On 8 May South Africans won’t see a green party on the ballot paper. Instead, what they will see is political parties with lofty claims of bettering the South African environment and pushing the ‘Green Revolution’ for political gain.
Section 24 of the Constitution says that everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being; and to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that prevent pollution and ecological degradation; promote conservation; and secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development.

Despite this, the EFF only has 18 points on environmental policies in its 170-page long manifesto. Similarly, the current ANC government’s manifesto makes fewer than 20 eco-friendly promises, including repositioning Eskom (again) and an investigation into the cost-benefit of installing solar panels in state buildings. 3

In comparison to the ANC and EFF, the DA has a far longer list of green policies and ideas included in its manifesto, although much of this includes examples of their successful implementation of green policies.

And while South Africans will have seen The Green Party of South Africa listed on ballots in the past, the party has struggled to garner any national support. Other than The Green Party, the United Democratic Front (UDM) has perhaps the most comprehensive policy on environmental affairs.

When speaking to Greenpeace, 350 Africa, Climate Reality and the Centre for Environmental Rights, all four environmental action groups reiterated that climate change is a reality that South Africans have to take seriously. The country’s environment is already being negatively impacted by the realities of global warming, and without a concrete commitment to environmental policies, South Africa may have little ‘green’ left to show the next generation.

Although US President Donald Trump has repeatedly tweeted about “clean coal”, environmentally-friendly mining is a myth. Despite this, the majority of political parties have committed to improving or expanding the current mining industry. 5

In South Africa in particular, mining has a long and controversial history.

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A new study commissioned by the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA), against the backdrop of volatility and uncertainty in the current electricity landscape in SA, has revealed that the role of Distributed Generation Renewable Energy (DG-RE) in the SA electricity market is currently undervalued and that it has a significant role to play in supporting the delivery of clean, cost effective and reliable power to South African business.

Launched at the at Res4Med&Africa Innovation Conference in Cape Town on Monday, the
SAWEA study examined 14 different scenarios in five different SA municipalities. The study
found that wind and solar systems embedded in distribution networks could reduce
significant load on municipalities; lowering the price of electricity, preventing electrical
interruptions, reducing losses and providing an effective and efficient contribution to
resolving SA’s power crisis.

“Within the current regulatory environment, improvements in renewable energy technology
and falling prices are not reaching consumers directly and quickly enough and it is within this
context that the report should be considered,” says CEO of the South African Wind Energy
Association, Brenda Martin.

Distributed generation refers to a variety of technologies that generate electricity at or near
where it will be used, such as solar PV panels, wind and combined heat and power and may
or may not make use of existing electricity infrastructure for distribution to customers.

“Distributed generation can directly serve loads behind-the-meter as we have seen
increasingly in SA over the past years, but they can also make use of existing public network
infrastructure to supply offtakers that are not co-located with the energy plant. This type of
scheme presents a number of advantages at various levels, and this is what we wanted to
better understand through the study” explained Kevin Minkoff, chairperson of SAWEA’s
Technical Working Group.

He said Eskom tariff increases and continued struggles only strengthened the business case
for DG-RE plants and the role these could play in supporting the sustainable delivery of
power.

The report also highlights opportunities for investors. “This is an exciting time for current and
prospective investors in the growing South African renewable energy market,” said Martin.
“This is an important piece of work for entities interested in investment other than utility-scale
as it reveals opportunities and potential routes for corporate PPAs (power purchase
agreements) to step forward to become part of the solution to SA’s power woes by relieving
pressure on the grid.”

Minkoff explains that PPAs support the purchase of electricity at an agreed price for an
agreed period, typically 10-20 years. Instead of buying power directly from utilities (typically
state-owned as in SA), several businesses are now beginning to consider how to purchase
electricity from independent generators, as well as investing in generation assets
themselves – within the strict limits of the current regulatory framework.

“PPAs have economic and environmental advantages,” says Martin, adding that large
multinationals are beginning to apply their sustainability pledges to their global supply chains
and data centres, which has led to a significant uptick in corporate PPAs globally.

“However, in South Africa, current regulations are restricting the uptake of corporate PPAs.
To support growth of the industry, the SAWEA report calls for regulatory reforms to allow for
direct PPAs between municipalities and energy intensive users and details how this could
provide security of supply to heavy industry at lower tariffs,” said Martin.

“It important for local municipalities and utilities to revise planning methods, devise new
technical specifications and update commercial arrangements.”
Investing in DG-RE plants can help corporates to meet environmental targets, giving them
an instrument to evidence compliance with increasing climate change reporting and
corporate governance requirements.

