In some parts of South Africa’s Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, sugarcane fields stretch as far as the eye can see.

The crop is more than just a treat for those with a sweet tooth: in 2017 the country’s sugar industry had an estimated value of more than R12 billion; of this, sugarcane production alone was worth R5.1 billion.

But the sugar industry is shrinking, at least partly because many people are eating less sugar, for health reasons. How, then, might sugarcane production continue to extract value? We believe the answer lies with the crop’s waste material.

Sugarcane bagasse is the fibrous material left over after the crop has been crushed to extract its juice to make sugar.

About 54 million tonnes of sugarcane bagasse is produced annually around the world. The inadequate disposal of this bagasse leads to environmental pollution and attracts many insects when left unattended.

But there are ‘jewels’ among the piles of ash that remain once bagasse is burned.

With the right chemical and physical processes, valuable nanoparticles of silicon and silica — which are used in the construction, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and detergent industries, among others — can be generated.

Scores of chemical processes are being tested and fine-tuned to extract silica from bagasse ash, and from there synthesising it into silicon particles.

Some tests are fairly advanced but nobody has yet cracked the code to producing high grade, pure silica at levels high enough to meet industrial demands.

Our recent work took a ‘green’ approach to the extraction process. First, we confirmed what a growing body of research has shown: that sugarcane bagasse ash is a natural resource of silica which should be harnessed for industrial purposes.

And, using organic acids and bases, we showed what processes might be used for a more environmentally friendly extraction procedure.

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Diversified miner Exxaro Resources has elected the group’s climate change specialist Dr Lerato Khumalo as vice-chairperson for the Industry Task Team on Climate Change (ITTCC).

The voluntary, non-profit association comprises several local energy-intensive companies across different business sectors, including the likes of Exxaro, Sasol and Anglo American, which collaborate to reduce South Africa’s carbon footprint.
The ITTCC works with government departments, trade associations and social partners to develop practical solutions for climate change mitigation, supporting the country’s gradual transition into a lower carbon, resource-efficient economy.

Khumalo recently completed her PhD in Chemical Technology at the University of Pretoria, focusing on the characterisation of atmospheric pollutants found in areas near opencast coal mining and other industrial activities. She began her career as an environmental specialist at a consultancy firm while completing her Master’s degree.
​Khumalo has since shifted her focus to strategy and business transformation, which she believes are critical given global climate change concerns and how these affect businesses and society.

She believes that environmental, social and governance issues are connected to every element of a business and should be integrated into all departments and operations. With her help, the resources company has laid a foundation for this integration.

With her appointment to the task team, Khumalo intends to address the Change Coordinating Commission – a crucial national advisory body in this space. 

Both the ITTCC and Exxaro conduct targeted work to educate communities on environmental challenges, and Khumalo believes that this is essential if the company is to take personal responsibility and work together to drive positive change.

​“Educational awareness campaigns for employees and societies are vital to empower citizens with the knowledge they need to understand these pressing issues and the role that each one of us can play to mitigate climate change.”

Despite South Africa averaging more than 2,500 hours of sunshine a year, solar energy generates less than 1% of its electricity. By contrast, the UK produces 4% of its electricity from solar, with considerably less sunshine.
South African supermarket Shoprite sees a missed opportunity.
The chain is the continent's largest food retailer, with 140,000 employees and more than 2,000 stores across 14 countries. It wants renewable energy to fuel a quarter of its operations in the next five years.
Shoprite already boasts a total of more than 480,000 square feet of solar panels on top of its 21 distribution centers and stores in South Africa and Namibia -- an area equivalent to around eight soccer fields.
These generate enough solar energy to power 1,100 households for a year, but with every store and distribution center requiring refrigeration 24 hours a day, this accounts for less than 1% of the group's overall energy use.
Shoprite Basson Distribution Center, on the outskirts of Cape Town, has solar panels on its roof covering an area equivalent to a soccer field.
Shoprite's Basson Distribution Center, on the outskirts of Cape Town, has solar panels on its roof covering an area equivalent to a soccer field.
That may not sound like much, but it's enough to save money, according to Sanjeev Raghubir, Group Sustainability Manager at the Shoprite Group.
"The electricity bill for the whole company is in the region of 2.5 billion Rand ($167 million) ... 1% of such a large number is still quite significant," Raghubir tells CNN.

