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Clean Power Africa to showcase successful renewable projects
There is undoubtedly awareness among South Africans that renewable energy is the way to go. But how feasible is it for the ordinary householder to switch to new, greener technology?
“In a country such as South Africa where solar energy is abundant, the sustainability of its usage through solar geysers and solar panels is unquestioned,” says Dr Roula Inglesi-Lotz, senior lecturer at the Department of Economics of the University of Pretoria and headline speaker at the upcoming Clean Power Africa conference and exhibition from 14-15 May in Cape Town.
She adds that solar power can be generated equally well in remote and urban areas because it need not be connected to the national grid.
“In private dwellings”, says Dr Inglesi-Lotz, “investment in solar geysers and panels pays off only after a few years therefore cost effectiveness has to be calculated in the long term. Households cannot depend entirely on electricity from the sun – energy cannot be stored in high volumes – which means that energy can only be generated and used when there is daylight.”
Green government support
Since 2009, the South African government has committed to providing support to the residential and commercial sectors wanting to install solar water heaters (SWH).
According to the Department of Energy Affairs, a number of commercial banks, insurance companies, and benevolent donors are driving various SWH initiatives in different parts of the country. The mass rollout of SWHs is slow but gaining momentum. From April to 31 December 2010, 26 768 rebate-funded SWHs were installed.
It is unclear to what extent the South African economy has benefited from renewable energy because, according to Inglesi-Lotz, there has not yet been an orchestrated effort to evaluate the benefits.
She adds: “90% of electricity generation is from coal burning sources. This means there have not yet been major changes in the energy supply mix. The unsustainability of non-traditional alternative methods of energy generation as well as the current high costs has prevented investors as well as policy makers from preferring them.”
Consumers will turn to alternatives for their energy needs
Inglesi-Lotz says in most cases, the cost of changing from traditional forms to alternative sources is too high for the average householder. She explains: “not only in a monetary sense, but also in the cost in time. In general the lack of specialised skills is a crucial element keeping the country growing at a faster rate. There is a particular lack of skilled people who can install solar heaters and geysers and specialised services push up the costs. Universities and other institutions do offer specialisation in the development of skills capacity regarding renewable energies.”
However, she believes that things will certainly change in future: “electricity costs are constantly rising and we are moving to a future in which the costs of installation and implementation of renewable energies will be comparable to older technologies. Demand for electricity from coal-burning generation will decrease and as a result, consumers will turn to alternatives for their energy needs.”
Clean Power Africa
Dr Inglesi-Lotz’s presentation at Clean Power Africa will be on “Renewable energy usage in South Africa: A comparison.”
Previously known as Hydropower Africa and Solar Energy Africa, which ran successfully for over 6 years, Clean Power Africa will give an exclusive look at hydro, wind and solar projects and opportunities across the African continent. The event gathers major stakeholders in the clean power energy generation sector and will facilitate information exchange at the highest level and will explore clean energy options for smarter generation as a feasible solution to fulfil Africa’s generation capacity needs. Clean Power Africa is co-located with the 13th annual African Utility Week.
Renewable energy in action
The event will also offer a unique site visit to three successful renewable energy projects in the Cape Town region including the Green Energy District in Montague Gardens with a state of the art manufacturing facility at AEG Power Solutions where over 60% of the components are locally sourced. Clean Power Africa delegates also have the opportunity to visit Africa’s largest rooftop solar installation at Vodacom in Century City. The 500kw installation supplies 65% of the peak power required for the Vodacom site. At the Oldenburg Wine Estate a 44.65kw ground mounted solar installation provides much needed power on the farm.
The dates for Clean Power Africa are:
Exhibition & Conference: 14-15 May 2013
Pre-conference Workshops: 13 May 2013
Site Visits: 16 May 2013
Location: CTICC, Cape Town
Website: www.clean-power-africa.com
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