CAPE TOWN — The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis’. One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity – which can be elegantly applied to Eskom’s dysfunction right now. In yet another injection of life-giving hope to the endangered and corruption-traumatised national psyche, the Development Bank of Southern Africa, is investing big-time in renewable energy projects, the aim being to have imbedded “green” energy contributing 11.5% of total renewable energy capacity by 2030. The DBSA $200m shot-in-the-arm to the Embedded Generation Investment Program, involves helping 10 proof of concept projects more easily attract commercial financing. We’ve seen how powerful a force for societal good and course-correction banks in South Africa can be (if only to protect themselves), first by closing down the Gupta’s accounts and then the Watsons. Some of the big banks are refusing to finance coal-fired power plants, helping bring South Africa kicking and screaming into globally-accepted diversified sources of generation. Increasingly it seems, the nightmare is ending, even if we had to first wake up and smell the dimly-lit open cesspit. – Chris Bateman

By Roxanne Henderson

(Bloomberg) – South Africa’s state-owned Development Bank of Southern Africa is funding a program intended to give renewable energy projects in the electricity-starved country a boost by making them more appealing to commercial banks.

The financier will funnel $200m into the Embedded Generation Investment Program to kick start developments that will add 330 megawatts of new generating capacity to the national grid and reduce carbon emissions. Half of the funding will be provided by the Green Climate Fund, the Johannesburg-based financier said in an emailed statement.

While the DBSA’s investments will get initiatives off the ground, the goal is to create projects that commercial lenders will want to fund to completion, said Mohale Rakgate, the group executive responsible for project preparation. The projects will need to attract at least $104m more from local banks in their initial phases, he said.

“We have a pipeline of more than 10 projects,” Rakgate said. “We want to take the first steps, prove the concepts work” and get commercial financing, he said, adding that “attracting private funding is really at the core of what we are doing.”

​Global trend
South Africa aims to have embedded generation contribute 2,600 megawatts to the country’s renewable energy capacity, representing an 11.5% slice, by 2030 and is rekindling enthusiasm for green alternatives to keep the nation’s lights on. The country’s debt-laden utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. has been forced to cut power in recent weeks as it cannot afford to maintain its coal-fired plants.

“This is in line with a global trend that has been happening in the US and Europe. South Africa is just catching up on the renewable trend of how power is now generated by diversifying sources of generation,” Rakgate said.

Nedbank Group Ltd. is already shunning coal-fired projects, with the Johannesburg-based lender saying last month it will no longer provide project financing or other forms of asset-specific financing where the proceeds will be used to develop plants using the fuel, regardless of the country or technology.

The DBSA will launch the program after the country’s revised Integrated Resource Plan is approved by the government and will also allocate some of the funding to black empowerment schemes, it said.

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With South Africa’s state electricity utility in dire financial straits and straining to meet demand, the government has reverted to courting independent renewable energy producers to help power the continent’s most industrialized economy.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, his Energy Minister Jeff Radebe and the Treasury have all recently heralded solar and wind-powered plants as the answer to meeting South Africa’s future electricity demands, citing falling costs and environmental considerations. The government also needs private investors to help fund new infrastructure: Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., which generates about 95 percent of the nation’s power, can’t afford to maintain its aging coal-fired plants, never mind build new ones, and the Treasury has no cash to spare.

Renewable energy companies have reason to be skeptical. South Africa initiated one of the world’s most successful renewable-power programs starting in 2011, which garnered more than 200 billion rand ($14.4 billion) in investment from 112 producers. But projects were stalled for almost three years during ex-President Jacob Zuma’s rule as he and Eskom officials pushed to build nuclear plants, a deal that was tainted by corruption allegations and was shelved when Zuma was forced to step down a year ago.
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​“They’re putting things right,’’ said Mike Rossouw, an independent energy adviser. “The renewables outlook is getting better and better.’’
Read more on how the Zuma administration derailed renewable energy.
Eskom’s operational and financial woes stem from years of mismanagement and massive cost overruns on two new coal-fired power stations that should have been finished in 2015 but are running years behind schedule. The government now plans to split the utility, which produces three-quarters of its power from coal, into generation, transmission and distribution units in a bid to get it back on track. The move should make it easier for the renewable energy plants to supply the national grid.
That’s imperative because financiers are becoming increasingly reluctant to fund coal-fired projects, amid a global move toward more environmentally friendly forms of energy, according to Radebe. The shift will be aided by improvements to batteries and other technological advances, he said.

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The wide-scale adoption of renewable-energy projects throughout South Africa will result in a more cost-effective and cleaner national energy supply, says renewable-energy development and management company G7 Renewable Energies.

“About 20 years ago, the renewables debate was about environmental considerations and whether it was necessary to introduce cleaner forms of electricity generation,” explains G7 Renewable Energies MD Kilian Hagemann.
However, he adds that now the growing global popularity of renewables is enabling original-equipment manufacturers to lower the costs associated with renewable-energy equipment through economies of scale and efficiency improvements.
For instance, the shift towards competitive auctions worldwide has accelerated the product development cycles of turbine manufacturers in the wind industry, with manufacturers producing bigger and more efficient models – which allow for a lower cost of electricity and hence greater competitiveness – every year, Hagemann explains.

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He says, while opponents of wind and solar energy have been outraged by reports that State-owned power utility Eskom is paying independent power producers (IPPs) an estimated R2/kWh – which applies to less than 5% of the total installed generation in the country – supporters of renewables point out that these costs have come down to R0.6/kWh over five bidding rounds under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Plan (REIPPPP).