To reach its 25% renewable energy target, the company announced in March that it is working with a partner (the name of which it would not disclose for commercial reasons) to build and commission utility-scale wind and solar plants, which will generate electricity that's then transported via the national grid.
It will also accelerate the rollout of rooftop solar panels and explore opportunities to build solar plants in other countries.
Moving off-grid
Shoprite is not the only company with a base in South Africa looking to develop its off-grid capabilities. In 2018, Siemens started building a solar mini-grid at its Johannesburg headquarters to help reduce its dependence on the national grid, and last year, a Ford assembly plant in Pretoria installed solar panels that are set to provide a third of its power.
In some African countries the national grid supply can be erratic. South Africans have become used to frequent power cuts; when the state-owned power company Eskom struggles to meet demand for electricity it activates a system of scheduled outages known as "load-shedding" to avoid a countrywide blackout. Last year, the country experienced almost 860 hours of outages. This is thought to have accelerated private investments in renewable energy.

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A Turkish company providing services in energy sector is interested in cooperating with South African companies on possible energy projects in South Africa.
 
In case further information is required please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sultan Onacak (Mrs)
Marketing Officer
South African Embassy
Ankara
Turkey
Tel: +90 312 4056863 Fax: +90 312 446 6434
Mob: +90 535 1053169
E-Mail: onacaks@dirco.gov.za
www.southafrica.org.tr
..................................................................................................
Aktrem Group is pleased to introduce itself to you.
My name is Tarik , I am responsible for International Relations and Business Devlopment Department at Akterm Group.
We are a group established in 2012 in Istanbul, Turkey.
We are one of the leading companies in the field of energy and mechanics in Turkey. We are interested in renewable energy technologies .
We also built the largest landfill gas power plant in the world in Turkey -İstanbul (Seymen Energy Power Plant in Siliviri area).
We are glad to have information about South Africa's potential in this business.
If it is possible, we invite you to visit the catalogs in the links below
For Akterm Mechanics
https://www.aktermmekanik.com.tr/AktermMekanikKatalog.pdf
For Akterm Energy
https://www.aktermenerji.com/Akterm-Enerji-Online-Catalog.pdf
And also we are glad if you visit our website.
www.aktermgroup.com 

​Gwede Mantashe, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, has announced the winning emergency power bidders and opened bid window 5 of the REIPPP programme.

The Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) is a direct response to fill the 2,000MW short-term electricity supply gap that South Africa’s Integrated Resources Plan (INRP2019) indicated between 2019 and 2022.

This risk mitigation programme is meant to fill the stated supply gap and reduce the use of expensive diesel-based peaking electrical generators in the medium to long term.

In his State of the National Address 2020 President Cyril Ramaphosa announced various measure the DMRE would need to implement to address the country’s energy shortages. Among these measures were the urgent need to:

Procure power that can be brought online in the shortest possible time;
Ease requirements and processes for generation for own use;
Issue Section 34 Determinations in line with the IRP2019; and
Enable municipalities in good financial standing to generate or buy their own power.
Mantashe pointed out that NERSA may process licence applications for self-generation facilities above 1MW, even if they are not in compliance with the IRP2019. “But, people who want to do self-generation for own use, you don’t need a licence and there is no limit. What triggers the licence requirement is connection to the grid, and trading your surplus,” said the Minister.

Emergency power bidders announced
In October, in response to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s directives on the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, the DMRE set a target of 13,814MW to be delivered from a mix of sources. This included the 2,000MW to address the immediate electricity supply gap.

The bid submissions for emergency power closed on 22 December 2020 and attracted a total of 28 bid responses with a potential contracted capacity of 5,117MW. “This clearly demonstrates a sustained private sector interest in participating in the South African energy landscape. The Risk Mitigation IPP Procurement Programme succeeded in attracting project proposals featuring a variety of technology combinations,” said Mantashe.

The quantity and quality of the bid responses and potential megawatt of contracted capacity allowed for a competitive price evaluation: “All compliant bids were subjected to local and international benchmarking which is necessary to ensure that we receive Value for Money as required by the legislation.”

