One of the chapters focuses on renewable energy, authored by Liziwe McDaid.

The following extracts give one food for thought.
…. There are many different technical solutions to meet short and long term storage needs. Solar thermal plants use the sun’s energy to convert heat into electricity. In California, there are plants with a capacity of 350MW which have operated for more than 10 years. The technology is therefore established, and solar thermal plants can be built on a large scale to meet industrial needs. Solar thermal plants can have storage through storage systems such as molten salt which would allow such plants to run 24 hours per day. Excess energy from the solar thermal plant is stored in the salt during the day and released to produce electricity during the night (Agama Energy 2003, 35)….

….While wind and solar technologies are established throughout the globe, the pebble bed technology is a new technology still in the developmental phase. The cost of the pebble bed demonstration plant “has increased by a factor of five and completion of the Demonstration Plant, expected in 1999 to be in 2003, is now still six years off.” (Thomas 2005, 30). These figures also fail to reflect costs such as fuel production, as well as the nuclear regulatory regime required to ensure public safety……
…….If we use solar photovoltaics as an example, The costs of PV are almost all up front costs. There are almost no operating costs and no fuel costs.. ……

….However, these large initial investments are viewed as a hurdle and identified in the DME White Paper as the main barrier to implementation on a large scale. According to Awerbuch (2000, 4) this shows a lack of understanding of renewable energy technologies. In a gas turbine, for example, less cash flow is tied up in the loan because there is more outlay needed for operational expenses. In the case of PV, there is very little needed for operational expenses. Awerbuch argues that low risk investments can take on bigger loans, and higher loan repayments and that this is accepted practice elsewhere….

….Awerbuch (2000, 16,17) argues that the relative costs of RETs to fossil fuels can change over time due to uncertainties such as the increasing price of oil, the decreasing costs associated with improved efficiencies of evolving newer RETs, and the increasing cost of meeting constantly improving environmental standards…..

….The implications of Awerbuch’s conclusions are that the costs of fuels such as sun, ocean currents and the wind can be factored into the long term financial equations as a fixed cost – eg. zero – while there is huge uncertainty in the oil price which must be factored into conventional electricity generation (for example to transport nuclear fuel to the reactor and to convey waste to a dump site). To illustrate, the petrol price in South Africa has risen from R3.81 per liter in 2003 to R5.66 per litre in December 2006, an increase of almost 50% over three years….

….These risks are ignored using conventional financial models and the comparative benefits of renewables are not apparent (Awerbuch 2000, 18)…..

….A feed-in tariff would regulate the price that suppliers receive for their renewable energy, in effect guaranteeing their viability. This would enable renewable energy suppliers to prepare their business case and look for investment on the basis of a known return. It is a system which has been implemented in other parts of the world, for example in Denmark and Germany…..

….According to Lackmann (2003), Germany was able to reduce the cost of wind-generated electricity by 60% over just 12 years. They achieved this through the application of a feed-in tariff, which stimulated enormous advances in wind turbine technology. The results are startling and South Africa needs to take note. In Germany, installed wind capacity was 68MW in 1990 when the feed-in law was introduced. By 2000, installed capacity was 6095MW and by 2004 it was 15000MW (Meixner, 2003). In the South African context, the feed-in tariff is regarded as the most effective system to promote the rapid uptake of renewables (Greg Austin, Agama Energy, pers. Comm. 2006)…..

Transforming the grid:
As pointed out by the DME (2004, pg 25), a utility such as Eskom, which controls generation, transmission and distribution finds itself in a conflict of interest when facilitating access to the grid for renewable power. If the grid were “smarter”, it would be more decentralised, improving efficiencies by reducing the distances between the energy producer and the user (in South Africa presently transmission losses from Mpumalanga to Cape Town are about 10-20% (Dobson 2006)). A decentralised system would also increase the security of power supply and be less vulnerable to power disruptions. The future scenario would see a flexible, dynamic grid that can accept power as well as push it out….

