in an organization and identifies ways to optimize this consumption. These can entail one or more of the following audits: • Baseline audits, • Benchmarking audits, • Energy scoping audits, • Detailed feasibility audits and • Investment grade audits.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) defines three levels of energy audits: Level 1: a visual inspection of a building’s mechanical and electrical systems and interviews with building operating personnel.

Level 2: a more detailed building survey and in-field measurements.

Level 3: provides dynamic energy models of existing systems and proposed capital improvements.

The CBLA (Capacity Building, Leadership and Action in South Africa), which is a project that provides assistance to Southern African industries to enable them to mitigate Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, has published the Industrial Energy Auditor Training Guidebook. According to the CBLA, the energy audit is often a critical component of the energy management strategy.

“An audit and effective audit report that are done well by a trustworthy and credible energy auditor form the basis for actions that may not have been evident to the company out of its own energy management activities,” says the CBLA. “While the term ‘energy audit’ is widely used, its specific definition often varies from situation to situation and from person to person.

In essence it is no more or less than an evaluation of the current energy consumption, identification of energy-saving possibilities and reporting.”

ENERGY M A NA G EM EN T

2 5 o in A f rica

19

E NE R GY MANAGEMEN T

According to Building Energy, a company that conducts energy audits in Vermont, each commercial energy audit is unique. When conducting an energy audit in commercial buildings, these are some of the basic energy management features that are taken into account: • Moisture testing, fogger testing, blower door testing: During this process, air infiltration issues are established and a benchmark energy usage is provided. A current thermal envelope R-value analysis is done to pinpoint where improvements can be made and roof leaks as well as condensation problems are taken into consideration.

• Infrared scan: A thermal image of the building is provided to assess the quality and extent of insulation installation.

• Electrical and mechanical analysis: This step focuses primarily on the analysis of heat, A/C efficiency and mechanical distribution. An energy audit will usually include proposals and costs for the integration of renewable energy (such as solar PVs) during this part of the energy audit.

• Report: This document sets out all the thermal deficiencies, provides an in-depth analysis of energy use and energy conservation, includes digital and infrared photos supporting documentation as well as lists recommended work, cost and projected savings.

Although the price differences across the country may not necessarily cause businesses to move, Dolk says it will form part of a company’s energy management strategy in the future.

Source: www.buildingenergyvt.com

“Businesses won’t necessarily pack up and move to a part of South Africa where electricity is the cheapest, but if the end of your lease is coming up and you are in an area that has high electricity prices, you may start considering moving. It all depends on how big a part electricity is in your business, but the regional pricing is definitely becoming a focus point for energy-intensive businesses that need to incorporate sustainable energy management solutions,” concludes Dolk.

Utility costs a large part of energy management

Energy Efficiency Metering and Verification

There is a difference between energy-efficiency and cost efficiency.

Respectively, they deal with how much energy is used and how much one pays per unit of energy used. “I find it very concerning at times that energy-efficiency projects precede cost efficiency exercises”, says Dolk.

Furthermore, any energy-efficiency project worth its salt will have M&V (metering and verification) at the correct levels to verify the quantum of improved efficiencies and will hopefully take into account operational and environmental variables into this calculation.

Energy-efficiency projects are typically driven by either cost pressures or legislative compliance. In South Africa, most energy-efficiency compliance is driven by international requirements to both reduce one’s own carbon footprint and those with whom you do business. Locally, pressure will soon be brought to bear due to the impending supply shortage and energy efficiency will be driven through penalty avoidance.

National Energy Pricing Variations

“More transparent and consistent reporting (for example the Global Reporting Initiative or GRI) combined with the imminent launch of the ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems Standard means that energy management is becoming a strategic business imperative rather than a nice to have,” continues Radloff. A sound energy management programme is an extension of a more traditional process of continual improvement – looking at energy adds a new and exciting dimension to this. The rising cost of electricity in particular (and energy in general) is opening new opportunities for emerging technologies that up to now may have been too expensive for wide-scale implementation.

“Very soon renewable energy is likely to become more mainstream, emerging technologies such as new lighting systems, enhanced control systems, improved coupling, improved drives, energy information systems etc. are becoming increasingly viable and in some cases essential. We are on the brink of some really exciting time for everyone involved in the energy sphere,” concludes Radloff.

Our recent survey of large metropolitans across the country showed that for the remainder of this year, the most expensive municipality will be Johannesburg charging 80c/Kwh compared to an Eskom client that will be paying 41c/Kwh, effectively 95% more.

The rest of the metropolitans follow on with Ekurhuleni as the next most expensive, then Durban, Witbank, Vereeniging, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Sasolburg, Pretoria and Richards Bay. The differences in electricity prices were established by comparing the highest voltage maximum demand tariffs available over a 12-month period. These prices apply to large organizations that receive the best maximum demand tariff. “Johannesburg’s City Power is the most expensive for a number of reasons, one of them being a longer winter billing period,” explains Stephan Dolk, General Manager of NUS Consulting South Africa.

“Eskom supplies electricity on a tariff that has seasonal pricing – they have

20

summer pricing as well as winter pricing, so they sell to municipalities on this basis.

Johannesburg’s electricity applies for four expensive winter months while the seasonal pricing at other municipalities charge for only three winter months,” says Dolk.

25 o i n Africa

In either case, the first step on any energy efficiency project is setting a benchmark and this requires clear historical data, understanding energy consumption variables and then putting in effective measurement instruments to measure compliance and calculate true value.

Ensuring these instruments are flexible and intelligent are critical if adapting to an ever changing future ESI is to be achieved.

25º in Africa would like to give full acknowledgement and thanks to Energy Cybernetics, NUS Consulting and Eskom for the information contributed to this article.

Sources: www.nusconsulting.com, www.energycybernetics.com, www.eskom. co.za, www.bsigroup.com, www.pikeresearch.com, www.hospitalitynet.org, www.buildingerergyvt.com, www.cbla.org.za.

ENERGY M A NA G EM EN T

Commercial building management systems in Africa Honeywell Building Solutions was chosen to design, install and service a building management and security system suitable for Westpac Place in Sydney Australia, the new national operational headquarters for one of Australia’s largest banks. With a construction and office outfit totalling 74 000 m2, it is a large, complex and highly integrated building, showcasing advanced building management system (BMS) and security offerings.

Honeywell installed innovative systems that control the essential services for the building including security, air-conditioning, heating, lighting, ventilation and a host of other functions. “A good system can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, provide security and safety for workers, create a comfortable and productive environment and assist in the seamless operation of the building,” says the state-of-the-art intelligent building solution provider.

Integrating building management systems Award-winning products, namely Honeywell Enterprise Buildings Integrator™ (EBI) and Honeywell Digital Video Manager™ (DVM), were also installed at this building that houses 5 000 Westpac employees. EBI is a state-of-the-art integrated building management system which connects to DVM, a scalable, digital closed-circuit television surveillance solution and it is designed to integrate all aspects of building automation and control into a single entity.

When used in conjunction with DVM, the solution is able to intelligently capture before and after video footage of an incident. The beauty of the Honeywell solution is that it has the potential to evolve as requirements change or as new technology becomes available, ensuring that the building remains at the forefront of smart buildings around the world.

The involvement of Honeywell at Westpac Place is testament to their ability to manage large complex projects coupled with a comprehensive portfolio of ongoing services. Honeywell also provides integrated building management systems throughout South Africa and Africa.

Honeywell Building Solutions Tel: +27 11 695 8000 Website: www.honeywell.co.za 2 5 o in A f rica

21

E NE R GY MANAGEMEN T

22

25 o i n Africa

ENERGY M A NA G EM EN T

Holistic energy management solutions in South Africa L

Iskhus Power CEO, Otto Hager, and COO, Dr Koot Naude.

arge corporations in Southern Africa have relied on Iskhus Power’s advice, technology and proficiency to meet their diverse energy saving needs. 25º in Africa spoke to CEO Otto Hager about the ways that companies can reduce their energy bill through the introduction of technologies and other processes to reduce their energy bill and emissions, conserve the planet and manage their electricity demand and consumption.

How is the energy management industry changing?

“Power is fundamental to business and companies require the highest power quality, at the best price and at the highest level of efficiency, whilst using less energy with improved output. More companies are realizing that saving power has a huge influence on their bottom line and some of our solutions have saved our clients between 6% and 34% of energy,” says Hager.

What makes Iskhus Power’s solutions different?

“We use a more holistic approach in quantifying and qualifying a company’s energy consumption. At the start we develop a baseline from where we can initiate various interventions. Iskhus Power specialises in the implementation of programs and technology from the conceptual stages right up to delivery and we offer a one-stop solution. Our solutions include consulting, energy management, renewable energies, manufacturing and design of network optimisation technology. We also have a program called “Zufikus” that trains our clients’ staff in saving energy. Iskhus Finance, our own financing company is the first and only green financing company in South Africa that specializes in financing energy-saving interventions,” continues Hager.

Are companies offsetting their carbon footprint?

“Emissions reductions and carbon offsetting are becoming more popular in the industry, but there’s still a lack of knowledge. Iskhus Power is set to become a REC (renewable energy certificates) hub where we consult companies on how to create an additional revenue stream through these processes. We are committed to promoting carbon offset projects locally to give South Africans access to energy and the only way this can happen is by finding willing buyers and traders – more people are interested in doing the right thing and promoting clean energy and our solutions are here to help companies in the right direction,” concludes Hager.

Iskhus Power Tel: +27 11 446 6400 Fax: +27 11 446 6401 Website: www.iskhus.co.za 2 5 o in A f rica

23

E NE R GY MANAGEMEN T

How accurate are energy meters?

T

he relevance of energy meter testing is taken too lightly in the energy management community. The complexities of modern meters, which include the simultaneous measurement and recording of power quality, communications, tariffs and billing, have increased the importance of meter testing to ensure that manufacturers, utilities and end users get top quality products.

“The activity of metering plays a significant role in consumer satisfaction, revenue protection, quality control, compliance with regulatory requirements and image building,” says Sydney Mabalayo, Marketing Manager of SPM Metering Services, a company who specialises in electricity meter test equipment.

There is currently no international standard for such testing on-site testing.

Generally, the same limit defined for laboratory testing is used. In Australia, for example, a class 0.5 meter should have a 0.7% limit for on-site testing.

In Kenya a 3% error is allowed for class 2 electromechanical meters and a +2.5% to -3.5% error is allowed for class 2 meters in Hong Kong.

“Various initiatives are under way to define the tests and test conditions.

Among these are the Italian Standard, which is in draft stage and which defines the testing of various metering standards, and the German Standard, which is also in draft stage, that is specially designated for on-site testing and testing equipment.”

New trends in meter testing

“Poor quality meters, which are widely available on the market, have increased the importance of the meter testing,” says Mabalayo, before explaining that energy meters from all over the world are being tested at several places in the supply chain before they reach consumers. “Taking a look at when, why and how the meters are tested, is an important exercise in understanding meter testing in the energy management arena.”

The meter testing supply chain Energy meters are being tested in laboratories by manufacturers before shipping to utilities, and by utilities before the meters get installed. Challenges of this step include the proper testing of a large number of meters in a short amount of time. “It can also be difficult to test new meter designs, which includes testing or verification of complex features. Maintaining the in-house legal metrology system, without removing the reference standard from the bench,” says Mabalayo.

On-site meter testing is also becoming increasingly important for electric utilities around the world. The reasons are to assure revenue, comply with regulations and improve customer satisfaction – all of which are based primarily on the correct recording of energy consumption.

“The correctness of energy recording is in turn dependent on the meters’ instrument transformers. On-site testing methods are mainly influenced by access to the meter site – in Asian countries, for example, access to the meter and removal of the meter connections are difficult and restricted to certain authorities to prevent energy theft. On-site testing isn’t legally accepted in every country,” says Mabalayo.

24

New test benches in laboratories are being designed to offer a high degree of process automation, such as automatic handling and connection of meters, pulse Vo testing (Vo is the initial storage network output voltage), adjustment, parameterisation and other functional testing.

On-site meter testing has also been expanded beyond simple accuracy testing to include analysis such as connection checking and harmonic analysis to investigate whether problems are being caused by the consumer or the network, amongst other innovative testing solutions.

Why manufacturers and utilities need meter testing Meter testing can provide a significant value addition for both manufacturers and utilities. “The major long-term beneficiary will be the electrical utilities, provided that they integrate this activity properly and systematically in their distribution management system,” says Mabalayo.

Meter testing at utilities offers the following advantages: • • • •

•

Statistical evaluation of different types of meters, brands and performance.

Qualitative feedback for future procurements.

Detection of theft.

Screening of a particular area or zone so that the surveillance frequency of the zone can be increased or decreased.

Minimising customer complaints and legal challenges, and image building.

SPM Metering System, a subsidiary of Southern Power Maintenance, whose major clients include Eskom, City Power, Zest and Rotek Engineering, distributes ZERA GmbH products for accurate meter testing. 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.

Standards for meter testing

“By pursuing and maintaining a commitment to excellence in service, our major customers have shown continuous confidence in us through consistent renewal of long-term contracts and association,” concludes Mabalayo.

The tests, test conditions and acceptance criteria for meter testing in the laboratory according to meter type and accuracy class are defined by the IEC 62052-11, IEC 62053.11, 21, 22, 23 and EN50470 series. While many countries have adopted the IEC standards as is, some have modified them to suit local conditions. Examples are the Indian standards IS 13779 and 14697.

Southern Power Maintenance Tel: +27 11 606 2390 Fax: +27 11 606 2396 E-mail: info@spmsa.co.za Website: www.spmsa.co.za

25 o i n Africa

ENERGY M ENERVAT A NA G EMI OEN N ST

25 2 5 o in A f rica

25

E NE R GY MANAGEMEN T

LED fairytales in lighting Switching to LED lighting is one of the easiest ways to make your building more energy efficient.

Although many people are installing newer, more efficient type bulbs, a lot of people may still believe that this switch means that they are getting the most efficient light for every watt of power consumed (also known as lumens per watt or efficacy).

“M

ore efficient lighting levels need to be maintained to meet with legislation. Legislation, although sometimes outdated, is mostly there to protect the consumer, but instaling new lights that have poor light levels can have many bad repercussions for the user,” says Otto Horlacher, Managing Director of Giant Light.

“It often happens that older, seemingly less efficient lighting systems are replaced with lights that consumers believe are more efficient, leading them to claim they have reduced their energy bill by 30%,” explains Horlacher. “Although reducing your electricity demand is an advantage, you have to make sure that you have maintained the correct lighting levels by implementing this change.”

According to Horlacher, people looking to replace their lamps with LEDs are likely to hear a number of claims about these new energy efficient products, such as: • Any light source can be replaced with LED sources and the same quality and quantity of light will automatically be maintained.

• LEDs last 50 000 to 100 000 hours.

“These are bold and intriguing claims, but not doing the necessary research can lead to vast differences in your lighting quality as well as the lifespan of these products,” explains Horlacher.

Buyer be aware Horlacher warns that buyers need to be aware of the different LED products, and need to either do their own research into the products or select reputable lighting people to do the research for them before purchasing these products.

“Any person who has the means to get themselves to a lighting trade fair in the east, can then select from thousands of LED lighting manufacturers and suppliers. They can then put together a sample range, come back home to South Africa and then proclaim themselves LED/lighting experts and go around selling LED lighting products. Clients buy these products in good faith, only to be disappointed when the light quality is below expectation or

26

25 o i n Africa

when the LEDs begin to fail prematurely,” says Horlacher. “Buyers need to be aware of the different types of LED products and either need to do their own research into the products or select reputable people to do the research for them.”

Components of LEDs LED lighting comprises of the following parts: • The LED chip, which produces the lighting.

• A housing unit that has electrical terminals where in the chip is placed.

• A printed circuit board (PCB) that enables easy routing of electricity to lighting.

• A power supply that is suitable for the LED source.

• High power LED’s (of over half a watt and more) need additional cooling devices added to the PCB to keep them operating within a temperature range.

“All the components of an LED need to function in a specific way that are interrelated to each other. One must always remember the salient fact that not all LED chips, or housings or PCB’s or power supplies, are created equal.

Just like in everything else, you get good and you get bad,” continues Horlacher.

How much light do you need?

One of the things that needs to be determined is how much light the LED module produces in terms of what it is meant to replace. Horlacher uses the example of a customer looking to replace an MR 16 halogen low voltage lamp: “A good halogen lamp of this nature will have a source that produces 600 lumens in 35W format or 1 100 lumens in 50W format. Halogen is always around the 3 000K colour temperature. A good LED source will not produce more than 85 lumens per LED per watt (in 3 000K format) under operating conditions (also known as “hot lumens”). Consumers must be cautious of the claims made in data sheets because these figures were derived from laboratory tests that were conducted at 25ºC,” continues Horlacher.