Hagemann adds that the first round of renewable projects procured in 2011 are being paid more than the reported R2/kWh, while the third-round facilities are being paid less, reiterating that the uptake costs for renewable projects are continually decreasing.

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President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a plan to rescue state-owned power company Eskom by separating it into three units. According to consultants Frost & Sullivan, although that may not be enough to completely address the utility’s financial crisis it may further encourage investment in renewables.
FEBRUARY 11, 2019 EMILIANO BELLINI
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa used his State of the Nation speech to address one of the key issues facing the country’s energy sector, the long-running financial crisis at state-owned electric utility Eskom.

The struggles of the power company have represented the main roadblock to the deployment of solar and other renewables in South Africa in recent years.

Ramaphosa said, in his speech last week, bold steps must be taken to avert a crisis at the utility. “To bring credibility to the turnaround and to position South Africa’s power sector for the future, we shall immediately embark on a process of establishing three separate entities – Generation, Transmission and Distribution – under Eskom Holdings,” the president said. “This will ensure that we isolate cost and give responsibility to each appropriate entity.”

The split, Ramaphosa said, would also enable the three new entities to better raise funding. “It is imperative that we undertake these measures without delay to stabilize Eskom’s finances, ensure security of electricity supply and establish the basis for long-term sustainability,” he added.​

Eskom’s debt mountain, according to its financial results, stood at around ZAR419.2 billion ($30.8 billion) at the end of September. As Eskom is the buyer of the power generated thus far under the country’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement program (REIPPP), its lack of funds has pushed it to delay the signing of several PPAs awarded in rounds 3.5 and four of the program.

Despite that slowdown, 27 outstanding PPAs were signed in April and a new 1.8 GW round to be held this year was announced.

In March 2017, French development agency the AFD agreed to provide Eskom with a multi-tranche ZAR6 billion credit facility, intended for projects which are part of the utility’s grid improvement plan to integrate renewable energy and develop transnational power supply networks.

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Performance of South Africa’s small, but expanding, renewable-energy fleet point to a positive contribution from the country’s wind and solar plants during those hours towards the end of 2018 when Eskom resorted to load-shedding.

Compiled by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Energy Centre, the statistics highlight a particularly strong correlation between the daily generation profile of the country’s 1 479 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) fleet and the times of the day that load-shedding occurred in June, July, November and December.
​In total, Eskom resorted to rotational power cuts on 12 days last year, equating to 128 hours of either Stage 1 (1 000 MW), Stage 2 (2 000 MW), or Stage 3 (3 000 MW), or about 138 GWh of unserved energy.

The utility began resorting to load-shedding again in 2019, declaring Stage 4 (4 000 MW) from 13:00 on February 11. Eskom last declared such a large level of load-shedding during its 2014/15 financial year under its previous Stage 3 definition, which had a wider range and which has since been revised to one where each stage represents 1 000 MW.

Last year, most of the incidents took place in late November and early December. Supply has been negatively affected by the fact that Eskom’s summer maintenance coincided with high levels of unplanned breakdowns across the coal fleet, exacerbated by inadequate coal supplies, poor coal quality and sub-par contributions from the units in commercial operation at the Medupi and Kusile power station projects.

Although still a small contributor to South Africa’s overall production of electrical energy, the CSIR statistics show that the country’s operational utility-scale wind, solar PV and concentrated solar power (CSP) plants helped mitigate the impact of the system’s imbalances.

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CAPE TOWN (miningweekly.com) – The mining sector has been encouraged to use more renewable energy and tighten up on energy efficiency, with the support of the South African National Energy Development Institute (Sanedi).
Energy Minister Jeff Radebe said the mining industry would need innovative and novel solutions to reduce energy consumption and produce more with less. It also needed ways to reduce the high carbon content of certain products and high-emission processes.
“Sanedi is ready to explore the best possible approaches and practices to relieve and assist the mining sector in introducing reliable and affordable sustainable energy while moving away from some of the traditional and conventional practices,” the Minister said in a speech read by the Department of Energy’s deputy director-general Mokgadi Modise, during the Investing in African Mining Indaba, on Tuesday.

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The African National Congress kicked off the debate in its election manifesto published in mid-January. Instead of playing down this potentially divisive energy issue, the ruling party chose to detail a vision of major investment in renewable energy as the path to a secure power future for the country.
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President Cyril Ramaphosa has set up a presidential task team to explore optimal ways to address these big issues. One of its remits is to come up with a new role for Eskom. Its recommendations are expected to include that the power utility is broken up into smaller units: power generation, electricity transmission on the national grid and distribution to customers.

But the most contentious issue by far is the role of coal in the country’s future energy mix. The task team is likely to endorse the gradual closure of coal power plants over the next 30 years. This proposal has already been articulated in the government’s latest draft Integrated Resource Plan, the country’s official electricity plan that guides the establishment of new power plants (and closure of old ones).

But winding down the country’s dependency on coals will take huge political will, as well as workable plans to mitigate against job losses.

Tied to the country reducing its dependency on coal is a move towards renewable energy. Energy specialists argue reliable and cost-effective electricity can best be supplied by the massive expansion of renewable energy capacity.

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