With load shedding here to stay for the foreseeable future, it’s back to basics for South Africans.
Call it load shedding, or rolling blackouts, the fact is it’s here to stay for the foreseeable future and South Africans are going to have to learn to live with it for a while yet.

The Citizen spoke to Lungile Mashele, an energy specialist at the Development Bank of South Africa, who also holds qualifications in economics, insolvency law, cost engineering and energy, about practical ways to minimise the effects.

“Have your work and home load shedding schedules handy. There’s no point in sitting in three-hour traffic to get to work to discover that there are no lights. Rather work from home until your office has lights,” advised Mashele.

“Keep your phone, power bank and torch charged and ready for a blackout. Invest in power-surge plugs. Continuous outages and related trips may damage your appliances.”

There is a growing conversation in the country over which is better: solar photo-voltaic power or fuel-driven generators.

“The preferred option is a complete retrofit of a home using gas to cook and for water heating, or solar water heating,” Mashele said.

“In addition to that, investing in solar PV with an inverter and battery storage will sustain you during periods of load shedding.”

Mashele explained an inverter converted the direct current produced by the panels to alternating current, and synchronised the power produced within the home with the Eskom grid.

“This option requires a rather large capital outlay. However, with the rising costs of electricity, it has a generally low payback period. A typical suburban household will require an investment of about R80,000. Depending on your consumption you can recover your costs within two to five years,” Mashele said.

“Generators present a cheaper alternative in terms of capital cost (about R10,000), but in the long run, the fuel cost renders this option far more expensive. Diesel generators can present a safety risk and are a noise nuisance not allowed by many body corporates.”

Load shedding survival tips

Plan your activities and travel around anticipated load shedding.
Be creative with dinners and activities to keep yourself and your family entertained.
Have braais and set up a tent for the kids with a campfire, especially during this holiday period.
Invest in rechargeable emergency LED lights. They are bright enough to light up the room for homework and household activities.
One can also buy an inexpensive two-burner gas stove at any major retailer and cook using gas.
Load shedding affects the ability of the water utility to pump water, so make sure you have water stored in the house.
It also means no fibre to the home, so make sure your phone has data or airtime.
Carry cash, as some retailers are unable to take card payments.

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Naria Security from Italy is looking for a local representative/agent for their innovative solar panel anti-theft system
This system protects every single solar panel, triggering an alarm in case of a theft attempt.
​Plastic fiber LiteWIRE links all the solar panels like a chain and is connected to a LiteSUN Plus analyser. Only bends and the cut of the fiber during a theft attempt can trigger an alarm. This system is free of false alarms, as it is not sensitive to vibrations, so weather conditions (like wind, rain or snow), leaves and birds do not trigger any false alarms. In addition, as plastic fiber is an insulating material, the system is not affected by any electromagnetic noise.
​

• asy  and quick to install
• Every single panel is protected
• Zero false alarms (insensitive to vibrations and ground loops)
• Zero maintenance
• Plastic fiber cable LiteWIRE is used, which is easy to terminate and repair (basic tools are required, no measuring instrument)
  
  
• If only a cut of the fiber needs to be detected a simpler analyser, LiteSUN, can be used.​
  
  For more information and agency enquiries contact  alwyn@saaea.org

International Solar Alliance (ISA) on Sunday urged African states to tap solar energy to green their economies.
​ISA Program Ambassador Mohua Mukherjee told a media briefing in Nairobi that the bulk of African states are located along the sunshine belt with abundant solar energy resources.
"African countries should take advantage of declining cost of solar technology to achieve clean energy targets," Mukherjee said during the second global session of the United Nations Science, Policy and Business Forum on the environment.
The majority of the continent's residents are not connected to their national electricity grids, he said.
"This provides a great opportunity for Africans to use solar technology to power their electric appliances," she added.
The ISA will leverage on South-South cooperation to enable Africa benefit and borrow critical experiences from their peers in other developing countries so that they embrace solar technologies, Mukherjee said.
However, according to the global solar body, the high upfront cost remains a key barrier to driving uptake of solar technology among African households.
Mukherjee called for innovative technologies such as pay-as-you-go systems to ensure that the continent has access to solar equipment.
She said that by adopting solar technology, Africa can play a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Mukherjee said strong economic growth in Africa in the past decade has fueled demand for energy in the continent.
"It will be prudent for the region to choose green energy sources that will accelerate the drive towards low carbon development pathways," she said.

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Publication date: 2019, January

Author: BNEF / responsAbility / GCPF

​A new report commissioned by responsAbility highlights the potential of commercial and industrial (C&I) solar opportunities in the region and the key challenges that must be overcome to fully unlock solar’s potential.

Download here......

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In Zimbabwe, an ammonium nitrate producer, Sable Chemicals, has entered into a partnership with a local energy solutions company, Tatanga Solar Energy, to fund a solar power generation project that is set to produce up to 400 megawatts in the central region of the southern African nation.

Sable’s parent Masawara Plc owns 70% of the project while Tatanga holds the remaining 30%.