“Most LED retrofits for the MR 16 lamp have three LEDS in them, which will amount to a mere 255 lumens at best. A supplier or consumer may argue that these LED optics are more efficient, which may be true, but better optic efficiency will not make up the 350 or 850 lumen deficit.”

Horlacher explains that if the consumer in this example wants to keep the LED source below 11W, more lighting units are the only option. “In essence you would need 2 – 3 such LED retrofits to do what one 50W halogen MR 16 was doing. You will be saving more than 40% of your power though,” says Horlacher.

What about other light sources?

The abovementioned example is one of many examples that have proven LEDs to be a viable alternative to halogen. Horlacher continues by explaining the impacts and effects of replacing other light sources, such as metal halide, linear fluorescent, high pressure sodium and plasma lamps with LEDs.

“The best way to show the viability of LEDs in each instance is by comparing each aspect of the various lighting sources in the same situation,” says Horlacher before presenting the following client’s scenario: • 100 000 lumens need to be produced at 3 000 Kelvin (warm white).

• CRI has to be above 82.

• Control gear needs to have a pf of above 85.

• The 100 000 lumens need to be maintained for seven years, operating on a duty cycle of 24/7.

• The capital to purchase the lighting equipment will be based on retail prices (not manufacturers costs) and will be for premium quality equipment.

• Electricity tariffs will be averaged at ZAR0.65c per KWh (no electrical escalation factors will be used – the rate will stay at ZAR0.65c throughout).

• Lamp replacement labour costs are ZAR20-00 per lamp.

• No escalation of labour or replacement lamps will be used.

• No installation costs will be factored in.

• The comparison does not include luminaire (due to the fact that co-efficiency and utilisation must then be factored in and the comparison is intended to be simple).

The following light sources are used for this comparison: • Metal halide 150W. • Linear fluorescent 2 x 58W T8.

• High pressure sodium 150W (this product does not meet the CRI requirements but has been included as it is a common streetlight source and will make an interesting combatant in this arena).

• 21W LED 3000K –as an alternative to CFL 18W. • CFL – 18W. • 11W LED – as an alternative to MR 16 halogen.

• 50W Halogen.

• 250W microwave plasma lamp.

• 150W induction lamp.

“These sources were chosen because they represent efficient derivatives within their families and all are available with electronic control gear, says Horlacher.

The calculations of this comparison tell an intersting story and shows exactly where LEDs are viable alternatives to the various light sources available. To view the full spreadsheet of Horlacher’s calculations and conclusions, check out the 25º in Africa website (www.25degrees.net).

Giantlight Tel: + 27 11 467 5360 Fax: + 27 866 272 366 E-mail: giantlight@vodamail.co.za Website: www.gianltight.co.za 2 5 o in A f rica

27

O IL AND GAS

Oil and gas T

he International Energy Agency publication Medium-Term Oil and Gas Markets 2010 highlights that although oil and gas markets are starting to show signs of recovery, the impact of the recession differs across regions and the outlook remains very uncertain. According to Nobuo Tanaka, Executive Director of the IEA, there is a “notable dichotomy between non-OECD and OECD markets, with strong growth in China, India and the Middle East compared to weaker or flat demand elsewhere, especially in the fragile European economy.”

LNG in Africa According to www.energy.ca.gov, nine LNG liquefaction terminals are located in Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria. A further 18 additional LNG liquefaction terminal projects are proposed in Nigeria, a country that possesses some of the largest proven natural gas reserves in the world. African countries considering these projects include Angola, Namibia and Mauritania (www.energy.co.gov).

28

25 o i n Africa

Tanaka explained that these contrasting trends cloud efforts to foresee how oil and gas markets will develop in the medium term. But what is clear, is that both will need more investment, a greater focus on energy-efficiency and improved data.

Rise of unconventional and LNG bring wave of new gas supplies Demand modelling of natural gas indicates a return to 2008 demand levels by 2012, but with significant variation between regions, with European demand recovery slower than elsewhere. China has also shown strong growth, making them a bigger gas user than any OECD country bar in the United States, with suppliers including Turkmenistan, Qatar, Australia and soon Myanmar, supplementing local output.

“The oil supply outlook shows a marked improvement from a year ago. While non-OPEC supply continues to grow slowly, OPEC crude and natural gas liquids account for the bulk of the 5.4 mb/d of production growth to 2015,” said Tanaka.

O I L A ND G A S

LPG vs LNG Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) are often confused with one another. LPG consists of mainly propane and butane and it is primarily used for commercial and domestic applications (also including vehicle fuel). It is kept in liquid form by confining it under high pressure. LNG differs from LPG due to its properties: natural gas is lighter than air (in contrast to LPG, which is heavier than air). LPG gets stored under pressure, whereas LNG is stored at a very low temperature, which also necessitates the use of entirely different materials, insulation and standards.

LNG reception terminals are mainly found in Japan, Korea, India, the US, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Turkey.

Non-conventional gas continues to rise, with the US marked as the world’s biggest gas producer in 2009. According the IEA, the increase in liquefied natural gas (LNG) capacity means that a wave of new gas supplies will hit markets over the next few years totalling in excess of 120 bcm per annum, a 50% increase over 2008, and bringing important linkages between regions.

“This oversupply of gas puts strong downward pressure on prices,” Mr. Tanaka said, noting that spot prices for gas were well below half of oil prices for most of 2009.

Price caps on South African LPG Since 2006 there has been discussions on regulating the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) price in Africa and until 14 July 2010, LPG dealers were able to charge whatever they want. The Department of Energy announced that LPG can’t be sold for more than ZAR15.69/kg at the coast and ZAR17.27/kg in Gauteng. From August, LPG prices will be adjusted every month, such as these of petrol and diesel.

On-ship

carbon capture and storage technology

D

et Norske Veritas AS and Process Systems Enterprise Ltd (PSE) have joined forces for a research and development project that will develop blueprint designs for on-ship carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.

The project has received funding from the EU (European Union), the UK’s Technology Strategy Board and the Norwegian Research Council under the Eureka-Eurostar’s instrument, established to encourage international collaborative research and development projects.

According to PSE, maritime CO2 emissions are estimated at over 1 000-million tonnes per year and this figure is expected to increase by a factor of 3 by 2050 (www.psenterprise.com).

“Carbon capture at sea is a completely new concept, with no current end-to-end solution available,” says Nikolaos Kakalis, Head of DNV research and innovation in Greece.

“Our challenge is to manage issues relating to the unique marine environment, limited space onboard, constant movement, energyefficiency, and strict safety and environmental requirements. The solution must not only manage these issues, but should be relatively easy to install, operate and maintain.”

On 15 July, www.fin24.com reported that LPG dealers in certain areas were still charging the same prices and that many are threatening to stop selling LPG altogether. Although some people claim that the price cap on LPG (which equals a profit margin of ZAR1.20/kg), chief director of hydrocarbons at the Department of Energy, Muzi Mkhize, said that retailers could not claim that the new price regulations had caught them unaware (www.fin24.com).

In May, Sasol’s new Business Development Manager, Pieter Claassen, told 25º in Africa that the petrochemical giant’s plant in Secunda produces 95 000 tons of LPG per annum and that everything gets sold in the market. “At present, we don’t have extra LPG lying around – we are selling every drop,” said Claassen. In June, Reuters reported that South Africa is in discussions with Qatar to buy LNG from the Gulf state. “We’ve expressed a desire to buy the gas, but we’re far from signing a deal. There is still a lot to be discussed,” said the South African ambassador, Vincent Zulu, before declining to specify the volumes of gas and price South Africa would seek (www.af.reuters.com).

Source: www.4gas.com

Two leading companies are developing developing blueprint designs for on-ship carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.

Carbon capture at sea is a completely new concept, with no current end-to-end solution available.

DNV is a leading classification society that assists its customers within the maritime industry to manage their risks through all phases of a ship’s life and PSE is an industry leader in model-based innovation (MBI). PSE’s high-fidelity mathematical models are used to optimise ship design and operation and the company’s gPROMS modelling technology is widely used in a variety of sectors, such as oil and gas, chemicals, clean energy and power generation (www. carboncapturejournal.com).

According to www.carboncapturejournal.com, the project will take the unique challenges posed by the maritime environment, such as constant ship movement, limited space and access to utilities, the need for energy-efficiency and stringent safety requirements into account.

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

25 o in A f rica

29

O IL AND GAS

Gas regulations and rights in

Southern Africa

“Gas as a commodity emphatically fits in South Africa’s energy policy position. In 1998, the White Paper on Energy Policy advocated for the government’s commitment geared at developing a gas industry that will feed into the energy mix, to ensure security of energy supply,” said South African Energy Minister Dipuo Peters at the third National Gas Conference in Gauteng in September.

I

n the 19th century, piped gas in the form of town gas for street lighting was first used in South Africa. In the 1960s, Sasol’s gas network started but until recently gas has accounted for less than 3% of the country’s energy needs.

Sasol Gas is currently the only major supplier in the industry and there are relatively few customers.

Approximately 110-million gigajoules of natural gas per annum is currently imported from the Pande and Temane gas fields in Mozambique into South Africa. “The slow uptake of gas in South Africa is due to a number of factors, including the relatively low cost and large infrastructure capacity of electricity in past decades, the limited transmission and distributed infrastructure for piped gas, and the relatively limited availability of gas, particularly at household level,” according to NERSA.

Interesting facts about Sasol’s exclusivity rights Sasol Gas dominates the piped-gas industry in South Africa as the only gas distributor. In the late 1990s, while legislation for the regulation of the piped-gas industry was still under discussion, Sasol entered into negotiations with the governments of Mozambique and South Africa to source natural gas from Mozambique. Special regulatory dispensation gives Sasol regulatory certainty to proceed with the project to transport gas from Mozambique via a pipeline to Secunda in South Africa.

The agreement was concluded before the passing of the Act and gives Sasol exclusive rights and periods granted in respect of transmission, distribution and trading of gas.

• This transmission pipeline is owned by the Republic of Mozambique Pipeline Investment Company of which Sasol, the South African Gas Development Company (iGas) and the Government of Mozambique are shareholders.

• The exclusivity of the license is valid for specific geographic areas and for a particular range of gas specifications for 25 years.

• New entrants can apply for licenses to construct transmission pipelines or, where a gas distribution network exists, to construct distribution pipelines if the facilities are to distribute gas of a different specification.

• Sasol needs to continuously provide NERSA with proof that it has, in reserve, sufficient gas to supply the South African market with 120-million gigajoules of gas per annum until 2029.

Source: NERSA

30

25 o i n Africa

To catalyze the establishment of a gas industry, a legislative gas regime was developed and is underpinned by the Gas Act. Derived from the Gas Act was the birth of the National Gas Regulator through the National Energy Regulator Act of 2004, which is subsequently attached to an action-arm, known as the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA). Regulations associated with the Gas Act were promulgated in 2007.

Ensuring a vibrant gas industry “Gas needs to be safe, affordable and accessible,” continued Peters. “To ensure a vibrant gas industry, we need to attract credible investors. We don’t want to attract people who are trying to make a quick buck in this industry.”

“More information needs to be shared between industry, government and investors. When we work together, we are able to see what needs to be changed,” said Peters when referring to current regulatory roadblocks in the industry. “Government and industry may not always agree on legislations, but if we are presented with challenges that the gas industry is experiencing, we can go back to the drawing board and see what needs to be changed.”

“President Jacob Zuma challenged the government by telling us that we need to make doing business in South Africa easy and that’s what we need to do. Regulations and laws are there for a reason, but if industry can present reasons why they need to be changed to ensure easier and quicker developments in the gas industry, they can be re-looked,” said Peters.

“I envisage unfolding rigorous engagement and constructive debate that will be triggered in midst of expected provocative presentations – such a condition has the potential to tap knowledge from all delegates,” said Peters.

Although only 3% of primary energy consumption is attributed to natural gas, government projects a 10% increase within a decade. South Africa has limited resources of natural gas, but Southern Africa as a region has an abundant resources of natural gas, specifically in countries like Mozambique and Namibia.

“South Africa is aware of the challenges related to the scarcity of natural gas in the country and the importance of regional cooperation in trading within the natural gas industry,” says Peters.

“To complement natural gas supply in the industry and communities, South Africa had established the Namibian and Mozambique Gas Commissions respectively. There is a greater need to strengthen and extend regional

O I L A ND G A S

How is the piped-gas industry in South Africa regulated?

South Africa’s piped-gas industry is regulated by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), which has several legal instruments to carry out this mandate, namely: • The National Energy Regulator of South Africa Act, 2004; • The Gas Act, 2001 (“the Act”); • License conditions made in terms of the Act (“License conditions”); • The Agreement Concerning the Mozambican Gas Pipeline between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and Sasol Limited, including Schedule One thereof (“the Agreement”); • Piped-gas Regulations (“the Regulations”); and • Rules made by NERSA in terms of the Act (“the Rules”).

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), however, remains regulated by the Department of Energy (DoE). Following an outcry from communities on non-standard and exorbitant pricing of LPG, the maximum retail price of LPG supplied to residential customers was regulated since July 2010.

•

Mozambique to South Africa natural gas flow through the gas-pipeline infrastructure began in 2004. Mozambique, Sasol and iGas had invested ZAR2.2-billion in the construction and integration of a gas compression station within the pipeline infrastructure in Komatipoort, which was commissioned in 2009 and had achieved a 20% increase to 147-million gigajoules of natural gas flow to Secunda, for capacity expansion in synthetic fuels, and industrial and community supply.

Natural gas and climate change mitigation

Registering and licensing piped-gas projects NERSA issues licenses for the construction, conversion and operation of transmission, storage, distribution, liquefaction and re-gasification facilities and the trading in gas. The Act empowers NERSA to impose license conditions, such as access by third parties to a licensee’s facilities, approval and monitoring of tariffs, duration of the license, monitoring and provision of information to NERSA and operational and technical standards that a licensee must comply with. (License application forms can be downloaded from the NERSA website at www.nersa.org.za.)

cooperation in natural gas markets intertrade, technological exchange and skills development, and harmonization of legislative framework, policy and regulations in the natural gas markets,” said Peters.

Current projects underway to increase the role of gas in the economy include: • The US$3-billion to US$4-billion Ibhubesi Gas Project by Forest Exploration International, in partnership with PetroSA and iGas who intends to develop a gas-fired electrical power plant of 400 MW to 900 MW on South Africa’s West Coast and supply natural gas power to Saldanha Bay and the Western Cape. “The sustainability of the project can be complemented by cooperation with Namibia in the Kudu Gas Project,” said Peters.

“Natural gas produces 60% less CO2 than coal for the same amount of power,” said Mark Rowand, managing director of SI Analytics, a company that has more than 25 years of experience in air quality monitoring.

The South African government has contracted SI Analytics to measure the pollution levels for the five-year, ZAR12,5-million Highveld priority area project, which started two years ago. “There are certain ‘hot spots’ that have been identified in South Africa, such as the Vaal Triangle, Durban South as well as the Highveld region due to the coal-fired power stations in the region,” said Rowand.

Peters explained that although Eskom’s energy mix is seeking alternative primary energy sources (such as natural gas), South Africa’s reliance on fossil fuel as primary energy continues where coal-fired electricity generators provide 95% in electrical power while the balance is mainly derived from nuclear reactors.

“There is growing momentum in the world’s quest to mitigate against climate change and global warming. Proliferation and strengthening of natural gas and LPG utilisation in the country has a significant impact on reducing carbon emissions and acquiring carbon credits,” concludes Peters.

25º in Africa would like to give full acknowledgement and thanks to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), the Department of Energy (DoE) and SI Analytics for the information they contributed to this article.

25 o in A f rica

31

O IL AND GAS

Chris Bredenhann

Elias Pungong

Challenges in

Africa’s oil & gas market – according to CEO’s

I

packages keep going up, but there is a limit to what can be paid for these resources.”

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) recently launched the African Oil & Gas Survey 2010 and African Energy leader for PwC, Elias Pungong, along with Chris Bredenhann, director at PwC, spoke to 25º in Africa about the findings of the report, Africa’s future in the oil and gas sector and the restraints that the continent is facing.

Respondents of the survey do, however, realise the importance of attracting and retaining key talent with 70% rating it as critical to long-term growth.

Many of the respondents also said they were able to shift more than 50% of the skilled technical jobs and senior and middle management roles in their companies to locals (these domains have historically been the preserve expatriates).

nvestment in exploration of oil and gas is booming in Africa. The continent currently supplies approximately 11% of the world’s oil and untapped reserves are estimated at just under 9% of global proven reserves.

The total global oil consumption decreased with about 2% in 2009, yet it remained steady in Africa and is expected to grow globally and in African regions by about 2% in 2010. “The energy and enthusiasm surrounding oil and gas in Africa are almost palpable at the many industry events and in our conversations with clients across the continent. Recent significant finds in Uganda and Ghana continue to fuel a flurry of exploration activity across our markets,” reads the report.