The evaluation process has resulted in the selection of eight Preferred Bids totalling 1,845MW and a further three Eligible Bids totalling 150MW. The three eligible bids are subject to value for money proposition in line with the provisions in the Request for Proposal. “It is important to note that these three bidders are within the 2,000MW capacity threshold in terms of the evaluation rankings, but their announcement can only be made following satisfactory value for money propositions,” said Mantashe.

The preferred bidders are:

ACWA Power Project DAP;
Karpowership SA Coega;
Karpowership SA Richards Bay;
Karpowership SA Saldanha Bay;
Mulilo Total Coega;
Mulilo Total Hydra Storage;
Oya Energy Hybrid Facility Umoyilanga Energy

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Thermodynamic technology developer Heat Recovery Micro Systems owner Johan Enslin will introduce a disruptive new avenue for renewable-energy generation that can significantly lower electricity costs for power utilities and smaller decentralised power generating systems at this year’s POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa.
The regenerative heat of solution (REHOS) thermodynamic cycle is the culmination of ten years of intensive research and development by Johannesburg-based Heat Recovery Micro Systems, and Enslin enthuses that the benefits of the technology will become a common form of power generation globally within the next few years.
​“Finding a solution that meets global demand for affordable, sustainable, baseload power generation with zero emissions has long been the ultimate goal for researchers globally,” says Enslin.
He adds that, with low-cost, emission-free, modular renewable power gaining popularity globally, there is huge demand for technology that can facilitate a rapid, but economically viable, transition from coal power generation to renewable-energy sources. “Heat Recovery Micro Systems has risen to the occasion by developing the REHOS thermodynamic cycle.”
Enslin explains that heat recovery of lower-temperature heat sources, typically below 200 ºC, such as geothermal and solar thermal sources, has led to the introduction of organic refrigerants as operating media in thermodynamic cycles. Up until now, however, waste heat at temperatures lower than 80 ºC has not been considered economically viable to convert to power on a large scale.
The REHOS cycle is a closed-loop binary cycle derived from absorption refrigeration principles. It uses existing, proven process components in a novel interconnected configuration to form a new thermodynamic cycle that is engineered to absorb ambient heat from the environment at below 70 ºC and convert it into power with high-energy conversion efficiency.
Enslin explains that, in essence, the REHOS cycle is a modified absorption refrigeration cycle, with the refrigeration effect replaced by a power turbine and external heat input achieved through using a heat pump.
The binary cycle comprises a pressure pump, heat exchangers, a vapour compressor and an organic turbo generator, all of which have been used for more than 20 years in the absorption refrigeration, geothermal and waste heat recovery power generation fields.
“The REHOS cycle is, thus, based on proven process components. The only novel aspect is the interconnected configuration of these components, which forms a new regenerative, thermodynamic cycle with many highly desirable disruptive attributes.”
Multiple Benefits 
Enslin stresses that the scalability of the REHOS cycle and the combination of refrigeration and power generation without the need for external cooling towers are some of the most significant features of this technology. The high heat-to-power conversion efficiency, as well as the flexibility of using different expander and compression equipment and heat exchangers in the REHOS cycle, also enhances its appeal.
This is a renewable power generation technology that uses freely available, globally abundant waste heat at temperatures well below 30 ºC, he says, adding that “the heat-to-electricity conversion efficiency is more than 80%, compared with current waste heat recovery systems for low temperatures, which struggle to maintain conversion efficiencies greater than 5%”.
In addition, Enslin highlights that the technology requires low capital investment and can deliver utility-scale power at less than half the cost of other renewable power generators such as wind and solar. The REHOS cycle is, moreover, a baseload generator, producing dispatchable power with a capacity factor of more than 80%, which compares favourably with other nonfossil baseload generators such as nuclear and hydropower generators.
The REHOS cycle may also be used for heat recovery from existing cooling water systems, effectively doubling existing power stations’ power output – or halving the primary fossil fuel energy consumption – to facilitate the gradual move from fossil combustion to renewables. Smaller REHOS generators can also be hermetically sealed for decentralised power packs for buildings, shopping centres, schools, hospitals and clusters of rural homes.
Enslin highlights that POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa provides an ideal platform for networking with technology suppliers, consultants and end-users to ensure the best possible exposure of this new technology and facilitate its implementation.
“Despite its significant benefits, we expect some scepticism from the market, owing to the novelty of the concept and in lieu of a physically operational power-generation plant. However, we also expect a keen interest from consultants and power generation process suppliers, who will recognise the significant commercial value of the REHOS cycle. We believe that there will be a definite willingness from renewable power generation suppliers to participate in the project’s commercialisation.”
Enslin will present a paper, titled ‘Introducing the novel thermodynamic cycle for the economic power generation from recovered heat pumped from the huge global thermal energy storage reservoir called earth’, during the geothermal session of the Renewable Technologies and Opportunities track of the POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa conference on July 18 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