…Some perspective can be gained by considering the 2006 electricity black outs in South Africa. Eskom was forced to pay customers with the ability to generate their own electricity to keep them from drawing power off the grid (Eskom generates electricity at 11c/kWh but paid out approximately R1.70 /kWh to these consumers) (Davin Chown 2006. pers comm.). It seems logical to assume, therefore, that a system which allows customers to feed back electricity into the grid, rather than paying inflated prices to keep customers off the grid, would be of benefit to all….

…International experience clearly shows that where the systems are in place, renewable energy will flourish (Guteri and Romano, Newsweek, September 13, 2004, 36-7):

In Japan, Hitoshi Iokawa, installed solar panels on his roof in 1997. It cost him the equivalent US$33,000 of which the government subsidised a third. He now generates an income of $460 a year selling electricity back to the grid – enough to offset his electricity bills. Japan started its programme of solar power in 1993. Now 170,000 homes feed into the grid

In California, Ignacio Vella , powers the fridges in his cheese factory with 234 solar panels, and is able to sell leftover energy back to PG&E, the local power company (Guteri and Romano, Newsweek, September 13, 2004, 36)

The real problem is not, therefore, the economics or technical issues around RETs, but the political will to take the lead. Tony Blair’s response to climate change (quoted by Monbiot 2006, 22) summarises the political dilemma: “There is a mismatch in timing between the environmental and electoral impact“. In effect the full horror of the harmful environmental impacts of our current dirty electricity generation path may only be felt in 25 years’ time whereas politicians only operate in five year electoral cycles.

For more information, please contact Liziwe on liziwe@mweb.co.za

Using the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) as an underlying basis, the course examines government environmental policy, as well as the intersection between business, environmental NGOs, and communities in developing sustainable partnerships to deal with environmental issues and challenges in South Africa.

Training outcomes

• Develop knowledge and understanding of key sustainable development concepts

• Gain an in depth understanding of the application/implementation of sustainable development in the South African context.

• Critically analyse current South African environmental challenges from an environmental-justice perspective

Content

Students will be provided with a core reading that provides a context for sustainable development in South Africa.  Other relevant readings will be provided at the beginning of the course and students are expected to source other reference material as part of their fieldwork and assignments. The course focuses on:

• Introduction to sustainable development
• Legal and institutional context of sustainable development in South Africa
• Environmental management in South Africa
• Environmental ethics
• Public participation
• Marine ecosystems and artisanal fisheries
• Water management in South Africa (quantity and quality)
• Energy and climate change
• Land and biodiversity
• Food security
• Waste and pollution
• Environmental Economics

During the course, there are 3 fieldtrips:

• Bus tour to provide students with broad sweep of diversity of communities and the environmental challenges they are faced with

• Conduct basic energy audit for households in low and/or high income area households in low and/or high income area

• A fieldtrip to Robben Island

At the end of the course there is an Evaluation of the course.

Length

The course is run over 6months

Price

R 4000 per person (subject to a minimum of 5 persons per class)

FOR BOOKINGS CONTACT:

info@thegreenconnection.org.za

In 2009 and 2010, we are still building on this base and working with two pilot communities, Wuppertal and Sutherland, to assist them in choosing an intervention that will help them to adapt to climate change, address their social and environmental needs, and lead to economic empowerment for the community groups.

The Succulent Karoo has a variety of stakeholders that can be affected by climate change, including those that rely on agriculture, ecotourism, natural resources such as rivers, and including those sectors of society that have influence over the response by communities to climate change, such as municipalities and government.

During 2008, we ran a series of climate change awareness workshops for local communities in the Succulent Karoo who have had little or no access to information about climate change in the past so we can help build capacity for understanding this threat to the ecosystem and how to mitigate its possible impacts. We would also like to involve local municipalities in this process so we can help build their understanding and enhance their capacity to incorporate climate change into their policies and operations.

Part of adapting to climate change is understanding its impacts and gaining an understanding of what interventions can be implemented to enable us to improve our quality of life despite climate change.

While a key part of such understanding is that we are inevitably linked to the health of our surrounding environment, we also need to use the natural environment for food, warmth, shelter. How do we balance our needs and ensure that our children will also be able to meet their needs.

Watch this space for updates on how these communities opted for in their climate adapted livelihoods.