32

Regulatory constraints The report found that one of the biggest concerns that oil and gas companies in Africa are facing, is the current and planned developments in the regulatory environments in which they operate.

The report contains the results from an on-line survey and interviews with corporate leaders in the oil and gas industry, conducted by PwC during the second quarter of 2010, to better understand market perceptions and issues currently impacting the oil and gas industry in Africa.

Some of these regulations include the proposed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) in Nigeria, environmental policy changes, proposals on zero gas flaring in many countries, discussions in Uganda regarding the tax implications of a US$1.5-billion deal involving Tullow Oil and Heritage Oil, Government’s commitment to cleaner fuels and reducing emissions in South Africa, “fledgling” oil economies in Uganda and Ghana formulating new policies.

Pungong explains that technical skills and knowledge in Africa is currently one of the challenges that the industry is experiencing. “Oil and gas exploration, development and management require a specialised set of skills and we are currently experiencing a loss in our pool of intellectual resources,” says Pungong.

“There has been more focus on health and safety in the industry after the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, leading for example to a moratorium on deepwater drilling in the gulf” says Bredenhann. “But these preliminary regulations are not having an immediate impact on the exploration activities off the African coast.”

“Engineers and geologists in the oil and gas sector are being attracted by international companies. Local firms are losing their employees to foreign companies due to the big salaries that they are offered. The remuneration

According to the report, regulatory and environmental requirements have caused many participants in the industry to adopt a wait-and-see approach by either quietly suspending projects or slowing down the rate of investment

25 o i n Africa

O I L A ND G A S

in existing projects. “Companies are recognising the importance of climate change mitigation, but not much capital spending is going into it. A common attitude is that the companies will wait for laws to be passed before any climate change strategies are set in stone,” explains Bredenhann.

however, China is changing the face of the game in this regard. They seem to be prepared to pay any price and, in a way, this is leading to different dynamics in this field.”

Small refineries not the answer

“African governments may be placing more emphasis on environmental concerns, but they are still predominantly focussed on trying to find oil, get the money in and sort out the environmental impacts later,” adds Pungong.

Refining “Egypt and South Africa are the only two African countries with significant refining capacities,” says Pungong. BP and the Royal Dutch Shell’s recent exit from the smaller markets in Africa have brought a period of significant change to the continent, with competitors and new entrants in the market changing the traditional competitive landscape.

“China and India are very aggressive competitors in Africa’s oil and gas segment,” says Pungong. “There’s oil in Africa. If you can find oil in Uganda, it means that you can find it anywhere and international companies as well as local companies are scrambling to get a piece of the pie. Internationally,

Crude oil is put into barrels and each barrel can hold 42 US gallons (158,987294 litres) of crude, which converts to 44 gallons (166,558118 litres) of oil products – in other words, crude increases in volume as it goes through processing. Refineries turn crude oil into oil products and approximately half of every barrel of crude is refined into petrol for cars and planes, a quarter is refined into diesel and the rest gets processed into a variety of other products.

Many different chemical compounds make up crude oils. Carbon (C) and hydrogen (H) are the main components and crude oil always contains compounds with sulphur, nitrogen, oxygen and traces of other elements (www.wintershall.com).

Over 30 blends of oil are sold worldwide (such as Saharan Blend, Tia Juana Light and Minas), but the main grades of crude oil remain Brent and WTI (West Texas Intermediate). Brent and WTI are both low-sulphur, light oils for which there is the greatest demand worldwide. More gasoline can be obtained from this type of crude oil grade in refineries.

An average value of seven crude oil grades is used to calculate the so-called basket price that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) uses for its own reference figure of crude oil. The seven crude oil grades that are used to calculate this figure are the following: • Saharan Blend (Algeria) • Minas (Indonesia) • Bonny Light (Nigeria) • Arab Light (Saudi Arabia) • Dubai (United Arab Emirates) • Isthmus (Mexico) • Tia Juana Light (Venezuela) Source: www.wintershall.com

Bredenhann explains that small oil refineries may not necessarily be a solution for African countries wishing to refine their own oil. “Smaller refineries need to carefully consider the economics behind their developments because economies of scale are quite important – it may not always be lucrative to refine your own oil. Furthermore, positioning these refineries close to the source of the oil often brings about logistical and infrastructure issues as these locations are often in remote and undeveloped areas.”

Although a significant expansion of refining capacity (an additional 1-million barrels per day) is under debate across Africa, only one of the proposals has moved beyond the feasibility study phase. Angola recently announced that it will proceed with the construction of a 200 000 b/d refinery in the port city of Lobito. The refinery carries a price tag of US$8-billion and is expected to be completed in 2014. The final investment decision for the 400 000 b/d refinery in Coega, South Africa, has been postponed to 2012.

According to the report, Africa and other key stakeholders recognise the need for additional refining capacity to attain their strategic need for security of supply and mitigating the risk of ageing refineries.

“Whilst US$8-billion is a significant investment on its own, it is also important to understand what this amount covers. Africa traditionally has poor infrastructure and roads, pipelines, storage and other supporting infrastructure may also be required, easily increasing the total project budget beyond the US$8-billion,” says Bredenhann.

“Maintenance on our existing refineries is also one of the key challenges,” adds Pungong. “If a plant is meant to refine 200 000 b/d and you only end up with 20 000 b/d, you are losing a lot of money. Having the right set of skills, as well as the necessary funds, are the problems the continent is currently facing when it comes to maintaining our refineries and these problems are expensive.”

“Africa is a safe bet because there is easy access to Europe,” explains Pungong. “Getting the funding, corporate and government investments and finalising regulations are some of the challenges the continent is currently facing, but the significant finds in various African countries prove that the continent’s oil and gas sector is going to continue to grow.”

25º in Africa would like to give full acknowledgement and thanks to PricewaterhouseCoopers, Elias Pungong and Chris Bredenhann for the information contributed to this article.

PricewaterhouseCoopers Elias Pungong Tel +241 77 23 35 E-mail: elias.pungong@ga.pwc.com Chris Bredenhann Tel: +27 21 529 2005 E-mail: chris.bredenhann@za.pwc.com

2 5 o in A f rica

33

b io fu els

Economic recovery to drive oil markets in Southern Africa

T

he revival of the global economy has led to a rebound in the demand for minerals and natural resources from Southern Africa, a new report from Frost & Sullivan has found. This has stepped up the demand for oil products within the region, driving growth in the Southern African downstream oil and gas market. Inadequate infrastructure and inefficient regulatory processes, however, are increasing costs and undermining the security of supply in some African countries.

The new analysis finds that the countries with the greatest consumption of refined petroleum products are South Africa, Angola, Namibia and Tanzania.

The recovery of crude oil prices has also resulted in intensified exploration initiatives in the region, particularly in Angola.

“Growth in the upstream oil and gas market of the region is expected to be driven by exploration initiatives within Angola,” says Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Ross Bruton. “Growth in the downstream market of Southern Africa, however, will continue to be primarily driven by the growth in demand for oil products in South Africa.”

The applications covered in this study are upstream; refining and manufacturing; supply, transmission and trading; and downstream.

Zambia, Angola and South Africa all have refining capacity, with South Africa representing over 80% of the total refining capacity of the region.

Major restraints to market Bruton explained that underdeveloped and neglected road, rail and pipeline infrastructure leads to an unreliable supply of products to the market, increasing the retail cost of fuel and resulting in fuel shortages across countries.

“Old and damaged infrastructure have restrained the ability to operate effective business practices within Southern African countries.

Underdeveloped and neglected road networks increase the logistical costs of fuel transport, thereby increasing retail costs,” says Bruton.

Frost & Sullivan also asserts that international oil companies entering the Southern African region need to establish a secure and reliable product supply chain with sufficient storage capacity in proximity to the market. A clear understanding of government policy and regulations regarding the import of oil products along with a strong relationship with governmental regulatory institutions is also essential to ensure an uninterrupted supply of products to retail outlets.

Frost & Sullivan Tel: +27 21 680 3261 Fax: +27 21 680 3296 E-mail: patrick.cairns@frost.com

the President of DNV. The DNV (Det Norske Veritas) is an independent foundation with the purpose of safeguarding life, property, and the environment.

According to Svensen, low sulphur fuel can be used, scrubbers can be installed to remove the sulphur or the operator can switch to LNG. “Based on our DNV Baltic Report, LNG is the obvious answer to this challenge,” said Svensen.

Tor Svensen, the President of DNV

LNG fuel ideal for short sea shipping

A

ccording to www.worldcruise-network.com, the marine business is facing new challenges as public opinion becomes more focused on ship emissions. Land-based industries are continuing to cut back on certain emissions, which has lead to the shared pollutants by the shipping industry to become a significant part of total emissions, despite the fact that transport by ship remains one of the most efficient means of transportation (www. worldcruise-network.com).

The EU (European Union) has introduced 0.1% sulphur as a maximum level for a ship’s fuel when in ports and on inland waterways. From July 2010, the new maximum level of sulphur in fuel is set at 1.0% in ECAs (Emission Control Areas), and the requirements will be further tightened to 0.1% by 2015.

“There are at least three ways of solving these challenges,” says Tor Svensen,

34

25 o i n Africa

Liquefied natural gas or LNG is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4) that has been converted temporarily to liquid form for ease of storage or transport.

LNG is an efficient way to cut emissions because al SOX (sulphur oxide) emissions are eliminated and the NOX and CO2 emissions are reduced by 80% and 20% respectively (www.worldcruise-network.com).

According to www.maritime-connector.com, LNG is emerging as one of the most viable alternative fuels to oil and holds significant financial and environmental advantages.

“LNG represents no technical obstacles. Economically, it is better than the alternatives and it is an environmental winner, so why wait?” Svensen asked.

“We can move faster if we want to and there are economic opportunities for those ship owners who dare to be among the frontrunners.”

“As a class society, DNV will try to actively influence the whole shipping industry. And we will certainly continue to invest in technology and expertise to support the conversion to LNG fuel. The age of LNG is here! And short sea shipping is the most obvious place to start,” concludes Svensen.

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

biof ue l s

Second generation biofuels Cellulosic ethanol is a forerunner in the production of second generation biofuels from lignocellulosic plant material sources (such as wood and agricultural residue like sugarcane bagasse). According to SBMT, substantial savings in capital and operational expenses in the production of this ethanol can be achieved by their highly efficient conversion technology.

Prof Emile van Zyl

New biofuels company brings USA technology to SA

S

tellenbosch Biomass Technologies (SBMT), a new biofuels technology company, was launched in July this year. The South African based company holds the rights to commercialise and adapt the latest conversion technology developed by the USA-based company Mascoma Technologies.

Stellenbosch University is the SBMT research partner for technology improvement. The company hopes to set up their first demonstration scale plant within the next two years in order to demonstrate the full-scale commercial viability of the venture once the necessary funding is secured.

“By producing fuel using this technology, we can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and move Southern Africa towards a greener economy,” said the co-founder of SBMT, Prof Van Zyl. “Africa needs sustainable and environmentally safe options that do not threaten our food production or natural vegetation.”

The company hopes to produce ethanol commercially on a full-scale and to foster skills development, the building of human resource capacity and community involvement through the biofuels industry.

Prof van Zyl explains that SBMT founding members have spent the past few years on researching the topic and have contributed their share of expertise in developing the current Mascoma technology. “Therefore it is essential that this technology is now also made available locally through SBMT,” says Prof Van Zyl. For more information, visit www.sbmt.co.za, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

2 5 o in A f rica

35

A new report by Frost & Sullivan titled Financing Clean Energy Projects in Sub-Saharan Africa shows that this region’s market for clean energy products has more than US$200-million in financing available from private investors. Clean power technologies covered in this study are wind energy, solar energy, biomass power and small hydropower projects.

Sub-Saharan Africa has over

$200-million for clean power D

espite this potential, Frost & Sullivan Programme Manager Cornelis van der Waal believes that the Sub-Saharan Africa region must still fully realise the significant prospects to develop renewable energy projects.

“The lack of suitable financing has been one of the key reasons for the slow progress in the development of the region’s renewable energy projects.

However, policies and regulations that enhance public and private sector financing assist in shifting some of the investment costs away from the investor to the public sector,” says Van der Waal.

The lack of clarity on targets for renewable energy projects and a lack of funding have been two of the key reasons for slow progress in renewable energy project development in this region.

“Despite the fact that global private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investment grew in 2008, PE investment remains a relatively new asset class. Even in countries where investors are comfortable with PE investments, sustainable investments are unfamiliar, creating an additional challenge for renewable energy companies seeking to raise finance,” continues Van der Waal.

Despite various research and development efforts along with added financing options and clean energy technologies, current developments are still fragmented and frail. The rate of progress is also still far too low to prevent dangerous increases in global temperatures, says the IEA. “What we need is rapid, large-scale deployment of a portfolio of low-carbon technologies. We need a massive decarbonisation of the energy system, breaking the historical link between CO2 emissions and economic output, and leading to a new age of electrification,” said Nobuo Tanaka, Executive Director of the IEA. Although Frost & Sullivan’s research showed that more private funding is available, the IEA believes that, without new policies, fossil fuels will continue to provide most of the world’s energy needs, with energy-related CO2 emissions almost doubling to 57 Gigatonnes (Gt) by 2050.

Private sector and government funding crucial

“Decarbonising the electricity sector, the second-largest source of emissions reductions, must involve dramatically increasing the shares of renewables and nuclear power, and adding carbon capture and storage (CCS) to plants that consume fossil fuels,” reads the report.

A combination of private sector investment and government funding will be the key to ensuring that sufficient capital is available for the financing of renewable energy projects.

Increasing the uptake of low-carbon technologies across the world, especially in the large economies such as Brazil, China, India, the Russian Federation and South Africa, is seen as a critical challenge by the IEA.

“Governments should use instruments such as subsidies, tax measures, feed-in or quota schemes to lower investment costs,” concludes Van der Waal.

“This shift is vital to ensure a truly global energy technology revolution – a revolution that is crucial to economic development, energy security and environmental protection. By providing concrete guidance, ETP 2010 aims to prompt broader engagement of all players and sectors, and achieve the necessary step-change in the rate of progress,” concludes Tanaka.

Current developments still frail According to an International Energy Agency study that was launched on 1 July, Energy Technology Perspectives 2010, global investment in renewable electricity generation, led by wind and solar, reached an all-time

36

high of US$112-billion in 2008 and remained broadly stable in 2009 despite the economic downturn.

25 o i n Africa

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

renewa bl es

Renewable energy centre in West Africa

T

he UN has opened a regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) in Praia, the capital of the West African island nation of Cape Verde. The centre is an agency of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the project is being supported by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), as well as the Brazil, Spain, Austria and Cape Verde governments.

The objectives of the centre include helping to develop renewable energy and energy-efficiency markets in West Africa, policy and capacity development, designing financing mechanisms, and implementing demonstration projects with potential for regional scaling-up.

According to UNIDO, a special partnership between Brazil and ECOWAS will help to support the activities of ECREEE, and open up opportunities for southsouth cooperation and technology and know-how transfer.

“The current energy systems in the ECOWAS region are failing to support the growth prospects of the more than 262-million inhabitants, especially the needs of the poor. The creation of ECREEE is a central milestone in efforts

to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies and services in the region,” said the deputy to UNIDO DirectorGeneral, Yoshiteru Uramoto.

“Investing in renewable energy systems and introducing energy-efficient technologies will contribute to the region’s economic and social development without harming the environment.”

Traditional biomass is already the main source of energy for the poor majority and accounts for 80% of the total energy consumed for domestic purposes. A total of 23 000 MW of large and small hydro-electric potential is estimated to be concentrated in five of the ECOWAS member states, of which only 16% has been exploited.

UNIDO believes that there are also considerable wind, tidal, ocean thermal and wave energy resources available and that the region has vast solar energy potential.

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

2 5 o in A f rica

37

rene wab les

Far-reaching solar network

benefits all

S

olar Distributors Africa (SDA), a large national network that provides state-of-the-art solar technology to the industry. SDA recently partnered with an alternative energy consultancy, Optimal Solar Technologies, to provide clean energy solutions for aids orphans at a township in Cape Town.

A subsidised solar water heating system, in the form of two 150 litre systems, was installed at Eluthanweni House for aids orphans in Nyanga.

The Eluthanweni House forms one of the pilot projects to house needy and vulnerable children by providing a home environment with structured programming and leisure time to help the children developing intellectually, socially, physically and spiritually.

“This initiative between SDA and Optimal Solar Technologies will provide comfort to the children at Eluthanweni House in the form of cheap sustainable energy,” says Graeme Sher, a director at Optimal Solar Technologies. (E-mail: graeme@optimalsolar.co.za; Tel: +27 21 556 1589) Anton Pretorius, a director at SDA, says an increasing amount of these types of initiatives will be possible due to the solar technology network. “The company’s focused approach to supply a comprehensive range of solar water heating products to the supply chain reduces the cost to the end-user, which makes solar more affordable,” explains Pretorius.