According to Sable Chemicals chief executive, Bothwell Nyajeka, feasibility studies for the project were now complete and the company was seeking a license from the Zimbabwe Energy Regulation Authority (Zera).

The joint venture has already secured land under Zibagwe Rural District Council to establish what they call the Katanga Solar Farm, he said.

“Our feasibility studies in terms of radiation have shown that the area is the best for such a project,” he said.

The project would initially produce 50 megawatts and production would increase gradually to 400 megawatts when it is complete, Nyajeka added.

Zimbabwe requires between 160,000 and 180,000 tons of ammonium nitrate per annum. Before the decommissioning of its plant, Sable Chemicals used more than 100 megawatts of power, but now less than 10 megawatts were being used — a sharp decline.

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​Cape Town’s residents may be happy to know that the registration for solar photovolactic (PV) systems has been moved from February 28 to May 31, as the City has noted residents may need more time to complete the process.

“There is no charge for the registration of solar PV systems. A fee will only be applied for failure to register the system by 31 May 2019,” the City said in a statement. “The registration tells the City where a system is connected and confirms the quality of the installation so that staff and contractors are not electrocuted when working on the network.”

A national legislation draft will soon rule that the formal registration of a small-scale embedded generation system become mandatory.

“It has always been a legal requirement that systems that generate electricity and are connected to the City’s electricity network be authorised by the City prior to being connected,” the City said. “This includes solar PV systems that generate electricity. It has however taken some time for South Africa to develop national standards to connect PV installations safely.”

In the absence of national standards, the City developed interim standards for PV systems to be safely and legally connected to the grid.

“The main reason that registration is required is to ensure the safety of our staff and to supply electricity to all customers at certain quality standards. Information on where these systems exist can also be used for electricity demand control, quality of supply management and for planning future investment in electricity infrastructure,” Mayoral Committee Member for Energy and Climate Change Councillor Phindile Maxiti said. “We sincerely hope that our residents will make use of all of the assistance on offer with the registration process. It is very clear that we are moving towards a system of national registration and it is the City’s intention as far as possible to assist its residents with this transition within the confines of legislation.”

​Read more....

Sustainable Power Solutions has recently been working on two off-grid solar PV projects for Serena Hotels, both projects are milestones for Kenya’s hospitality industry.

Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge, which is featured in the video below, is noted as “Kenya’s first fully solar powered lodge!” In addition to setting a sustainable record for the Kenyan tourism industry, the solar power plant assisted Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge to win a Global Best Practice Awards earlier this year! ​

The City of Cape Town is working its plans to establish an appropriate business model to stimulate the uptake of solar photovoltaic systems. This announcements follows the need for aggressive renewable energy targets.

The number of increasing customers installing rooftop solar photovoltaic infrastructure is evident and the costs are perceived to be prohibitive by most residents. The City has announced that a letter of collaboration has been signed with the United States Agency for International Development and the Southern Africa Energy Program to investigate appropriate mechanisms to unlock access to the benefits of this technology for more of Cape Town’s residents.

With the investment in and the rolling out of renewables is the obvious way forward for a progressive city, Cape Town intends to grow its status as the green economy hub of Africa. However, this comes with certain barriers.

The City recognises that the facilitation of the move to sustainable models are necessary for creating an environment which allows for the private sector to move safely and legally towards investment into and adoption of these options. Solar projects will become more economically viable only if adoption rates are increase, solid public-private partnerships are formed and clear regulatory frameworks are put into place.

There are various models to institute this, for instance:
Nelson Mandela Bay municipality’s model prescribes that investors can pay for solar panels to be installed at private homes and then be reimbursed according to how much energy is transmitted back onto the network
the City could invest in the capital cost of the infrastructure and then have residents pay this back either via their electricity invoice or property rates.
through community or co-operative funding mechanisms.
The study’s aim is to identify the most appropriate mechanisms for Cape Town’s customers, based on legal and technical factors which would be most attractive to residents.

The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Informal Settlements, Water and Waste Services; and Energy, Councillor Xanthea Limberg comments:

‘The City is determined to build a more secure, cleaner and affordable energy future and we know that the technological solutions already exist to enable us to do this. This collaboration will bring us that much closer towards meeting our renewable energy targets by identifying solutions to the barriers that make it difficult for residents to access to clean and affordable electricity”.

“We have a number of initiatives under way to release Cape Town from its heavy reliance on Eskom. I am confident that the outcomes of this work will be hugely valuable in our committed drive to building a low carbon, resilient and resource-efficient city.”

“This move also helps to position the Cape Town as  a centre for green business and the growth of the renewable sector helps to preserve our environment. Apart from this though, research and development, design, manufacture and the installation and maintenance of small-scale embedded generation systems and services all provide economic opportunities.”

Residents will be required to register and to obtain authorisation for their rooftop PV systems in accordance with the City’s Electricity Supply By-Law.

Connecting a small-scale embedded generation system to the grid can pose a safety risk. It is important to ensure that all generating equipment is approved and install correctly. Residents have until the 28th of February 2019 to register their systems after which they will be liable for a service fee and possible electrical disconnection if fount to have installed this system without the relevant approvals in place with the exception of solar water heaters.

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