The study drew on experts in the fields of renewable energy and energy efficiency. The outcomes of this investigation were quite surprising:

The following are extracts from the SEA presentation:

• Electricity based on coal has provided sufficient capacity to grow the economy to this point. But right now, there is little spare capacity, and according to Eskom, with a projected 6% economic growth rate, we need to grow our electricity capacity at a similar rate in order to meet an anticipated demand of 80 000MW of electricity by about 2025.
• Most electricity consumed is by industry and business – amounting to over 75% or three quarters of all electricity generated.
• Experts in the energy efficiency field project that industry could easily save 20 to 25% of its current electricity use and that such energy savings would pay for themselves. UCT working with a car manufacturing company showed that the company could immediately save about 18% of their electricity using energy efficiency measures, and by so doing cut their energy bill by 25%.

Extract from energy audit summary below-

LOW COST MEASURES

• The total investment required for the execution of items 1 to 5 listed above is R130 000
• The total annual energy earning for this is greater than R2M
• The payback for these measures is less than one month

Based on Eskom current cost projections, it costs R3.5 million to save 1 MW of power while it costs R17 million to R28 million to build 1 MW.
As we have pointed out, industrial and commercial experts have pointed out that energy savings pay for themselves over a very short time. Therefore the cost to government is reduced. The question is can we incentivise these savings in a way that enables commerce and industry to move swiftly. For example, if we were to implement cost savings in the industrial and commercial sector of 10% by 2009, we would have saved over 3000MW

We have seen that we can save electricity, sufficiently to avoid blackouts in the short term. And we achieve this without any sacrifice in comfort, standard of living, and productivity. In fact we will be more economically competitive because of reduced input costs.

However, we need increasing amounts of electricity as we make the transition from a developing country to a developed nation with all citizens healthy, fulfilled and economically active, and with adequate provision for the youth and the aged.

How do we do this?

A study released in February 2006 examined all available renewable energies within the South African context, and concluded that if we invested now, renewable energy could indeed meet much of our electricity requirements into the future cost effectively. The report is available at www,earthlife.org.za. If the costs used in this study are updated, and it is put together with the energy savings, it appears that it is more cost effective to invest in renewables NOW (despite their perceived high upfront costs).

What about jobs?

renewable energy is a major creator of direct jobs. Let us compare Renewable energy technologies with conventional coal and nukes. As you can see, we get 25% more jobs than coal and 90% more jobs than nuclear per unit energy generated
We cannot continue to use coal because of climate change pressures. (With South Africa producing a per capital carbon emissions higher than most developed countries in the world, we will come under increasing pressure to shift to alternative energy source). Nuclear energy comes with several unaccounted for costs – and high risks, particularly given the “terrorism threat”. It is also dependent on a finite resource – uranium. So eventually, we will end up generating our electricity from renewable resources. But if the costs of moving to renewables now is equivalent to continuing as business as usual – why don’t we move now? We can lead rather than follow.

For more information about where you can see the presentation, please contact Megan at Sustainable Energy Africa megan@sustainable.org.za. For more info about renewable energy potential contact Liz McDaid – liziwe@mweb.co.za

In 2006, the Green Connection was approached by a group of concerned residents from the Riebeek Valley near Malmesbury in the Western Cape.

PPC was proposing to expand its cement production facility in the valley. Residents were concerned that such expansion would lead to a significant impact on their way of life and wanted The Green Connection to guide and facilitate their input into the EIA process.

Residents expressed concern with the way in which the EIA was being run, and felt that they lacked the expertise and experience to ensure that their voices were heard. The Green Connection worked with the residents, assisting them to obtain extensions to deadlines so that they could read and understand the voluminous documents, assisted with providing commentary on the documents, and watchdogging the process to ensure the people’s environmental rights were not violated.

The EIA report has now been finalised and is awaiting a decision from the Western Cape Provincial authorities.
If you want to know more about the specific inputs into the PPC EIA, or if you are in a similar situation and would like help, telephone our office on 021-761 6560.

The aim of this programme is to give participants an overview of the role of managers in controlling financial resources.