“The SDA dealer network continues to expand rapidly.

Warehouses are now also open in Kimberley and Port Elizabeth, with other key areas to follow in the foreseeable future. The SDA website can assist dealers in educating home-owners, while the dealer exclusive section of the website contains a wealth of useful information. Act now to become part of the No 1 solar water heater network in South Africa – visit www.sdafrica.co.za or e-mail us on info@sdafrica.co.za,” concludes Pretorius.

38

25 o i n Africa

renewa bl es

Free State based supplier

part of the solar network S

DA supplies product that conform to the applicable manufacturing standards and urges all their solar water heater dealers to adhere to the highest installation standards.

State, Northern Cape, Cape Town and Durban. Besides solar water heating and HVAC systems, the company also installs heat pump solutions for swimming pools. ACS focuses primarily on servicing the hospitality industry.

AC Solar Power, which forms part of the larger ACS Group, designs and installs new solar water heating systems, air-conditioning units and ventilation systems. Besides new installations, the company also analyses existing systems to make them more energy-efficient.

“AC Solar Power did several solar installations to increase efficient energysavings 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 airconditioning equipment that achieved savings of 30% – 40% on electrical costs at these sites.

AC Solar Power uses the SDA product range, and warehouses on behalf of SDA in Bloemfontein. “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. qualified staff.ago and has branches in the Free The• ACSWell-trained Group was and founded 12 years • Technical back-up when required.

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

AC Solar Power Tel: +27 51 448 2735 Fax: +27 51 448 7613 E-mail: solar@acs-group.co.za

2 5 o in A f rica

39

rene wab les

Left: Waste heat from the gas-fired engines will be used in an absorption chiller to cool water. This chilled water is then supplied to the air-handling units that supply the cooled air for electronic equipment housed in the new MTN building in Johannesburg.

Middle & right: A South African mobile telecommunications operator has unveiled a methane-driven trigeneration plant that will generate electricity and cool water for an air-conditioning system.

ZAR22-million

2 MW trigeneration power plant for MTN

O

n 2 August, South African mobile telecommunications operator MTN unveiled its ZAR22-million, 2 MW methane-driven trigeneration plant.

The plant is the first of its kind on the African continent and it is set to power a new building that houses a test switch centre and data centre in Johannesburg.

The plant will generate electricity and, through a second re-absorption chiller cycle using the waste heat, will generate water for the air-conditioning systems in MTN’s buildings. The methane gas is piped over 874 km from the Mozambique coast via Secunda to Egoli Gas in Johannesburg, and then to the company’s head office in Gauteng.

Karel Pienaar, managing director of MTN SA, said that the trigeneration plant is the result of a unique solution to meet their objectives of reducing the company’s energy demand as well as its carbon footprint. “The idea of using methane gas to generate energy got us all thinking and the trigeneration power plant is now the end result,” says Pienaar.

“This plant will also assist us in reducing the greenhouse gas emissions

associated with the electricity consumption here at our headquarters, resulting in a reduction of coal-base electricity generation and its associated environmental consequences,” says Pienaar.

MTN expects a return on its ZAR22-million investment within five years and Pienaar commented that the company, which consumes between 5,5 MW and 7,5 MW of electricity, hopes to become energy independent at their head office. With the new trigeneration plant, MTN is now in a position to plan its own grid to roll-out its serves in areas where they are needed. As a spin-off, the plant will produce an estimated 800 kW of cooling for free, resulting in further savings in the building’s air-conditioning process.

“Our pro-active approach to generate our own electricity has resulted in various other positive green spin-offs, and places us in a strong position to deliver on the company’s business and growth plans in a sustainable way,” concludes Pienaar.

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

Kenya to boost geothermal with

T

he World Bank has given US$330-million to the Kenya Electricity Expansion Project, of which almost US$118-million will be used for geothermal development. The country currently relies heavily on hydropower and the funds will help Kenya to diversify its energy supply and it will increase electricity access to Kenyans in urban, peri-urban and rural areas.

The gap between electricity supply and demand has increased in recent years due to Kenya’s strong economic growth and inadequate investment in power infrastructure. The supply deficit and costly short-term interventions constrain economic growth and reduce the regional competitiveness of Kenya’s private sector.

40

US$118-million

The Kenyan government has also invested large sums of money in geothermal energy and the funding from the World Bank will help to boost the country’s geothermal capacity from 198-megawatts to 280-megawatts by expanding the Olkaria I power plant.

“Kenya has demonstrated a strong commitment to clean and green energy by exploiting its geothermal potential,” says Johannes Zutt, the World Bank Country Director for Kenya. “The Bank is supporting these efforts to promote equitable access by Kenyans to modern energy while protecting the environment.”

According to Paivi Koljonen, the task team leader for the project, a lack of reliable energy lowers the annual sale revenues of Kenyan firms by about 7% and reduces Kenya’s growth rate by about 1.5%, according to the 2008 Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic.

Patrick Nyoike, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy, said that the project supports the climate change and infrastructure development pillars of the government’s Vision 2030 long-term development strategy. “It will strengthen the energy investment programmes, which were enabled by the comprehensive policy and regulatory reforms that Kenya has implemented with the Bank’s support since 1981,” said Nyoike.

“The challenge for Kenya is to invest in reliable energy sources to support the anticipated economic recovery in the next few years,” says Koljonen.

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

25 o i n Africa

renewa bl es

Oklahoma windfarm uses Siemens

C

onstruction of the 227.5 megawatts (MW) Crossroads wind power project to be built in Dewey County, northwest Oklahoma, USA, approximately 160 km (100 miles) from Oklahoma City, is about to start, with the first wind turbines to be delivered in April 2011. Siemens Energy has secured an order for the supply of 98 wind turbines for this project, and will provide services for turbine service and maintenance for an initial period of 3½ years.

The owner of the project is OG&E (Oklahoma Gas & Electric), and Siemens will supply 95 SWT-2.3-101 units in addition to three of the new Siemens’ SWT-3.0-101 gearless direct drive wind turbine units that was launched for sale in America just a few months ago.

Upon completion in the second half of 2011, Crossroads will be able to meet the electrical needs of more than 68 000 average US homes. This is already the third Siemens wind power plant that will provide clean energy to OG&E, following the OU Spirit and Keenan II wind farms, built in 2009 and 2010 respectively.

“We are proud that OG&E has chosen Siemens again as the supplier for their wind power projects,” said Jens-Peter Saul, CEO of the Siemens Wind Power Business Unit. “This is the first time that the new SWT-3.0-101 direct drive

turbine has been sold in the US, and bringing these new generation turbines to Oklahoma is the first step in establishing this game-changing technology in North America.”

Wind turbines are part of Siemens’ Environmental Portfolio. In fiscal 2009, revenue from the ortfolio totalled about EUR23-billion, making Siemens the world’s largest supplier of eco-friendly technologies. In the same period, the company’s products and solutions enabled customers to reduce their CO2 emissions by 210 million tons. This amount equals the combined annual CO2 emissions of New York, Tokyo, London and Berlin.

The Siemens Energy Sector is the world’s leading supplier of a complete spectrum of products, services and solutions for the generation, transmission and distribution of power, and for the extraction, conversion and transport of oil and gas.

Siemens Sithembile Mokaeane Tel: +27 11 652 2146 E-mail: sithembile.mokaeane@siemens.com Website: www.siemens.com

2 5 o in A f rica

41

PE R SPE CTIV E S

Energy from an economic perspective “Although renewable energy is continuing to grow, it will remain a small part of our energy mix unless government intervenes. Fossil fuels will be the primary energy source for the next thirty years if we don’t have stringent government policies,” says Professor Carol Dahl of the Colorado School of Mines’ Mineral and Energy Programme.

D

ahl addressed delegates at a lecture in South Africa organised by the Fossil Fuel Foundation. Dahl, who trained as an economist and a senior fellow of the American Association for Energy Economics, was recently on a world tour giving lectures on understanding prices, policies and profits of international energy markets.

“Ever since the beginning, it has been about energy. In one year, we use fossil fuels that took thousands of years to create. I’m sure we will be using more renewables than fossil fuels by the end of the century, but to achieve the targets we need in the next 30 years we are going to need stringent policy intervention,” says Dahl.

Dahl argued that it is not realistic to simply convert from coal to renewable energy options wherever possible and countries need to look at their unique resource situation before structuring a long-term energy plan. “In the US, for example, there is a lot of coal in Wyoming and the Midwest. The European Union has a lot of nuclear and South Africa, on the other hand, has a lot of coal. You have to look at what resources a country has and what options can be incorporated to find the best mix,” says Dahl.

demands would be and what we are actually using, one can see they are far off the mark. Analysts predicted we would be using twice the amount of coal than we are using and they predicted our demand for natural gas would be much less than it currently is,” explains Dahl.

“In the case of natural gas usage, where it was predicted we would be using less of the resource, one can attribute the misguided figures to the possibility that analysts in the 80s didn’t foresee how climate change and environmental issues would influence our consumption of this gas,” says Dahl.

“Just as environmental issues could be influencing our increased use of natural gas, this factor could also be influencing the amount of coal we use.

Another reason why less coal is being used than originally predicted, is the underestimated technological improvements in the coal industry,” says Dahl.

Why SA should be charging different electricity prices Dahl explained how different countries are restructuring their electricity pricing to reflect the true cost of energy and create integrated, countrywide energy usage at real-time prices.

Make carbon expensive Governments are increasingly considering renewable energy portfolio standards and subsidies in order to increase the uptake of these alternative energy options. Dahl added that market-based policies, such as a cap-and-trade scheme or carbon taxes, will also have a positive effect on sending the correct price signals for the true cost of carbon-intensive energy production.

“Economists believe that if you send the correct price signal on the real cost of certain fuels, the market will adapt to these changes. If you want to reduce the amount of CO2 emissions, you need to make carbon expensive,” says Dahl.

The effect of improved technologies According to Dahl, energy consumption per GDP (Growth Domestic Product) has fallen over the past few hundred years due to improved technologies and production efficiencies. This fact, however, has caused faulty predictions in energy demand.

“When comparing what experts predicted our coal, natural gas and oil

42

25 o i n Africa

In South Africa, industrial consumers pay different prices than residential consumers and Dahl believes that a peak-load pricing scheme should also be incorporated. “In the US, consumers also pay different prices for electricity during the day and night and during different seasons. These policies vary between different states in the US and depend on each state regulator. If a country or state has capacity issues, which is also the case in South Africa, it makes sense to charge different rates at peak times,” says Dahl.

According to Dahl, developing countries need to incorporate these types of energy sector restructuring due to rapid growth and weak capital markets.

“Developing countries that are growing quickly often have to borrow money from overseas, who are sceptic of foreign lending. Many of these countries also have the problem of needing rural electrification as well as environmental pressures to move away from inefficient biomass production. Developing countries have it hard at the moment because they not only have capacity issues, but also environmental pressures. Making the right decisions and putting the correct structures in place are vital for a country’s energy markets,” concludes Dahl.

25º in Africa would like to give thanks and acknowledgement to Prof Carol Dahl for the information contributed to this article.

P ERS P EC T I VE S

Will developing countries get their climate change

money?

T

he Africa Progress Panel (APP) recently launched a report stating that world leaders must honour their pledges to provide an additional $100billion annually in climate finance by 2020. The report, titled Finance for climate-resilient development in Africa – An agenda for action following the Copenhagen conference, argues that additional public financing is needed for the continent to achieve millennium development goals, climate-change adaptation and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions in Africa.

The report was launched at the Africa Energy Forum in Basel, Switzerland, and it sets out a “roadmap” for developed and developing countries to take the appropriate actions before the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP 16 in Cancun in December. “The year 2010 should be when key elements of the Copenhagen Accord and negotiation texts are made operational. It would be naïve to presume that a binding international agreement can be reached without adequate financing for climate-resilient development,” reads the report.

How real were the finance commitments?

Although the Copenhagen Accord includes the commitment to provide an additional annual US$100-billion in climate finance by 2020, the source of this funding remains unresolved. “Making the finance commitments real and bankable is the test that the international community must meet in coming months if the upcoming COP16 in Cancun is to succeed,” says the APP. Members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (including all EU members) need to make the following commitments: • Start-up finance needs to be supplied immediately. “Developed countries’ credibility is at stake unless they deliver on the promised start-up funding of US$10-billion per year starting this year.”

• Countries and groups of countries (such as the EU) need to assess their contributions and quantify the share of the US$100-billion that it will meet. The report suggests that an interim target of mobilising US$50-billion by 2015 should be made.

• Climate-resilient development needs to be financed by predictable mechanisms and it must come from clearly identified sources, such as taxes or levies on greenhouse gas emissions.

• Rich nations must commit to using multilateral disbursement mechanisms (such as the proposed Copenhagen Green Climate Fund) in order to keep transaction costs down and maximize the efficiency of climate finance.

• The agreed principle of “new and additional resources” must be put into

practice so that the trust of developing countries can be gained.

Private finance for mitigation requires clear price signals and incentives set through policies including emissions-trading schemes in rich countries.

What BASIC countries have to do According to the APP, advanced emerging economies such as the BASIC countries (Brazil, South Africa, India, China) need to recognise the special needs of climate vulnerable countries and, over time, provide financing to these countries.

The report issues a strong call to African leaders to form a united front ahead of the December conference. “African countries have a vital interest in financing for development and climate change. It is therefore crucial that African-led processes develop to agree an effective common negotiation position in preparation for the Cancun meeting. Otherwise, African countries risk being pushed aside during the negotiations,” warns the APP. Mutual accountability Climate vulnerable and African countries need to take the following steps to ensure full mutual accountability: Identify priority programmes and make them bankable so that the promised start-up funds can then flow as soon as incremental resources are available.

Systems and processes for ensuring accountability and transparency need to be strengthened as necessary in developing countries.

Governments in Africa and elsewhere can speed up climate-resilient developments through actions that are under their control. Incentives for private-sector development can be advanced by removing unnecessary barriers to trade and investment, and strengthening policy and regulatory frameworks.

“Taking some of these practical steps will build trust and goodwill among countries and negotiators and critically permit the demonstration of real benefits on the ground. This route can take us towards a productive and successful COP16 in Mexico. Pushing aside the need to get real on financing will result in more recriminations and failure,” concludes the report.

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

25 o in A f rica

43

Many South African water reticulation systems are experiencing problems due to maintenance backlogs. One possible solution to address this issue is to involve the support of the Private Sector through some form of Public Private Partnership. Unfortunately there are relatively few successful projects or case studies on which to base future PPP projects but one such project that has recently been completed in South Africa is discussed below.

S

pecialist engineering consultancy WRP Pty Ltd provided both the funding and the design/maintenance for a 5-year Public Private Partnership to Metsi-a-Lekoa. Metsi-a-Lekoa was established several years ago to manage the supply of potable water to approximately 1.2-million residents of the municipality, of which 450 000 are located in the Sebokeng and Evaton areas.

The cost of wasting water The area included in the project involved mainly residential units with approximately 70 000 household connections. The combination of low income and high unemployment in some areas has resulted in a general deterioration of the internal plumbing fittings over a period of many years, causing high levels of leakage. It was estimated that the waste in the area before the project was commissioned was in the order of 80% of the water supplied to the area, which in turn represented an annual water bill of approximately ZAR120-million per year.

In 2004, the municipality appointed WRP to design and commission one of the largest advanced pressure management installations in the world as the first phase of a long-term strategy to reduce wastage in the area.

Pressure management is only one of the many possible water demand management interventions that can be considered when trying to reduce leakage and wastage from water reticulation systems. The leaks are not repaired and will continue to run, albeit at a much lower flow rate. After pressure management has been implemented, it is usually necessary to address the underlying problems using different techniques and in this regard the full range of WDM techniques should be considered.

44

25 o i n Africa

“The main objective of the project was to reduce water leakage, which in turn will also reduce pumping energy costs, and the levels of wastage in the Sebokeng and Evaton water distribution systems,” said Ronnie McKenzie, managing director at WRP. “The concept of using pressure management to reduce leakage from potable water distribution systems is not new and was first introduced to South Africa from the UK in the 1990’s. South Africa is now generally regarded as one of the world leaders in pressure management,” says McKenzie.

The project, which commissioned in 2005 and was completed in 2010, involved no financial input from the municipality and even the initial capital costs were borne in total by the project team. The Public Private Partnership (PPP) between Metsi-a-Lekoa and the WRP/DMM joint venture is thought to be the first of its type in South Africa where the consultant has taken on 100% of the financial risk through an extremely complex PPP involving no fewer than 12 key role players. This necessitated obtaining loans from a commercial bank (Standard Bank), which in turn involved provision of adequate security from several individuals in their personal capacity.

