Construction World July 2019

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

Decision SUPPORTED

The South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) has come out in support of the recent request by the Department of Energy for NERSA to licence businesses to generate power and feed it into the national grid.

T his commendable step by the Minister will contribute to further decentralisation and democratisation of the South African electricity sector. It will open the market to smaller-scale renewable energy projects with a significant level of local ownership. “The small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) market has the potential to support the industrialisation efforts stimulated by the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REI4P) and contribute to job creation,” says Ntombifuthi Ntuli, SAWEA Board Member and Research Group Leader: Energy Industry, CSIR Energy Centre. A recent SAWEA study that investigated the value proposition of distributed generation renewable energy estimated the job creation

potential for wind energy SSEG projects at 207 jobs during one year of construction and 127 permanent jobs during operations, for a combined capacity of 50MW projects. If the wind industry deploys 50MW per annum over a 10-year period, it can create 4 840 jobs. This is over and above the jobs created in the REI4P market segment. The study estimated that between 40 MW and 75 MW per annum could be generated from behind-the-meter grid-tied wind energy projects, while it estimated 135MW per annum for projects wheeling electricity from remote wind energy sites. This could plug the demand gaps created by the stop-start nature of the REI4P and create a certain level of continuity in the renewable energy market. 

Douala Grand Mall, Cameroon’s first destination retail mall, has been pre-certified to IFC – International Finance Corporation EDGE. Once construction is complete, it will be the first certified green building in Cameroon. FIRST GREEN CERTIFIED building in CAMEROON

D eveloped by Actis, a leading growth market investor and local partner Craft Development, Douala Grand Mall will comprise 18 000 m 2 of retail and leisure space, close to Bonapriso in Cameroon’s largest city. Occupying the most strategic site in Douala, the development is located in the immediate vicinity of the International Airport, with a catchment area of four million inhabitants and ready accessibility for all socio-economic groups. The mall will be 30% more energy efficient and 50% more water efficient than other buildings in the market, through measures such as using reflective paint and tiles on the roof; installing faucet aerators and water efficient bathroom fixtures. Through its real estate portfolio, Actis’ institutional commitment to ‘Green-by-Design’ has delivered an impressive track record across Africa, with a range of highly successful sustainable developments including: Garden City in Nairobi, which won Africa Property Investment’s Best Green Building in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2017. Actis and IFC are committed to moving the Cameroonian building

construction industry on to a lower carbon, more resource-efficient path and promoting green buildings and sustainable design practices. Funke Okubadejo, Director and Actis’ investment manager for the asset commented: “Douala Grand Mall completes a fourth ‘first’ for Actis, following Heritage Place, Lagos; One Airport Square, Accra and Garden City, Nairobi, which were the first Green certified buildings in their respective markets. The EDGE certification gives tangible meaning to environmentally friendly construction.” Ommid Saberi, IFC’s Senior Industry Specialist for Green Buildings and EDGE Global Technical Lead, added: “Actis is setting an example for others to follow in being the first to express their commitment to EDGE and encouraging green building growth. With the support of the financial sector and pioneers such as Actis who have embraced EDGE, together we can transform the future built environment across Africa.” Actis has a strong presence across Francophone Africa including energy, education and healthcare businesses. 

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD JULY 2019