The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has finally released a consultation paper for an updated Licensing Exemption and Registration Notice for certain categories of small-scale embedded generators (SSEGs), which was submitted to the regulator for its concurrence by Energy Minister Jeff Radebe late last year.

Stakeholders and members of the public have been invited to comment on the draft amendment to the Electricity Regulation Act, with a deadline of May 24 set for submissions.

The notice seeks to replace the November 2017 Licensing Exemption and Registration Notice, which is widely accepted to be “flawed” and which has also caused significant market uncertainty.

The new notice exempts various categories of SSEG plant under 1 MW from the requirement to apply for and hold a licence under the Act, including a facility that supplies electricity to a customer who is an end-use customer.
One operated to supply an end-use customer, or related customers by wheeling.
And the operation of a generation facility for demonstration purposes only, whether or not the facility is connected to a transmission or distribution network.

The notice also covers existing generation facilities, including those that filed for registration with the regulator within six months of commencement of the registration process by the regulator.

It also covers the trading of electricity by a reseller.

Separately, Nersa’s electricity subcommittee approved, on May 13, registration applications for 16 SSEGs and one cogenerator in line with the 2017 Licensing Exemption and Registration Notice, which remains in force until the new notice is promulgated. 

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Another huge fuel price hike, another pending electricity price jump. Just another day in sunny South Africa. The trouble with energy prices is that when they go up, the price of everything else goes up, but when they go down, other prices don’t.

The energy situation in South Africa is unsustainable and it is not just the poor and working class who are suffering, the entire economy is feeling the pain. It is just a matter of time before it reaches the verge of collapse, unless we do something urgently.

Fortunately, there is hope on the horizon or, more accurately, in the sky.

In my previous article I wrote about breakthroughs in solar power technology. A few months ago, I wrote about electric cars and their amazing capabilities.
These two technologies are potentially world-changing and in a few years they will transform the world’s economies in unimaginable ways.

Consider an average household of the future: all the power needed to run a house will be generated via solar power. But this power will not come from the national grid, it will be generated by the house itself. The average home of the future will be off-grid. In fact, in many places this is already a reality.

American company Tesla has developed a range of roof tiles that look like plain old concrete roof tiles, but are highly efficient solar panels capable of generating electricity for domestic use.

Made with tempered glass, Tesla claims its solar roof tiles are more than three times stronger than standard roofing tiles. Its website says: “Glass solar tiles are so durable they are guaranteed for the lifetime of your house, or infinity, whichever comes first.”

Although domestic solar panels have been around for some time, the trouble with them, as with solar power in general, is that there isn’t a way to store the generated electricity.

Excess electricity is wasted, and when the sun goes down, no electricity is generated at all.

As a result, power grids have to resort to “traditional” power sources such as coal and nuclear power stations.

But that is about to change.

​Towards the end of 2016, areas in South Australia faced wide-scale blackouts and load shedding after extremely violent storms knocked out power transmission towers. Since the area is remote, there weren’t sufficient alternative lines to re-route the power, and the problem persisted, affecting thousands of homes and businesses.

Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, became aware of this and tweeted a solution: build the world’s biggest lithium-ion battery.

He claimed the battery would be able to supply the entire region with backup power whenever the grid went out. He further claimed he could build it in 100 days.

The Aussies took Musk up on his offer. Despite vehement opposition from some of Australia’s senior politicians, such as Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the 100MWh/129MWh Hornsdale Power Reserve was officially commissioned on December 1, 2017. The battery would be owned and operated by French renewable energy provider Neoen.

The “Big Battery”, as it is called, cost nearly A$100m (R1.06billion) to build, but by the end of last year, the Australian energy market operator reported that it had saved almost A$40million in grid costs.

Big Battery catapulted South Australia into a world leader in power storage and, due to its success, Tesla has received a number of orders for similar installations. All that from a single tweet.

Tesla is also the leader in the domestic power storage industry. Its Powerwall unit is a large battery especially designed for homes and is powerful enough to run a home with all its appliances, including air conditioners. Unlike most battery backup systems, the Powerwall connects to the power mains, not to a limited number of lights.

Although the Powerwall can operate on its own as a backup system, it ideally pairs with the roof tile solar panels to operate as a complete power solution. It provides about 7kWh, which means an average family of four will require just two batteries for normal overnight usage.

For many American families, the solar roof tiles and Powerwalls are not just powering their homes, but their electric cars, too.

The obvious benefit is a huge monthly saving in electricity and fuel costs, but the wider ramifications are mind-bending to consider.

Traditional power stations will become a thing of the past, while the entire crude oil industry will collapse, with all the nastiness that goes with it, such as the cartels, middlemen, price-fixing, oil wars and, of course, environmental hazard. Petrol stations will be replaced by charging stations.

All our energy will come from the most natural, abundant and renewable source: the sun, and for the first time in more than a 100 years, energy production will be truly democratised and out of the hands of a greedy few.

* Bilal Kathrada is an educational technologist, speaker, author, newspaper columnist and entrepreneur. He is the founder of CompuKids, a start-up that teaches children Computer Science skills. Bilal blogs at www.bilalkat.com.

** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.

Cape Argus

Are floating solar farms better than land-based ones?
Who needs to take up so much land when the Earth is 70 per cent water…
Where land is scarce, floating solar farms make it possible to generate renewable energy without taking up space that might be needed for farming or other purposes. The cooling effect of the water allows the floating solar cells to run more efficiently than on land. Most floating solar farms are installed on artificial lakes or reservoirs. For example, the world’s largest floating solar farm, recently unveiled in China near the city of Huainan, sits on top of a former coal mining area that has been flooded. By covering the water’s surface, floating solar farms reduce evaporation, saving water.

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.”

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