The team The consultant’s team comprised the Gauteng-based WRP Pty Ltd in association with DMM. Additional specialist support was provided by various other sub-consultants, including Platinum Consultants and Coplan. Metsi-a-Lekoa CEO Sam Shabala managed the start of the project and Tim Waldron, CEO of Wide Bay Water in Australia, acted as a specialist reviewer.

Water, energy and CO2 savings The project cost approximately ZAR10-million (US$1.5-million) to construct and operate over the five year period during which it achieved audited water savings of 50-million m3. These savings represent over ZAR150-million (US$20-million) reduced water purchases by the local municipality from the bulk water provider and the project had an effective pay-back of less than two months.

“As a result of the significant savings in water purchases from the bulk water provider, the municipality has been able to allocate additional funds for maintenance of the water distribution system. Due to the availability of the additional funding, many new initiatives have also been implemented in the area, which shows what water loss reduction and water management can mean for municipalities in our country,” concludes McKenzie.

In addition to the water savings, the project has achieved energy savings due to reduced pumping by the bulk water provider of more than 13 000 tonnes of CO2 per annum, representing 65 000 tonnes over the five year project period.

After operating and managing the installation for two years, several other benefits also became apparent which were not initially anticpated. In particular the following benefits have been achieved: • Defer upgrading of infrastructure.

• Identification of bottlenecks in the system and problem infrastructure.

• Identification of bulk meter errors.

• Catalyst for funding.

• Improved municipality status.

• Sustainability of savings.

The project is also unique in the way in which it was managed and commissioned in a three month period, which few, if any, believed could be achieved. The rapid implementation has resulted in huge water savings being achieved at the earliest possible date. The project demonstrates that such partnerships can be implemented involving relatively small projects and the savings achieved are sustainable.

This project has received many national and international awards for technical excellence and recently also won the African Demand Side Management Energy Award. It has been recognised as World’s best practice by several international organisations such as the World bank.

“While the Sebokeng and Evaton PPP is clearly one of the most successful small scale PPP’s to be completed in South Africa, the real benefits of the project are only now materialising several years after the project was commissioned,” explains McKenzie.

WRP Pty Ltd Tel: +27 12 346 3496 Fax: +27 12 346 9956 E-mail: wrp@wrp.co.za Website: www.wrp.co.za

2 5 o in A f rica

45

PE R SPE CTIV E S

How will the declining demand for coal affect SA’s

job market?

When it comes to climate change in South Africa, the growth without constraints scenario versus the scenario required by science is too broad a gap to close (as indicated in the LTMS), according to Dr Jenitha Badul, Director of National Greening at the Department of Environmental Affairs.

B

adul was speaking at the launch of Greenpeace’s report, South African Energy Sector Jobs to 2030, which presents an analysis of the energy sector job creation associated with these three scenarios to 2030: • The Energy [R]evolution scenario, published by Greenpeace International and the European Renewable Energy Council.

• The IEA Reference Case, derived from the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) 2007 energy projection for Africa.

• The Growth Without Constraints (GWC) scenario that was published by the South African Government and is commonly regarded as a reference case for the country (this scenario was designed to reflect South Africa’s energy future in the absence of climate change, with no oil constraints, and if no effort was made to internalise externalities).

“Low carbon economies do not change overnight and energy-intensive industries will continue to grow with Government’s current carrot and stick incentives,” says Badul before explaining that these incentives should change.

“Government needs to remove incentives that attract energy-intensive industries and use the freed-up resources to promote low-carbon industries.”

Political will not the problem At last year’s Conference of the Parties (COP15), where world leaders discussed and debated a global deal that will include different legally binding targets that countries should set to reduce the effect of climate change, South Africa committed to reducing its carbon emissions by 34% by 2020 and 42% by 2025. The question now remains – is it the political will that is lacking to achieve these targets?

Badul says that political will isn’t necessarily the foremost problem that is keeping South Africa from reducing carbon emissions and that much progress has been made. “Since COP15, the Clean Technology Fund has emerged and South Africa is getting ZAR500-billion of the total share,” says Badul.

“Political office-bearers in South Africa have recently made statements that up to 20 000 green jobs will be created within the next two years and that the country will save approximately 1.8-million tons of carbon emission per annum once Eskom’s programme to roll out one million solar water heaters is

46

25 o i n Africa

P ERS P EC T I VE S

completed. The solar water heating programme will also reduce grid energy consumption by 18% per annum. Government is definitely taking climate change, green job creation and the issue of reducing the country’s energy demand seriously,” says Badul.

Creating green jobs The Global Climate Network (which is represented by Imbewu Sustainability lawyers in South Africa) projects that 36 400 new direct green jobs and 109 100 indirect green jobs will be created by 2020. At this year’s Green Economy Summit, Development Minister Ebrahim Patel said studies show that approximately 300 000 green jobs could be created in South Africa’s renewable energy sector over the next ten years and that these jobs would be in sectors such as energy generation and in the construction, operation and maintenance of power plants in biofuels, solar and small hydro.

According to the three different scenarios that Greenpeace analysed for the report, a net increase of 78 000 direct jobs by 2030 is projected under the Energy [R]evolution scenario. This is slightly higher than the increase of 71 000 jobs that is projected under the Growth Without Constraints scenario, and is considerably more than the IEA Reference case which has an estimated growth of only 46 000. The Greenpeace Energy [R]evolution employment figures represent a minimun number the estimates are lower than other studies because they only include direct jobs, for example constructing or operating the power stations, and not the flow on effects of that employment in the rest of the economy.

“The issue of job creation isn’t only about employing people in a sustainable way, it’s also about reducing the negative effects of climate change,” says Badul.

South Africa is likely to experience job losses in coal mining, with the associated loss of foreign exchange earnings, in a carbon constrained world.

In 2005, South Africa exported 66.2-million tons of coal, with 78% exported to the European Union, 8% to the rest of Africa, and 14% to the rest of the world (IEA). Under Greenpeace’s [R]evolution scenario, coal mining jobs are reduced by about 11 000. These jobs are lost because of action to reduce carbon emissions in the rest of the world, which will reduce demand for coal.

“Jobs will be lost as indicated from previous studies with a decline envisaged in coal mining, but the entire job sector is projected to undergo a transition by ensuring that sustainable development inperatives are included from tertiary qualifications perspective. Green jobs are also dependent on our future energy mix,” says Badul.

Glen Mpufane, who was part of the National Union of Mineworkers and is currently a director of AMO Consulting (a company that focuses on sustainable development consulting), says that the concept of “just transition” and social dialogue are non-negotiables for South Africa to make a transition from a coal-based economy to an economy focused on renewable technologies.

“Just transition is a tool aimed at making the shift towards a sustainable society smooth and providing hope for the capacity of green job creation. An important point to remember is that many of the sustainable jobs of the future are simply today’s jobs done differently,” says Mpufane.

“Just transition recognizes the reality of fossil fuel as a factor of energy production. The concept considers who benefits from and who pays the cost of implementing measures to protect the environment. Clean coal technologies and carbon capture and storage are two of the most necessary measures that will lead to a just transition,” says Mpufane.

Will South Africa import or export technology?

One of the conclusions of the report is that South Africa has to decide whether to be a technology importer or exporter in the coming decades.

“South Africa doesn’t necessarily have the skills to export technology at present,” says Badul. “Realistically, we will see green technology imports increase during the next few years and later on the need to import will decline. The same will apply to our country’s skills shortage – we will need international expertise for the next few years, after which we will have our own set of skills and knowledge.”

Melita Steele, Climate Campaigner for Greenpeace, says that the country’s energy mix planning, combined with policies to deal with South Africa’s response to climate change need to be put in place before the full effects of the green job revolution will be realised. “The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP2) is one of the most immediate things being done by the South African Government at the moment. This plan needs to reflect ambitious renewable energy targets for electricity supply so that the green job economy can start to grow and adapt,” says Steele.

According to Steele, these changes are still needed to realise the potential of South Africa’s green economy:

How many jobs will be lost due to climate change?

According to Greenpeace, coal jobs in South Africa are going to become very uncertain. “Even if South Africa doesn’t take strong action to reduce greenhouse emissions, as would be the case in the Growth Without Constraints scenario, the rest of the world is likely to be operating under carbon constraints. This may make coal export jobs, which account for more than 15% of energy sector jobs in the reference scenarios, very uncertain,” states the report.

However, Greenpeace believes that the jobs created from the renewable energy sector can far exceed the jobs lost due to carbon constraints if South Africa puts robust policies in place to support renewable energy industries.

“South Africa is likely to experience job losses in coal mining in a carbon constrained world. The enhanced manufacturing scenario modelled in the report demonstrates that employment in renewable technology manufacturing has the potential to exceed the jobs lost from declining coal exports.”

• •

• • •

•

An ambitious renewable energy target.

Government policies to support the development of the renewable industry and renewable technology manufacturing.

A price being placed on carbon.

Government assistance with skills development and training.

Investment opportunities being created and the barriers to entry for renewable energy power producers being removed.

Communication and awareness-raising on climate change and renewable energy.

“Large scale development of renewable technologies combined with ambitious energy-efficiency would reduce South African emissions, and make the South African economy more resilient in the face of declining demand for coal worldwide,” concludes the report.

Sources: www.greenpeace.org/africa/, www.iea.org, www.environment.gov.za.

25 o in A f rica

47

nu clear energy

“The building of Koeberg has laid a foundation for future nuclear plants in South Africa. It was a great learning curve and it shows that we have the proven experience for nuclear power generation in this country,” said Dr Ian McRae, past CEO of Eskom, at a recent nuclear forum in Pretoria.

“I

have spent 50 years of my working life in the electricity industry and we all know that retired people are the best critics in the world. When it comes to nuclear power generation, I have witnessed both good and bad practices and I am now convinced that nuclear power is a solution to the current power crisis,” said McRae.

Africa’s energy needs differ from other countries Kelvin Kemm, CEO of Stratek Business Strategy Consultants, says that Africa’s energy needs can’t be compared to those of other countries. “The surface area of Southern Africa is the size of the entire Europe. Africa is bigger than China, the US and Europe added together,” says Kemm.

“Nuclear power a must” “Nuclear power is a must in the short and longer term. This is supported by an increase in acceptance towards nuclear energy by other countries,” said McRae before explaining that, besides France, South Africa has always been a leader in nuclear power generation. “Until now, we have not seen any further commitment from government for bringing a new nuclear plant on stream. In the past two decades we saw a surplus of energy needs, which may have contributed to the country not making decisions earlier.

We are now threatened by blackouts and there is a huge threat to the mining industry and commerce.”

According to McRae, South Africa really needs a new nuclear power station.

“We have heard that Eskom had placed tenders for a new nuclear power station consisting of two or three PWR reactors, but it appears that there is no adequate funding plan. We need to decide what route we are going to take to ensure electricity security. Are we going to make a commitment to a new project?” asks McRae. “We need to consider all our energy options, not just a single source of energy, and we need a sense of urgency to move projects forward. Unless South Africa develops a 20 year energy plan (IRP2) with clear accountability – the country will continue to struggle,” says McRae. Dr McRae also said that South Africa needs to pursue the South African development of the South African designed PBMR nuclear reactor.

48

25 o i n Africa

“When we look at South Africa’s electricity system, we must compare it to the whole of Europe – not to Holland, for example, because Holland is a quarter of the size of KwaZulu-Natal.”

Africa can’t rely on neighbours “Europe has a large number of mutually beneficial political agreements and if a part of one country’s electricity system fails, they can rely on one another for back-up.

If something like this were to happen in South Africa, then we cannot rely on South Africa’s neighbouring countries to supply the required electricity, their electiricty systems are just too small to be of any significant help to us” says Kemm.

At a recent energy forum hosted by the South African National Energy Association, Kannan Lakmeeharan, Managing Director of the System Operations and Planning Division at Eskom, told delegates that South Africa was in a unique position regarding the supply of electricity between neighbours.

“South Africa can’t pick up the phone and expect Botswana or Mozambique to export electricity to us to supply all our needs,” said Lakmeeharan. “South Africa is an island. We can’t just pick up the phone and arrange electricity from other African countries.”

n uc l ear energ y

public. The Hiroshima nuclear bomb link to nuclear technology has continued up until nowand for years I have seen strange pictures in the media such as Koeberg exploding with a mushroom cloud – we’ve had this legacy to overcome.”

According to Business Report, two cabinet members gave firm indications that government wants the next base-load power plant that Eskom builds to be nuclear. According to www.busrep.co.za, Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan said: “The future is going to be nuclear” and that a fleet of nuclear power plants would be preferable so that South Africans can have security of supply.

Commenting on Government’s comments (which have come ahead of public consultations on the second integrated resource plan – IRP2), climate change manager at WWF South Africa, Richard Worthington, said that these types of statements undermine the consultation process.” “It makes nonsense of commitments around consultation if they are autocratically making a decision on nuclear. What is the point of consultations if the decision’s already been made?” asked Worthington.

Is base-load a myth?

Worthington has previously expressed his views about base-load electricity applications. “It is a myth that renewable energy can’t contribute to base-load supply or that it is only suited to niche applications. Coal and nuclear power plants are not environmentally friendly and they are not the only options in ensuring electricity supply,” said Worthington at a WWF roundtable event earlier this year.

Jon Wellinghof, chairman of the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced that “No new nuclear or coal plants may ever be needed in the United States” shortly after being appointed as chairman in 2009.

“Wellinghof said renewables like wind, solar and biomass will provide enough energy to meet base-load capacity and future energy demands. Nuclear and coal plants are too expensive,” says Wellinghof.

“I think base-load capacity is going to become an anachronism,” he said.

“Base-load capacity really used to only mean in an economic dispatch, which you dispatch first, what would be the cheapest thing to do. Well, ultimately wind’s going to be the cheapest thing to do, so you’ll dispatch that first.”

Technicians handling nuclear material with remote electro-mechanical arms at Pelindaba, busy loading nuclear medicine for export.

Nuclear the solution?

“France successfully produces nearly 80% of its electricity from nuclear energy and sells it cheaply to other countries,” continues Kemm. “France is a clear example that you can run a country on nuclear and sell it cheaply.

There is no mystery concerning the cost of nuclear. South Korea is currently building its 21st reactor. They were able to master the technology from a very low starting base, proving that nuclear isn’t something that is restricted to the first world. There are a lot of myths around nuclear energy. It has a mysterious sound and it is undoubtedly complicated, and this combination confuses the

Kemm explains that South Africa’s energy supply travels a significant distance to reach the consumers. “We run a 1 500 km power line from the Mpumalanga coalfields to Cape Town. This is the same distance as from Berlin to London. The majority of South Africa’s electricity comes from coal and if I would draw a vertical line down the middle of the country, one would see that there is no fuel on the western side of South Africa. I don’t believe it is a good idea to keep expanding power consumption in Port Elizabeth, for example, and expect that all their electricity should come from coal, and should be expected to travel so far, because there are significant losses involved in such transportation,” says Kemm.

“I’m pro wind and solar, where it is genuinely economically viable. The question remains how we are going to get base-load power that is reliable and sufficient to meet our country’s energy needs,” concludes Kemm.

Sources: www.busrep.co.za, www.wwfsa.org.za and www.greenmonk.net.

25 o in A f rica

49

nu clear energy

DBI/Century Fuels, a company that has been developing a nuclear thorium fuel cycle since 1965, agrees that wars and weapons have contributed to the slow uptake in thorium power reactors. “Perhaps the main reason why thorium use for energy production has not made more progress over the past decades, is that thorium is not nearly as easy to weaponise. An international scientific symposium in 1997 on nuclear fuel cycles concluded that the principal reason why thorium had not been used more widely to date is that the ore contains no fissile isotope,” says DBI/Century Fuels.

However, David Fig, a South African environmental activist and author of the Uranium Road: Questioning South Africa’s Nuclear Direction, says that the use of thorium in nuclear reactors can be used to build weapons. “It is not true to say that thorium cannot lead to nuclear weapons because the thorium fuel cycle converts to Uranium -233 or -230, which are fissile isotopes of uranium and can be used in the manufacture of weapons,” says Fig. The International Atomic Energy Agency however said in its 2005 report on the thorium fuel cycle that thorium there is a renewed interest in thorium as nuclear fuel because of “the intrinsic proliferation resistance of thorium fuel cycle due to the presence of Uranium 232 and its strong gamma emitting daughter products”. In addition to this characteristic thorium reactors can be used to dispose of weapons grade uranium and plutonium, thereby reducing the risk of proliferation.

Thorium:

Country

Tonnes

% of total

the fuel of the future?

Australia

489 000

19

USA

400 000

15

Turkey

344 000

13

India

319 000

12

Venezuela

300 000

12

Brazil

302 000

12

Thorium is a tantalising possibility for nuclear power reactors. This natural-occurring, slightly radio-active metal was discovered in 1828 by Jons Jakob Berzelius, a Swedish chemist. It can be found in most rocks and soils. Thorium is about three times more abundant than uranium and there are a variety of reasons why the energy sector should start taking note of the thorium vs uranium debate.