Training outcomes

By the end of this module, participants will be able to:

• Identify the main elements of financial management and assess whether the Financial Management in their organisation is adequate

• Identify the financial policies needed in an organisation

• Develop a budget

• Do a cash flow projection

• Develop and interpret a variance report

 Content

• What is Financial Management

• Financial Policies

• Managing Budgets

• Planning and Budget Cycle

• Financial Planning

For every section that is covered in the Content, there is an Activity. The approach that is used when running this course is to reflect the participant’s own knowledge and experience in handling finances. We work with what the participants know and enhance it. The practical activities that are given to participants relate and will apply in their everyday lives and everyday running of their organisations.

Length

The course is run over 2days

Price

R 750,00 per person, with a minimum of 10 for a booking.

FOR BOOKINGS CONTACT:

info@thegreenconnection.org.za

Tips on how to use less electricity:

The Geyser

We all know that the Geyser is one of the most power hungry domestic appliances there ever was invented. It takes long to boil, and most of the time it needs reheating for the water to get warm. Therefore, you must

• Put a blanket around your geyser – this keeps your water hot.
• Put a timer on your geyser – it will switch itself off during the many hours it is not needed.

Cooking

Eating is the one thing that no one can go on without, so everyday one must cook. There are also ways of saving electricity while doing so:

• Cook with the lid on your pot – your food will cook much quicker.
• Cook with a Hot-Box. You can make one yourself with blankets or cushions. Just bring your food to the boil, then take it off the stove and wrap it in a blanket/cushions – your food will carry on cooking.

Solar Water Heating

Install a Solar Water Heater that will use the heat from the sun to heat your water to wash – this will save you electricity.

Lighting

Use Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs instead of regular ones. They use 5 times less electricity, but last 8 times longer.

Insulation

• Insulate your water pipes – use insulation foam or just use newspaper.
• Insulate your ceiling – use wine bags, tins, cardboard, wool, rags, straw bales, etc.

Your House

Design your house to be cool in summer and warm in winter. Make sure it:

• Faces North
• Has a ceiling
• Has a roof overhang
• Has a thick, damp-proof floor

• we can prepare ourselves,
• adjust our living ways, and
• to take action in ensuring sustainable development and livelihoods become a reality for the present and future generations.

What is Climate Change?

Climate Change is the natural cycles of weather patterns on earth resulting from changes in the amount of heat received from the sun. The climate goes through warm and cold periods, taking hundreds of years to complete one cycle.

These changes affect the temperature which also influences the rainfall. Plants and animals are able to adapt to a changing climate if these changes take place over hundreds of years. Unfortunately, human activity is currently causing the climate to change too fast.

For more information on what causes climate change, what is climate change adaptation and more, you can visit the climatetalk website. A website which is dedicated to sharing this information and where you will be able to share your experiences; learn from others and in this way build a new community of practice that will reduce the vulnerability of the people to the inevitable changes that will come with global climate change.

Climate change has become one of the most significant human induced disasters we are facing today. But we can make a difference, each and every one of us. Find out what impact you are having on the planet and take action today!

Click here  for the Carbon Household Footprint Calculator

Once you have the results share this knowledge with your family, friends and colleagues so that they too will know what impact they have.And then take action to fix it!

The goal is to develop and enhance capacity for informed engagement on the content of and the linkages between electricity, energy and climate change policies in Parliament and civil society; and to enhance the accountability of Parliament for upholding broad/general public interests through its oversight of electricity, energy and climate change policy processes, focusing on the Portfolio Committees for Energy, Labour, Public Enterprises, Economic Development, and Water and Environment Affairs.

Activities occurring in the next few months will be an Energy Caucus meeting, evening debate and networking event as well as two roundtable meetings.

These activities will aim to facilitate opportunities for various civil society groups and formations (such as trade unions, civil society’s COP17 planning committee (C17) and the Energy Caucus) and other identified stakeholders (such as renewable energy experts) to engage with one another as well as with Parliamentarians and parliamentary researchers on their respective perspectives on implications of energy related policy decisions and their impact on “green” economic development, particularly as a response to climate change.