Source....... 
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Powering Africa announces the availability of Financial Support for the acquisition of Alternative Energy for domestic and commercial use. Powering Africa, in promoting Alternative Energy, has partnered with Greenfin Finance to make it possible for many households to become less dependent on the State Utility.
It is now possible to purchase our equipment and pay for it on a monthly basis over a five year period. Given the annual increases for Electricity over the next five years, installing a Powering Africa Plug & Play System is an obvious "no brainer" Making provision for an alternative Energy Source is no longer "a nice to have gadget" around the house, but a "must have" in response to the monopoly of supply, and the frightening increase in cost in the years to come. For more information go to our Website and "click" on "Finance" or click on the image on the left.

The University of the Western Cape has merged expertise in advanced battery development, manufacturing and validation to form the new Energy Storage Innovation Lab (ESIL), launched on campus on 6 May 2015.

ESIL is the culmination of many years of research, development and innovation at the South African Institute for Advanced Materials Chemistry at UWC, especially in the field of Lithium-Ion and Sodium-Halide batteries, battery modules and integrated energy storage systems.

The strength of the lab lies in the development, validation and localisation of wide range energy storage systems for South African industry and communities. The lab also has an extensive network of energy storage developers, and manufacturing and system integrators from South Africa, China, India, USA, Germany and other countries.

Speaking at the launch, Dr Phil Mjwara, Director General of the Department of Science and Technology​​, noted that the partnership between UWC and DST is appreciated, and that ESIL’s technological innovations have a vital role to play in South Africa’s future..

“It is important for us to find these technologies in the marketplace in the future,” he said. “They need to be commercialised - and we will help with finding funding for these projects. It is very important to ensure the public will have their hands on them in the future as well.”

Eskom’s General Manager of Research Testing and Development, Barry MacColl, agreed. “These inventions are not only important for South Africa’s energy needs, but also for job creation in our country,” he said. “We hope to have a good partnership with UWC and DST for many more years.”

Energy storage can mitigate the negative effects of power outages, assist in improving national grid stability, and enabling South Africa to tap into its vast renewable energy potential, specifically from wind and solar sources.

Of course, for the inventions to have a real impact, they need to work - and they need to work at the right price. “Our sun quality is far better than California’s, and these products could rival those of Elon Musk,” MacColl remarked, invoking the South African-born tech entrepreneur who founded Tesla Motors and who has made significant advances in energy storage technology.

ESIL boasts high-tech battery integration and production facilities, and has been involved in the development of a number of advanced storage systems. ESIL’s modular battery system (MBS) is scalable and modular, with series and parallel connection capability, and is stackable and easily integrated for a range of applications, including (thus far) golf carts, battery electric vehicles, backup power solutions, off-grid power systems and grid-connected storage.

The production of pouch (15-20 Ah) and cylindrical cells (2 Ah) suitable for energy storage applications includes solar and wind applications. The lab also develops low-cost thermal cells for grid scale stabilisation and energy storage.

Professor Bernard Bladergroen, Head of ESIL, noted that with the current strain on the electricity grid in South Africa, and the growing deployment of renewable energy to meet energy needs while mitigating the effects of climate change, there is a clear need for reliable and cost-effective energy storage solutions.

“Now is the right time for customers, innovators, researchers and entrepreneurs in the energy storage arena to get together and work towards sustainable energy solutions,” he said.