Norway

132 000

5

Egypt

100 000

4

Russia

75 000

3

Greenland

54 000

2

Canada

44 000

2

South Africa

18 000

1

Other countries

33 000

1

World total

2 610 000

Source: www.world-nuclear.org

Why thorium is more powerful

“I

n the late 1950s, thorium was widely used as a nuclear fuel. At the time, the main disadvantage of using thorium instead of uranium in nuclear reactors was that thorium cannot be used for building bombs,” says Robbie Louw, a director of Rareco. “During the Cold War, reactors used uranium so that plutonium could be produced in order to make weapons. But we are not in the midst of the Cold War anymore and the best thing we can do now is to switch back to thorium instead of uranium.” Rareco owns the Steenkampskraal mine. This mine was operated by Anglo American during the 1950’s to supply thorium to the nuclear industry.

50

Estimated world thorium resources (Reasonably assured and inferred resources recoverable at up to US$80/kg Th)

25 o i n Africa

The world’s uranium comes from only 7 countries, but countries with significant thorium mineral deposits include Australia, India, Brazil, USA, Canada, China, Russia, Norway, Turkey, Venezuela, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, South Africa and Malaysia (www.dauvergne.com). Thorium decays very slowly and according to www.world-nuclear.org, its half-life is about three times the age of the earth.

According to DBI/Century Fuels, one kilogram of uranium is roughly equivalent to 1 500 tons of coal. “It has been estimated that the nuclear energy available

in thorium is greater than that available from all of the world’s oil, coal and uranium combined,” says DBI/Century fuels.

Louw explains how useful thorium is when comparing the metal to other fossil fuels and nuclear fuels. “Take a 20 MW power station, for example,” says Louw. “You would need about one truck-load of coal every three hours to generate this amount of power. If this power station was a nuclear power station running on uranium, you would need one bakkie-load per week and if it was a nuclear power station running on thorium, you would need one and a half bakkie-loads per year.”

“In addition, thorium is generally present in higher concentrations by weight than uranium in their respective ores, making thorium retrieval much less expensive and less environmentally damaging per unit of energy extracted,” says DBI/Century Fuels.

“I think one of the main reasons why we haven’t already switched to thorium is the fact that so many of the reactors run on legacy systems, which have been built for uranium. Nuclear reactors aren’t cheap, so it would be an expensive exercise to rebuild them,” says Louw.

International thorium projects Although thorium is not a new concept, India has been the only sponsor of major research efforts to use it for many years (www.world-nuclear. org). “People think that because nobody has been using it, it’s not a viable alternative to uranium, but that isn’t the case,” says Louw.

“The Shippingport reactor in the USA was run on thorium, but decommissioned in the 1980s. India has a thorium reactor called Kakrapar-1 and is developing a more advanced model due to be opened next year,” says Fig. India’s Kakrapar-1, which lies in the Federal State Gujarat, was the first reactor in the world to use thorium and it consists of two 220 MW pressurised water reactors with heavy water as moderator (www.chowk.com). The reactor began electricity production in 1993 and began commercial production in 1995. The country, which has a large amount of thorium resources, is busy developing a 300 MW prototype of a thorium-based Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR), which is expected to be operational by 2011.

Dr Anil Kakodkar, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, said the importance of nuclear power in India has been recognised since the country’s independence. “Recognising the need for technological independence in this sensitive area, we launched a unique and self-reliant development of our three stage nuclear power programme aimed at a long-term objective of meeting a large share of our energy needs utilising our vast thorium resources,” says Kakodkar (www.dae.gov.in).

Whether this type of energy independence would be a viable solution for African countries who possess large thorium reserves, such as South Africa, is still up for debate.

“South Africa does possesses thorium, but this has never been commercialized,” says Fig. “It is said that the country has about 35 000 tonnes of thorium, but the major producers are really in Australia, India and Brazil. Thorium in South Africa is found in monazite sands on the coast,

The chemistry behind nuclear bombs, uranium and thorium According to www.atomarchive.com, isotopes whose nuclei may be split by neutrons moving at various speeds are called fissile isotopes. Uranium -233, Uranium -235 and Plutonium -239 are all fissile isotopes. The process whereby the nucleus of a heavy element splits into more nuclei of lighter elements releases a substantial amount of energy and a nuclear bomb is based on this concept of releasing energy through the fission (splitting) of heavy elements such as Uranium 235 or Plutonium 239.

Non-fissile sotopes that can absorb neutrons to become fissile are called fertile isotopes. The process of converting fertile isotopes into fissile isotopes is called “breeding”. Thorium is a fertile isotope and can be used as a nuclear fuel, Thorium-232 will absorb slow neutrons in a breeding reactor to produce uranium-233, which is fissile. The fuel containing the uranium-233 is then used to generate heat and power without being unloaded from the reactor or separated from the fuel.

exactly where our titanium is being mined. During the St Lucia Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the then Atomic Energy Corporation (now known as NECSA) registered itself as an “interested and affected party” because of the monazite sands along that coast, which extends all the way to Mozambique,” says Fig. Louw indiacted that the Steenkampskraal Mine in the Western Cape is the highest grade thorium mine in the world. It was operated commercially during the 1950s and early 1960s by Anglo American who exported the product of the mine to the UK where it was processed into thorium nuclear fuel.

The mine contains suffiucient thorium to run a power station like Medupi for at least 10 years.

Other thorium endeavours include the Radkowsky Thorium Reactor concept

by US company Lightbridge Corporation (which used to be known as Thorium Power) with Russian collaboration. Two other thorium agreements were signed in 2009, one between AECL and three Chinese entities to develop and demonstrate the use of thorium fuel in the Candu reactors at Qinshan in China and one between Areva and Lightbridge Corporation for assessing the use of thorium in Areva’s EPR (www.world-nuclear.org).

The United States is concidering legislation in the form of the Thorium Energy Security Bill of 2010. “We have abundant domestic supplies of thorium, and when used in a nuclear reactor, thorium is non-proliferative, it produces much less volume of high-level waste, and it can be used to dispose of existing plutonium stockpiles. We certainly want to make sure it is a viable option in our nation’s energy mix,” said Senator. Orrin G. Hatch (Republican-Utah). (http://hatch.senate.gov) Sources: www.world-nuclear.org, www.dauvergne.com, www.atomarchive.com, www.dae.gov.in, www.power-technology.com.

2 5 o in A f rica

51

nu clear energy

Uranium

resources for

100 years Worldwide uranium resources, production and demand are all on the rise, according to the latest edition of the Red Book, which was published by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the International

Market prices for uranium have generally increased This high-cost category (under US$100 per pound of U3O8) was reintroduced in the new edition of the Red Book in response to the generally increased market prices for uranium in recent years, despite the decline since mid-2007, expectations of increasing demand as new nuclear power plants are being planned and built, and increased mining costs. Although total identified resources have increased overall, there has been a significant reduction in lower-cost resources owing to increased mining costs. According to the 2008 rates of consumption, total identified resources are sufficient for over 100 years of supply.

The European Nuclear Society (www.euronuclear.org) says that global uranium resources with mining costs up to US$130 per kilogram amount to approximately 3.3-million tonnes – an amount that can supply all worldwide operated nuclear power plants for several decades. According to this organisation, the deposits with large uranium reserves which can be mined in a cost-effective way are distributed in many countries, while listing this table as a reference:

Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). According to this document, total identified uranium resources will last for over 100 years at current consumption rates.

T

he uranium resources presented in the last edition of Uranium 2009: Resources, Production and Dement – commonly known as the Red Book – showed that the amount of uranium that can be economically mined rose to 6.3-million tonnes, a 15.5% increase compared to the last edition of the Red Book (which is published every two years).

According to IAEA projections, capacity is expected to grow between 500 and 785 GWe net by the year 2035. Accordingly, world reactor-related uranium requirements are also projected to rise. “As observed in the past, increased investment in exploration has resulted in important discoveries and the identification of new resources. It is foreseen that, if market conditions improve further, additional exploration will be stimulated leading to the identification of additional resources of economic interest,” said the NEA.

According to the 2008 rates of consumption, total identified resources are sufficient for over 100 years of supply.

52

25 o i n Africa

Uranium resources Country

Uranium mining in tonnes

Australia

725 000 t

Brazil

157 400 t

Canada

329 200 t

Kazakhstan

378 100 t

South Africa

284 400 t

Namibia

176 400 t

Niger

243 100 t

Russia

172 400 t

Ukraine

135 000 t

Uzbekistan

72 400 t

USA Source: www.euronuclear.org

339 000 t

Governments recognise the role of nuclear power “The recognition by an increasing number of governments that nuclear power can produce competitively priced, baseload electricity that is essentially free of greenhouse gas emissions, coupled with the role that nuclear can play in enhancing security of energy supply, increases the prospects for growth in nuclear generating capacity, although the magnitude of that growth remains to be determined,” said the NEA. “Even in the high-growth scenario to 2035, less than half of the identified resources described in this edition would be consumed. The challenge remains to develop mines in a timely and environmentally sustainable fashion as uranium demand increases,” concluded the NEA. For more information, visit www.iaea.org, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

n uc l ear energ y

First pressurised water reactor to be decommissioned in France W

estinghouse has been awarded a contract by Electricité de France (EdF), decommissioning arm EdF-CIDEN, to lead the consortium that will decommission the first pressurised water reactor (PWR) in France. The project is expected to take six and a half years to complete.

Westinghouse is partnered in the consortium by Nuvia France and the company will undertake the overall project management, segmentation of the reactor vessel itself and of reactor vessel internals (www.wordnuclear-news.org). The internal responsibilities involve the reactor nozzle cutting and the dismantling of the reactor vessel’s thermal insulation.

During the dismantling process, the company will make use of ALARA (As Low as Reasonably Achievable) principles to ensure the radiation levels are acceptable to personnel and to provide a complementary water filtration system. The system will help to maintain water clarity during the segmentation work.

Chooz A is the prototype pressurised water reactor (PWR) that was used to supply electricity to the French grid from 1967 to 1991.

“The decommissioning project will help to enhance support for the nuclear renaissance by demonstrating that the safe dismantling of a reactor is possible,” said Yves Brachet, the Westinghouse’s regional vice-president for France.

Currently twelve experimental power reactors are being decommissioned in France. Most of them are first-generation gas-cooled and graphite-moderated reactors. Chooz A is the only pressurised water reactor on the list. With the help of Westinghouse’s nuclear technology, Chooz A was at the time the most efficient PWR to provide France with the safest generated, clean and reliable electricity (www.word-nuclear-news.org).

African nuclear power station Koeberg Power Station is the only nuclear power station on the African continent and it has a PWR design. It is situated at Duynefontein, 30 km northwest of Cape Town in South Africa on the Atlantic coast. Koeberg ensures a reliable supply of electricity to the Western Cape, one of the fastest growing regions in South Africa. It has operated safely and efficiently for more than 21 years and has a further active life of 30 – 40 years (www.eskom.co.za).

According to Eskom, Koeberg Power Station is an exact replica of a French PWR, built under license from Westinghouse. The station’s two reactors supply 1 800 MW or 6% of South Africa’s electricity needs. Koeberg has produced more than 81 000-million kWh of electricity since 1984 using only seven and a half tonnes of uranium.

Sources: www.world-nuclear-news.org.

eNE R GY E FFICIEN CY

100% identical lighting Many architects and specifiers have the problem of getting LED chips that are not 100% identical. Ledzworld AC-driven LED lamps, the technology used in the Aurora Luna range, uses narrow bin selections as well as in-house sub-binning in order to ensure LEDs of more uniformed colour.

These lamps also have high lumen output, accurate colour rendering with a warm, white light output, CTA (Colour Temperature Adjusted) dimming and advanced thermal management.

“Every lamp must produce exactly the same output in lumens and needs to be identical in colour temperature, especially after being dimmed. It’s imperative that all lamps are 100% uniform,” explains Johnson.

Dimming Feature CTA dimming is a patented dimming feature that makes the Ledzworld LED bulbs emits light that becomes warmer when dimmed. This sophisticated feature regulates the lamp to adjust the light output strength while being dimmed, as well as gradually transforms the light from a bright soft tone colour temperature at the minimum dimming level to a warm flame colour at the maximum dimming level.

Eliminate overheating

Innovative

low energy lighting

technologies now in South Africa

E

urolux recently announced that the company has been appointed as exclusive distributors for Aurora, global manufacturers of exceptional LED and CFL technologies, in South Africa. At the announcement of this new partnership, International Development Director for Aurora, Paul Johnson, explained to delegates how LEDs will impact technology, design and eco-living in South Africa over the next few years. The media launch also gave Aurora an opportunity to showcase their extensive range of energy efficient lamps which will soon be available on the South African market.

54

25 o i n Africa

The lights also have a thermo-composite housing component that isolates the driver of the lamp from the heatsink to protect against overheating.

“Reliability, performance and lifetime is guaranteed by the advanced unibody heatsink, which creates free airflow drawing heat away from critical components,” says Johnson.

Modular anatomy These lamps have a modular lamp anatomy so that each component can be removed, replaced and recycled. The Aurora Luna range comes with a three-year guarantee and will provide 35 000 hours of consistent, energy-efficient lighting.

At the presentation, Eurolux also displayed their new range of Ni9htwatcher security lights. Using microprocessor technology, the rotating head and 3 passive infrared (motion) sensors of these lights are able to track any movement and send an alert via a wireless alarm. These security lights also have a 10m detection range and an incident can be captured on SD card or video.

For more information about the Aurora range of LED & CFL lamps, or the Ni9htwatcher security lights, contact Eurolux, to which full acknowledgement and thanks are given.

Eurolux (Pty) Ltd Tel: +27 21 528 8400 / +27 11 608 2970 E-mail: eben.kruger@eurolux.co.za Website: www.eurolux.co.za

e NERGY EFF I C I ENCY

SA municipalities get millions for energy-efficiency T

he Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is funding a ZAR120-million climate change mitigation programme in South Africa and on 30 July, the South African Department of Energy (DoE) announced that a contribution of ZAR13,95-million from the agency would be used for an energy-efficiency project.

The bilateral agreement states that the funds will be used to monitor the energy-efficiency targets in the public buildings of five municipalities (Sol Plaatjie, Polokwane, King Sabata Dalindyebo, Rustenburg and Mbombela).

According to Energy Minister Dipuo Peters, the overall outcome of the project is to contribute to a significant reduction of energy consumption in the building sector through enhanced energy-efficiency in the full life cycle of buildings.

“The full programme operates from a holistic view that the improvement of energy-efficiency in the building sector can only be successful if there is sufficient capacity at all levels of interaction – not only an enabling policy environment, but also actual implementation capacity at the local level,” said Peters.

The project will run from 2010 to 2013 and will include focusing on building local ownership, facilitating south-south know-how and technology transfer and regional outreach. Close collaboration with local actors from government, research institutions, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the private sector supported by regional and international best practice, including Swiss expertise, will be used to implement the programme.

Another focus of the project is to improve the way in which municipalities collect and compile their electricity sales data so that the DoE can use the data for electricity consumption figures. According to Peters, monitoring the energy-efficiency achievements will allow tools to be generated to support the municipalities in managing energy efficiency interventions and improvements in the building sector.

“It is essential to allow this process to run parallel to the monitoring and documentation, as interaction with the municipalities is crucial because municipalities are at the forefront of energy consumption. It is of strategic importance that there is a local level focus with regard to the energy-efficiency campaign if the impact is to be of significant and maximised,” said Peters.

“The government of South Africa and the government of Switzerland recognise climate change as a fundamental risk to future development and livelihood.

Based on the South African Long Term Mitigation Scenarios (LTMS), the different options for climate change reductions have been assessed and it is acknowledged that energy-efficiency is one of the most cost-effective mitigation options in South Africa,” concludes Peters.

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

25 o in A f rica

55

eNE R GY E FFICIEN CY

Melamine resin foam as an energy-efficient material Presentation by Bernhard Vath, Head of New Business Development Basotect, BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany.

I

n view of the rising demands on energy-efficiency and the efficient use of materials, thermal insulation and lightweight construction are becoming increasingly important. The BASF foam Basotect® offers economical, tailormade solutions for using energy and materials in a way that conserves resources. This allows low energy consumption, lower CO2 emissions and an ecologically correct lifestyle. The areas of construction and mobility derive particularly benefit from the potential of this thermally insulating and lightweight material for boosting energy-efficiency: Now, Basotect is increasingly used in solar thermal energy systems, in air-conditioning technology and in high-speed trains.

The open-celled foam based on melamine resin has a unique set of properties. Thanks to its base material, it is flame-retardant (B1 acc. to DIN 4102), abrasive and can be used at a temperature of up to 240°C retaining its properties across a wide temperature range. The open-celled foam structure means that it is lightweight (9 g/l), sound-absorbing, flexible even at low temperatures and thermally insulating. Conventional foams and their area of application are defined by one principal property.

By contrast, with Basotect it is the varying combination of properties that allows customers to use it as a versatile, high-quality solution in energyefficient applications, with advantages from processing to its final use.

Effective insulation of solar energy systems The construction sector benefits particularly from the material’s low thermal conductivity of less than 0.035 watt per meter and kelvin (W/(m*K)) and the good insulation performance resulting from this. The material’s high temperature resistance and the easy processability offer an additional advantage compared with conventional insulating foams. This combination of properties means that Basotect increases the level of efficiency of solar thermal energy systems. In such applications, the foam insulates the collectors on rooftops, the pipes which transport the heat and the heat reservoir.

The international heating systems manufacturer Viessmann in Germany now uses Basotect, for example, on the side walls and the back of its flat-plate

56

25 o i n Africa

collectors so that the collectors save as much sunlight as possible. The foam shows a good insulating performance over a prolonged period of time, even at high temperatures, and has a positive influence on the exchange of air in the collector in different climatic conditions. It releases hardly any volatile substances which could impede sun radiation, for example by causing fogging on the collector glass plate, and thus reducing the efficiency of the solar system. Basotect makes it easier to assemble the collectors and to insulate the pipes – it is flexible, fibre-free and can be cut to size with precise dimensions and contours.

Stable air pressure without temperature drop for air-conditioning systems The BASF melamine resin foam is also the starting point for new energy concepts in industrial construction applications. The manufacturer of sealing and insulation systems Hanno®, Germany, now uses Basotect to reduce energy losses in computing centres. Computing rooms with network cabinets are often equipped with false floors to accommodate the cabling. The cables are routed upward through the openings in the floors. However, the cold air which is intended to cool the servers escapes through these openings.

In order to eliminate this thermal bridge, Hanno developed the energy-saving foam closure Clima-Tect®. Thanks to a special coating, the company makes the BASF foam almost airtight. Pre-punched rectangles make it easier to pry out the cable openings so that the foam nestles perfectly against the cables.

In this way, up to 99.9% of the air losses in the false floors can be reduced, temperature and air pressure remain stable. The costs of air-conditioning are also reduced by up to 10%. As Basotect can be processed without any fibres, the foam cushions can be installed in ongoing operations. In contrast to other materials, with this retrofit the fire load is not increased.

Lightweight and safe high-speed trains The combination of energy-efficiency, safety and comfort is crucial for another area in which Basotect is now employed: high-speed trains. Innovative lightweight construction concepts are in great demand in trains. This is

e NERGY EFF I C I ENCY

25 o in A f rica

57

eNE R GY E FFICIEN CY

because lightweight construction results in a more efficient use of energy coupled with higher speeds. Thanks to its combination of low weight, high acoustic and thermal effectiveness as well as safe fire behavior, there are numerous applications for the melamine resin foam in trains.

It is used, for example, in backed wall and ceiling systems or in laminated interior decorations. The precisely fitting cuts are supplied in a building block system and fitted in the trains on site. The high degree of flexibility and the ease with which the material can be processed mean that complex installation can be carried out using as little time as possible. The lightweight Basotect helps to save energy in everyday operations. The weight reduction in the ceiling and walls also lowers the center of gravity of the carriage and therefore enhances the level of safety and comfort when travelling around corners.

But above all else, the BASF foam meets the strict fire-safety standards for rail cars. Basotect does not melt and drip when it comes into contact with flames, it becomes charred with slight smoke formation only and does not show any afterglow. In tests on fire behaviour in accordance with national and international regulations, Basotect attains the highest classification that can be achieved for organic substances. The grade Basotect UF does in fact reach the highest safety level HL3 in line with the tightened EU Fire Safety Directive for trains, EN 45545.

Basotect in use on rail in the UK and Japan Two examples for new high-speed trains with Basotect: the 395 fleet built by Hitachi for the Southeastern Railway in Great Britain and the new Shinkansen

E5 by East Japan Railway, which will link Japan’s capital Tokyo to the north of the island Honshu. The trains of the 395 fleet run on the route High Speed 1, the first domestic high-speed railway in Great Britain connecting London with the South-East coast. The lightweight foam is used in floors, walls and in the air-conditioning ducts on the ceiling, with the aim of absorbing sound and providing thermal insulation. This reduces the operating costs of the airconditioned train drastically.

The Japanese Shinkansen is noted for the constantly high speed at which it travels and its high level of safety. The new generation E5 running between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori will be the fastest train among the Tohoku Shinkansens. This line is expected to start operating in December 2010 with the existing Shinkansen E2. The new Shinkansen E5 is expected to start operations in March 2011. E5 will be equipped with tilt technology and is intended to travel at a speed of 320 kilometers per hour on a route with many tunnels in 2013. This is why the lightweight, flame-retardant Basotect is found in the ceiling, the floor and the corners of the walls. In various tests on thermal insulation and sound absorption, the BASF material scored considerably better than carbon fibre. This means that Basotect supports East Japan Railway’s design concept of lowering the level of noise and reducing vibrations inside the train. This increases the level of travel comfort and safety during highspeed journeys.

BASF Holdings South Africa (Pty) Ltd Tel: +27 11 203 2422 Fax: +27 11 203 2430 E-mail: petra.bezuidenhout@basf.com

The Natural Alternative

Egoli Gas (Pty) Ltd 1 Annet Road, Cottesloe, Johannesburg, 2092 Private Bag X10, Auckland Park, 2006 Tel: 011 356 5000

Fax: 086 557 6672

e-mail: cservice@egoligas.co.za

www.egoligas.co.za

58

Piping NATURAL GAS from planet EARTH to JHB’s doorstep!

The natural alternative for cleaner pastures.

25 o i n Africa

e NERGY EFF I C I ENCY

Improve power quality, reduce costs and save

P

owerFix, a product distributed in Southern Africa by Iskhus Power, has the ability to help you save on your electricity bill and simultaneously protect your valuable equipment against unstable power. “PowerFix reduces energy waste and it gets customised to ensure optimal power quality for each client,” explains Iskhus Power CEO Otto Hager.

“PowerFix saves between 8% - 30% of your electricity bill and significantly improves the quality of the power you use, reducing your maintenance cost on equipment as well as the frequency of replacement of sensitive equipment.”

This technology was installed at the upmarket Simonsig Landgoed wine farm in Stellenbosch, where a total of 12,1% was saved on their monthly bill.

How much can you save?

Type of customer

Savings achieved

Office building

6% to 16%

Supermarket

8% to 16%

Hospital

12% to 14%

Mill

20% to 30%

Manufacturing plant

11% to 22%

Hotel

12% to 16%

PowerFix reduces current as well as cable and equipment heat, while simultaneously protecting your machinery against surges and transients. It also stabalises and balances voltage. “The maintenance on fridges and airconditioning systems are significantly reduced with PowerFix and the lifespan of power supplies and UPS’s are increased,” says Hager.

innovation (2009) and the 2008 ETA Award in the commercial category for proven application of sound energy-efficiency principals.

Some of the biggest corporations in Southern Africa have relied on the advice, technology and proficiency of Iskhus Power. Some of the awards the company has won include the African Business Award for innovation through technology (2010), Technology T100 Winner for excellence in the management of

Iskhus Power Tel: +27 11 446 6400 Fax: +27 11 446 6401 Website: www.iskhus.co.za

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

25 o in A f rica

59

CDM

Key questions

for the boardroom on climate change Questions for managers, directors and shareholders

There have been significant changes in terms of how businesses globally, and in particular in South Africa, view and respond to climate change. Responses can vary from a simple carbon footprint calculation to understand a company’s emissions profile, to the development of comprehensive strategies to implement emission reduction programmes and internalise carbon as a key business metric.

Some businesses are even seeing the value of going fully carbon neutral.

T

he drivers to respond to climate change can vary significantly between businesses, with certain industries being at a higher risk than others, depending on a range of factors, such as investor profiles, type and location of operations, as well as local and international markets. Many of the commercial implications of climate change are already being experienced in South Africa, driving business innovation but also creating new areas of economic vulnerability. Regardless of the vulnerability, the lack of climate change response can create uncertainty, which is a hindrance to sustained economic growth and an obstacle to the development of new markets and business opportunities. A recent Camco study (which is available at www.climateriskandopportunity.co.za) gives an in-depth insight and further detailed information on the risks and opportunities posed by climate change for key sectors in the South African economy.

Camco, an internationally recognised company working in energy and climate change, has an extensive track record in advising leading companies in the delivery of carbon management solutions, climate change strategies and emission reduction opportunities. The company has compiled a list of questions that businesses in South Africa need to be asking to ensure that they stay competitive, as we see a shift towards a low-carbon economy.

60

25 o i n Africa

As climate change moves up on the boardroom agenda, there are a number of key questions for managers, directors and shareholders to consider as they develop their future business strategies.

• Do you know if your product has a lower carbon footprint than those of your competitors?

• Is a competitor’s reporting or reduction of their carbon footprint providing them with an edge in certain markets?

• Are your customers, trade partners, retailers or investors increasingly concerned about the carbon footprint of your organisation or products?

• Is the company prepared for the prospect of mandatory greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reporting in South Africa?

• Is your completed carbon footprint assessment in line with accepted national and international standards? Is there a need for this to be independently verified?

• Have you linked your energy and carbon consumption together and set targets to reduce both?

• Have you quantified your potential financial burden if a nationwide mandatory carbon tax is introduced, as is currently being evaluated by the National Treasury, in addition to the vehicle carbon tax already to be implemented from 1 September?

C DM

•

•

• •

•

Have you considered and quantified the carbon liability of future investments?

Could the physical impacts of climate change affect the way your business operates in the future?

Is there a need for a climate change strategy or policy for your company?

Will the business attract high calibre employees of the future if the company is viewed as environmentally irresponsible?

Are you considering offsetting your emissions or going “carbon neutral” – are you aware of the costs, implications and requirements for such an exercise?

Camco believes that incorporating climate change into business risk management frameworks forms part of this process, and is increasingly recognised as a stepping stone to avoid major climate change pitfalls.

Completing an internationally recognised carbon footprint (also known as a carbon audit) is the first step, and essentially the foundation, of this process.

A company-wide (organisational) or product-specific carbon footprint can help to quantify your climate impact, estimate potential financial liabilities and understand the costs of offsetting certain activities or products. Camco has undertaken over 1 200 carbon footprints, covering organisations, products, services, events and individuals.

How to avoid major pitfalls National and global pressures to address climate change can act as a hindrance and restrict business, but also provide an opportunity to reduce costs, strengthen customer relationships, build new ties, develop new products and grow market share.

Camco South Africa Tel: +27 11 253 3400 E-mail: alex.mcnamara@camcoglobal.com Website: www.camcoglobal.com

A 20-year track record in providing world-class climate change, energy and sustainable development solutions across Africa and internationally. o Carbon footprinting: over 1,200 organisational and product carbon footprints o Carbon management: strategic support to the private sector in all aspects of climate change and carbon risk o Policy development: national, regional, and international policies and regulatory frameworks on energy, climate change and carbon markets o Energy management: energy auditing / ‘Carbon Desktop’ - monitoring and targeting software for energy, carbon and water o Emission reduction project development: industry leader in CDM origination, qualification and commercialisation with over 100 million tonnes of CO2 under contract o Rural energy, biomass, land use and forestry solutions: promotion of sustainable energy access and livelihoods solutions across Sub-Saharan Africa For further information: t +27 (0)11 253 3400 f +27 (0)11 804 1038 camcoafrica@camcoglobal.com Building 18, Woodlands Office Park, Western Service Road, Woodmead, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2080

61 www.camcoglobal.com

2 5 o in A f rica

CDM

SA smelter project issues over

100 000 CERs

In March 2009 ERM Certification and Verification Services (ERM CVS) were appointed by EcoSecurities to secure the second issuance of Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs) from a CDM project in Africa. The Transalloys Manganese Alloy Smelter Energy Efficient Project was registered by EcoSecurities as a CDM project in 2007 and post ERM CVS’s verification, this project has issued 112 292 CERs.

T

he project has been developed within the Transalloys silicomanganese (SiMn) production facility in Witbank, South Africa, which produces manganese alloys (mainly refined silicomanganese and medium carbon ferromanganese). Emission reductions are achieved through reducing electricity consumption needed in the production of SiMn alloy (a key component in steel making).

“The original submerged electric arc furnaces, which required approximately 5MWh of grid-fed electricity to make one tonne of manganese alloy, were retrofitted with a new design of electrode assemblies and control systems,” explains Jon Duncan, a Lead Verifier for ERM CVS on CDM projects and a Partner with ERM Southern Africa who are involved in climate change risk assessments and greenhouse gas inventories, amongst other work.

“This retrofit reduced the specific electricity consumption and avoids emissions associated with the South African electrical grid system, which is primarily fuelled by carbon intensive coal,” says Duncan.

Steve Anzarouth of EcoSecurities, the Irish based company that developed the project, said: “We are very pleased to see this project successfully deliver emissions reductions. As a pioneer for CDM in the South African market, it shows that with careful pursuit of the rules of the CDM and requirements of the registered documentation a steady stream of CERs can be generated, providing the vital revenues needed to finance the initiative.”

What does the verification involve?

For a project to qualify for the CDM, the project developer (EcoSecurities) must first submit a Project Design Document (PDD) to the CDM Executive Board (CDM EB) which contains details of how the project will be established and

62

25 o i n Africa

how the CERs will be monitored. The project must be based on an “approved methodology” that sets out the basis of the emission reduction calculation and monitoring process.

“The role of the verifier is to provide assurance that the project has been implemented as described and that the declared emission reductions are supported by verifiable evidence,” says Duncan before explaining that ERM CVS follows a process to ensure that: • The emission reductions during the period 1 April 2008 to 30 June 2009 were reported in accordance with the approved methodology AM0038 and the project’s monitoring plan.

• The reported data met the key principles of data quality and were complete, reliable, consistent, accurate, valid, transparent and conservative.

• The project activity had been implemented and operated as per the registered PDD and that all physical features (technology, project equipment, and monitoring and metering equipment) of the project were in place.

• The monitoring report and other supporting documents provided were complete and verifiable and in accordance with applicable CDM requirements.

Graham Paul, a verifier based in Johannesburg, commented that “this is a complex project, with 15 parameters to verify. After careful review of all the documents, we spent two days at the facility, where the team assessed and verified that the implementation of the project activity and the steps taken to report emissions reductions comply with the CDM criteria and relevant guidelines. Certain issues were raised for further clarification and discussion with the project developers, but in the end we were able to close everything out and make the recommendation to the CDM Executive Board to issue the CERs”.

C DM

Claiming CERs The project passed through the UNFCCC CDM EB’s approval process without any further questions or reviews and 112 292 CERs were issued to the project on 24 February 2010.

Standard, and also provides additional independent services such as the World Commission on Dams (WCD) assessments and Corporate GHG data assurance.

EcoSecurities on behalf of Transalloys has now submitted a monitoring report to ERM CVS for verification of the next monitoring period, and will be able to claim CERs until the end of its crediting period in 2014.

EcoSecurities has spent the last 13 years focusing on climate change mitigation activities and is now one of the leading organisations in the business of sourcing and developing greenhouse gas emission-reduction projects. EcoSecurities’ portfolio covers a wide range of emission-reduction standards, technology types, and geographical locations. EcoSecurities also provides clients with carbon management services that help them understand and respond to an increasingly carbon-constrained world.

The CDM is a project-based mechanism under which carbon credits can be generated following investment in actions or technologies that reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses below an approved baseline. It is administered through the UN and CDM emission reduction projects have now been registered throughout the developing world.

ERM-Certification and Verification Services (CVS) is accredited as a Designated Operational Entity (DOE) with the UNFCCC and has a permanent presence in South Africa. ERM-CVS provides validation and verification services on greenhouse gas emission reduction projects for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), EU ETS, US Climate Registry and The Gold

For more information, visit www.ermcvs.com, to which acknowledgement and thanks are given. Visit www.ecosecurities.com.

ERM Southern Africa Tel: +27 21 702 9100/+27 11 802 8263 E-mail: jon.duncan@erm.com

Kenya

wants to become Africa’s carbon trade hub

In Kenya’s recent budget speech, Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta announced that the country has plans to establish a regional carbon trading scheme that will steer Africa’s carbon market. “This willhopefully position the country as the continent’s carbon trading hub,” said Kenyatta.

The framework for carbon trading will be set up to outline how participants will register and participate and how the revenue and accountability will be shared. It will also describe development areas to be funded by the resources generated from the scheme. Senior research fellow at the US-based International Food Policy Research Institute, Claudia Ringler, said that it is

laudable that Kenya plans to set up a regional emissions trading scheme for Africa, but that such a system is very complex.

“Setting up such a system is highly complex and will require a large amount of resources and capacity development. It is not clear if the government has the will or the resources needed to both develop and keep such a system alive,” commented Ringler.

Source: www.scidev.net.

2 5 o in A f rica

63

INSTANT UPDAT E

Five SA wind energy projects G7 Renewable Energies, a wind energy developer, has announced that it is on schedule with the development of five wind farms in the Western and Northern Cape. The company plans to launch the project within the next two years.

The five sites (one near Lamberts Bay, a second near Klawer, a third in the Richtersveld, a fourth close to Witberg and a fifth in Roggeveld) that could reportedly lead to larger projects amounting to 750 MW of production, were advertised requesting public comment. According to G7 Renewable Energies, the sites were chosen based on a wind atlas produced by Dr Kilian Hagemann, a G7 Director, which concluded 35% of South Africa’s electricity could be provided by wind energy.

Source: www.g7energies and www.ae-africa.com.

Jatropha project to promote biodiesel in Malawi Bio Energy Resources, a company based in Lilongwe that works with small-scale farmers, is seeking financing for a project involving the planting and processing of Jatropha curcas as an alternative source of energy for rural communities in Malawi.

Many households use firewood as a source of energy, which has lead to a massive felling of trees. The company is looking for a partner or a loan (an estimated cost of US$4 550 000) to facilitate the planting and processing of a further 126 000 hectares of Jatropha trees. Biodiesel will be processed from the Jatropha seeds and the remaining seedcake will be used to produce organic fertilizer.

For more information, contact Noel Lihiku at nlihiku@mipamw.org.

Source: www.tradeinvestafrica.com.

INSTANT

Erratum “A variety of photographs of Light Kinetics’ innovative LED street lighting solutions as installed in South Africa were used in our last edition’s Energy Saving Lighting Solutions feature article.

Some of the photographs include the A-class BetaLED street lighting installations at and near Emperors Palace Casino in Gauteng (Jones Road, Boksburg), photographs of the first railway track LED lighting in the world (which Light Kinetics BetaLED Fixtures brilliantly was done in South Africa by Light Kinetics) as well as the illuminate the Jones Road entrance of Emperors front cover photograph. The magazine would like to give Palace at night. full acknowledgement and thanks to Light Kinetics for their ground-breaking and innovative LED lighting installations and for their generous permission to use these photographs in our publication.”

64

25 o i n Africa

I NS TA NT UP D ATE

Investing in Kenya’s solar industry

Don’t miss this

convention!

The Southern African Energy Efficiency Convention 2010 (SAEEC 2010), which will be held at Emperor’s Palace in Gauteng on 10 -11 November 2010, is generating considerable interest amongst those with an interest in energy conservation and efficiency.

An awareness has been created and the interest in greening is increasing by the day. Green initiatives are in demand for corporate social responsibility. Local funding is becoming available, amidst a lack of policy and legislation, and the South African green industry is rapidly developing.

You need to remain informed by attending the 5th Southern African Energy Efficiency Convention 2010 – a convention that has drastically grown from a mere 23 speakers to over 60 planned for 2010.

So, if you are in the energy management, environmental, facilities building upgrades, energy engineering, co-generation, power generation or efficiency improvement industries, register now to attend the Southern African Energy Efficiency Convention 2010.

Enquiries can be directed to Erika Kruger by telephone +27 18 290 5130 or e-mail: convention@saee.org.za or visit the website www.saeec2010.org.za.

A preliminary survey on the annual market for photo voltaic (PV) panels in Kenya, which was done in 2005, established that there was 500 kilowatt peak and this was projected to grow at 15% annually. After the survey, a government programme commenced in order to provide basic electricity to boarding schools and health facilities in remote areas. Out of approximately 3 000 eligible institutions, 133 have been equipped with PV systems that have a combined capacity of 399 kWp. International and local investors now have to opportunity to participate in the country’s growing solar industry. According to www.tradeinvestafrica.com, the initial market demand for PV systems is estimated to be one megawatt peak and this presents a great opportunity to investors involved in the manufacturing of PV panels as well as associated components and accessories.

For more information, contact the Kenya Investment Authority at info@investmentkenya.com.

Source: www.tradeinvestafrica.com.

Getting the youth involved With today’s youth facing mounting environmental problems such as climate change and energy and water shortages, Well Worn Theatre Company is providing some solutions by producing the Climate Change Action Programme.

This is an educational theatre production about the effects of climate change and the different ways in which we can do our part in creating a better and more sustainable environment. The play is touring schools in the Gauteng region in 2010/2011 and is funded by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund.

Well Worn is a young and vibrant physical theatre company which aims to create original and stimulating theatrical work around the themes of climate change and global warming, sustainable and holistic development, social justice and the ever-growing eco-consciousness taking over our planet.

The production targets primary school learners with the aim of giving them and their educators the information and tools to be able to make a positive difference to the environment. The programme also includes resource packs and tool kits for each school.

Any educators or principals wishing to book this excellent and informative play and programme for their school, should get in touch with Well Worn as soon as possible as slots are filling up fast.

The play and learning materials are free of charge, the true cost instead being the school’s commitment to tackle climate change by starting a water and energy saving project at their school.

Well Worn Theatre Company strives to encourage in South Africa’s youth to be an intelligent and eager theatre-going audience as well as an eco-conscious and socially responsible generation.

For more information, please visit www.wellworn.org.za.

Well Worn Theatre Sine Msomi Assistant Project Coordinator Tel: +27 11 023 9440 E-mail: wellworntheatre@gmail.com.

2 5 o in A f rica

65

INSTANT UPDAT E

SANEA Energy Awards 2010:

The winners

SANEA has announced the winners of its 2010 Energy Awards in each category. These are:

Award SANEA Energy Project Category Babcock International Group – Engineering Division Represented by David Brook, Babcock was the principal contractor on the Mondi Merebank Multi Fuel Boiler (MFB) contract that pioneered a number of locally developed world-class technological innovations with international application.

SANEA Energy Award Category Prof Philip Lloyd

Highly Commended SANEA Energy Project Category sanea Energy Project Category Babcock International Group – Engineering Division Represented by David Brook

SANEA Energy Journalism Category Hillary Erasmus of Brooke Pattrick Publications A regular attendee at SANEA meetings, Hillary is well-known for her insistence on accurate and objective reporting of energy matters. She ensures that her work is well researched and that it presents a balanced view of the issues.

SANEA Energy Journalism Category Simon Gear of SDG Consulting Simon is well-known as a senior broadcasting meteorologist with the SABC, where he has provided weather production and presentation services to all of the SABC’s domestic and international TV channels since 1999.

SANEA Energy Award Category Prof Philip Lloyd Currently associated with the Energy Institute at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), Philip is a lifetime contributor to many aspects of energy in South Africa. His contribution has benefitted the lives of thousands of our citizens.

66

25 o i n Africa

Sandile Mthiyane of Absa Absa was commended (in absentia) for the good effort in making the Johannesburg ABSA campus into an energy park, being efficient and independent with a strong focus on energy effectiveness and efficiency.

SANEA Energy Project Category Justin Smith of Woolworths Woolworths was commended in this category for his company’s commitment to a holistic energy strategy, focusing on lighting, refrigeration, air conditioning, store design and transport, all within the broader framework of climate change.

SANEA Energy Project Category Justin Smith represented by Les Hall

SANEA Energy Education Award Adrian Vermaak Mr Vermaak was commended for his initiative and contribution in leading the professional development of young engineers and technicians in the Nelson Bay Metropolitan area.

I NS TA NT UP D ATE

Procurement and supply chain management a priority for Eskom’s new management team

T

he new chief executive of Eskom, Brian Dames, and his senior management will make procurement and supply chain management a key management focus, with an approach to its procurement that will try to contribute to the country’s broad economic and industrial agendas, including localisation and affirmative procurement. The key priority will be the utility’s needs and the management of its operational risk.

procurement and tendering processes with service providers, particularly if such discussions resulted in significant continuous improvements from a unit cost perspective. Suppliers urged Eskom to consolidate its supply chain and localise procurement where possible. “Consolidation of the supply chain is a key priority for Brian Dames”, said Marokane, and decisions should be taken with an eye on the long-term impact on the economy.

Eskom’s divisional executive of primary energy, Dan Marokane, told suppliers that Eskom is fully committed to supporting the country’s industrialisation and transformation objectives. However, the company also had to be cognisant of the need to ensure its procurement and supply chain promoted better efficiency and productivity.

Marokane said Eskom was concerned about the quality of coal supplied to some of its power stations, which is partly an effect of the increasing focus on higher quality coal for export markets at the expense of servicing the needs of local electricity generation. The said export demand influences not only the availability of coal, but can also have an undesired effect on overall electricity prices.

Marokane, who is also acting as the chief officer for generating business, was speaking at a dinner hosted by black-owned investment holding company Sphere for its partner companies. Sphere is an investment company with interests in a number of industrial services companies.

“As a value-adding investment partner, we continually seek to provide a platform for the companies in which we have invested to share knowledge and engage with key common customers such as Eskom. We are keen to see South African suppliers succeed for the benefit of the country as a whole,” said Itumeleng Kgaboesele, CEO of Sphere.

Marokane said Eskom would be willing to discuss improvements in

While South African companies had to comply with local labour legislation and minimum wages – which pushed up their prices – foreign companies were able to compete without such limitations, and also benefited from economies of scale as they operated in multiple markets, complained Mike Eksteen of the equipment firm Honeywell.

Marokane said that Eskom, which runs the largest trucking system in the country for its coal logistics, will look at migrating coal transport from road to rail within the next five years, acknowledging that coal trucking has had a negative impact on local communities and road quality. In addition, rail would be cheaper and safer.

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

2 5 o in A f rica

67

‘10 E NE R GY E V E NTS

September 2010

October 2010

3 Day MBA in Power & Electricity Date: 21st – 23rd September 2010 Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates Contact: Ephraim Tel: +44 207 608 7072 Fax: +44 (0)20 7608 7050 E-mail: terrapinn@Tfteu.terrapinnmedia.com Website: www.terrapinnfinancial.com

Agri Invest Date: 11 – 14 October 2010 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Contact: Odette Ferreira Tel: +27 11 516 4000

Green Building Council Convention & Exhibition 2010 Date: 20 – 22 September 2010 Location: Cape Town, South Africa Contact: Focus Conferences: Tel: +27 11 280 6651 Fax: +27 86 677 3911 E-mail: confer@iafrica.com Website: http://www.gbcsa-convention.org.za/ Africa Energy Week Date: 27 – 30 September 2010 Location: Cape Town, South Africa Contact: Jason Adjalo Tel: +44 20 7978 0096 E-mail: jadjalo@thecwcgroup.com Website: www.cwcaew.com Going Green: African Perspective Date: 28 – 29 September 2010 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Tel: +27 11 326 3634 E-mail: ilunga@amabhubesi.com Website: www.amabhubesi.com South African Solar Challenge Date: 26 September – 6 October 2010 Location: Pretoria, South Africa Contact: Winstone Jordaan Tel: +27 12 844 0971 E-mail: winstone@solarchallenge.org.za

October 2010 Electricity and Water Regulation Course 2010 Date: 4 – 8 October 2010 Location: Cape Town, South Africa Contact: Prof Anton Eberhard Tel: +27 21 406 1361 Fax: +27 (0)21 406 1070 or 086 544 9614 E-mail: info@gsb.uct.ac.za Website: www.gsb.uct.ac.za Global Action Work Party Date: 10 Oct 2010 Location: Hartbeespoort, South Africa Tel: +27 82 824 8340 E-mail: tholm@omnibussolar.com Website: www.omnibussolar.com

68

25 o i n Africa

Certified Carbon Reduction Manager (CRM) Location: South Africa Date: 11 – 14 October 2010 Contact: Christina den Heijer Cell: +27 82 334 0923 Tel/Fax: +27 18 294 7174 E-mail: cemanager1@intekom.co.za Gulf Solar Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Date: 26 – 27 October 2010 Contact: Green Power Conferences Tel: +44 207 099 0600 E-mail: info@greenpowerconferences.com Website: www.greenpowerconferences.com

November 2010 17th Africa Oil Week Date: 1 – 5 November 2010 Location: Cape Town, South Africa Contact: Sonika Greyvenstein Tel: +27 11 880 7052 E-mail: sonika@glopac-partners.com Website: www.petro21.com Water Investment World Africa 2010 Date: 8 – 11 November 2010 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Contact: Odette Ferreira Tel: +27 11 516 4000 Renewable Energy Africa (REA) Conference and Expo Date: 9 – 11 November 2010 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Contact: Nomsa Radebe, Alphabeta Communications Tel: + 27 11 706 6085 Fax: + 27 11 463 1082 E-mail: nomsa@alpha-beta.co.za Website: www.reafrica.co.za SAEEC 2010 Date: 10 – 11 November 2010-02-12 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Contact: Annelie Deysel Tel: +27 18 293 1499 E-mail: annelie@saee.org.za Website: www.saee.org.za

South African team leading in global innovation challenges

W

ith the effects of climate change becoming a strong reality, this year sees the inception of a brand new global initiative: the Katerva Challenge. This competition is designed to inspire and applaud ideas that solve global problems.

The focus of the challenge is climate change. Anyone can compete. Everyone can help. We all win.

50 TEAMS AND 50 IDEAS The Katerva Challenge is one of the most expansive efforts to curb climate change – fifty teams will present fifty ideas to a global audience. “Any idea that leads to a reduction of greenhouse gases – either by prevention, protection or removal – has a chance to win the challenge,” said the organisers of the initiative.

IS YOUR COMPANY UP FOR THE CHALLENGE? Your team must consist of up to five members with the intent to envision, design and promote an innovation which reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Experts decide on the originality, viability and scalability of your idea, but a worldwide vote will determine its popularity and appeal. While team members will be engaged and mentored through an unparalleled leadership development programme, the winning team will receive a package of business tools and services designed to make their idea a reality.

THE JUDGING PANEL CEO and founder Terry Waghorn and his team have put together an impressive panel of experts consisting of some of the foremost innovation and ecological thinkers of the day. Amongst them are three South Africans: Graham Terry, Senior Executive Strategy and Thought Leadership, SAICA, Mervyn E King, chairman of the United Nations Committee on Governance and Oversight, and Roy Andersen, amongst others a director of Virgin Active and also chairman of the Boards and Directors Sub-Committee of the King Committee on Corporate Governance in South Africa.

South Africa is not only represented on the advisory board, but also have one of the first competing teams to actually enter the competition. Blank Canvas International and Associates, a Sustainability Transformation Consultancy, is the first South African team, also being under the first ten teams globally to enter the challenge.

“Joining forces to compete in this challenge is certainly going to be a huge team effort, and will introduce many new team members, global best practice models on sustainability and innovation, as well as unprecedented leadership. At the same time it is also a magnificent opportunity for the global community to share knowledge and expertise towards a common challenge that is threatening the

existence of the generations to come. This challenge is not just a competition, it is a race to save us from ourselves by applying innovation and design thinking,” said Raldu Nel, managing director and founder of Blank Canvas International and Strategic Associates.

The Blank Canvas International and Associates Team consists of the following associates: Energy and Combustion Services (ECS), a focused technology company delivering high-performance energy and emissions management solutions to large industrial companies, and ECS-TSD is a company largely owned by ECS, formed to facilitate the development of technology solutions, specifically making use of mobile technology. Solutions are developed to improve operational business processes in instances where transitions take place, such as Transport and Logistics, Van Sales or Direct Store Delivery, Electronic Job-carding, Meter Reading and Road Condition Monitoring. These solutions are provided under the GreenFleet brand, supported by the Technology & Human Resources for Industry Programme. THRIP is a project managed by the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The programme mission is to improve the competitiveness of South African industry by supporting research and technology development activities, and by enhancing the quality and quantity of appropriately skilled people. (www.enerserv.co.za) CS International (CSI) is an international award-winning full-service Lean Enterprise and Six Sigma provider. They are known in the industry for their ability to implement high-impact improvement initiatives that deliver benchmark results by aiming to deliver Lean Six Sigma deployments. (www.csintlinc.com) The Da Vinci Institute strives for excellence in the field of managing technology, innovation and people and the Institute has a reputation for state-of-the-art thinking in all aspects of MOTIP. Da Vinci’s offerings are positioned consciously to develop a managerial leadership competence that goes beyond traditional approaches. (www.davinci.ac.za) 25º in Africa: A niche publication focused on energy issues, electricity problems, climate change and sustainability solutions. The company brings key players in the energy and environmental fields together, both in terms of the research, development and manufacturing of technologies and funding of projects. (www.25degrees.net) “Today we have more knowledge, education, and problem-solving power within our grasp than ever before. We’re excited to bring bright minds together around a single purpose each year for the betterment of mankind,” concludes Waghorn.

Are you and your company up to the challenge? The competition entries close on 31 October 2010.

For more information, contact Raldu Nel of Blank Canvas International on +27 82 826 1136 or raldu.nel@blankcanvas.co.za.