Construction World September 2015

ENVIRONMENT

Coega Development Corporation announced recently that the roofs of about 15 of its buildings within the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) will be fitted with solar panels. These CDC buildings have a collective roof space of 127 000 m 2 . A request for proposals for the solar panel rooftop solution has already been issued by the CDC. The project forms part of the organisation’s commitment to renewable energy as an important source of energy security. “Existing buildings lend themselves well to rooftop solar panel instal- lations. This project entails retrofitting roofs of the industrial buildings in the Coega IDZ,” said Sandisiwe Ncemane CDC business development manager: energy. “We are also building a number of new industrial facilities, which will be designed to enable the implementation of solar power solutions on the roofs. CDC facilities to be built for investors are projected to provide a further 125 000 m 2 of industrial space over the next five years.” Eskomannounced that the electricity supply to the country will be highly constrained for at least the next five years, due to drastic deterioration of power stations. Load shedding, which has been implemented since the beginning of 2008 to relieve the national grid, also presents a hidden cost to society because frequent disruptions can slow down economic progress. Bloomberg New Energy Finance is an agency which gives potential investors a specific breakdown of the renewable energy investment opportunities in 55 countries, including 19 in Africa. Last year they conducted research that confirmed that South Africa ranked third in the world after China and Brazil and first among African countries for clean energy investment. Ncemane added that due to the energy and climate change crisis in South Africa, the creation of power through solar harvesting is an important priority and opportunity for the country. “Electricity generated from the sun is a significant contributor to the needs of sustainable electricity output solutions, and can deliver economic benefits to the country.” The CDC has been mandated by the South African Government to advance the Coega project as an integrated and holistic development, in the shortest possible timeframe. The investment will indirectly contribute to job creation and economic development in the Eastern Cape. “The CDC has also built momentum on its Renewable Energy (RE) strategy by attracting and sustaining domestic and foreign direct investment in energy projects, which to date includes several ‘green’ energy compo- nents manufacturing industries in wind power generation, solar energy harvesting and bioenergy.” Dr Ayanda Vilakazi, CDC head of marketing and communications said, “Investment in solar energy will position the Coega IDZ as a green IDZ with efficient energy at lower costs. This is also aimed at creating further value for the CDC investors as Energy has been key to economic devel- opment world-wide.” COEGA’S SOLAR ROOF- TOP PANELS >

Rudolf Pienaar, Growthpoint Properties Divisional Director: Offices, has been appointed to the World Green Building Council’s (WorldGBC’s) Board of Directors. Pienaar is deputy chairman of the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA), a member of the WorldGBC. WORLD GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL APPOINTMENT TheWorldGBC connects a global coalition of more than 100 national Green Building Councils and their 27 000 member companies with a single mission: to transform the building industry and ensure our buildings and cities are sustainable, healthy, efficient, and productive. Its Board includes representation from five regions: Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East and North Africa. Pienaar was one of seven leaders in the global green building movement to be recently appointed to the WorldGBC’s Board. WorldGBC chairman, Bruce Kerswill, also from South Africa, comments: “Pienaar brings with him regional knowledge and expertise that will be valuable in helping WorldGBC increase our impact as we work through our member GBCs to accelerate sustainability in the built environment around the globe. We are fortunate to have such experienced and passionate individuals on board, as the environmental challenges our planet faces are daunting and we have a full agenda with some ambitious projects”. Brian Wilkinson, CEO of the GBCSA, adds: “We’d like to congratulate Pienaar on his appointment to theWorldGBC board. Pienaar has been a dedi- cated and activemember of the GBCSA board and is a committed advocate of green building practices. His appointment is richly deserved. He is a valuable member of our team and will undoubtedly serve as an asset in his new role.” Growthpoint Properties is South Africa’s largest JSE-listed REIT and a JSE ALSI 40 company, which has property assets valued at nearly R100-billion. Growthpoint is a Platinum Founding Member of the GBCSA, a JSE Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Index company and a Dow Jones Sustainability Index company. It is a top performer in the CDP Climate Performance Index. Growthpoint owns or co-owns the largest portfolio of green buildings of any company in South Africa. It co-sponsored the GBCSA’s Energy and Water Benchmarking Tool and is taking part in the pilot programmes for the Green Star SA Existing Building Performance Tool and the Socio-Economic Category. It has also partnered with GBCSA for the Greenovate Awards pilot which encourages students of the built environment to find ways to live more sustainably and helps link environmental challenges to innovative thinking. Pienaar has been at the forefront of South Africa’s movement for a sustainable built environment since 2008 and has championed many of Growthpoint’s green building achievements. He has 30 years of experience in the property industry and is an avid advocate for green building. Pienaar has been a member of the GBCSA board since 2010, chairs its Marketing Committee and sits on its Exco. Commenting on his appointment, Pienaar says he is looking forward to the opportunity to exchange information and learn valuable lessons from around the globe. “By freely sharing information on a global scale, about both our successes and failures in green building, we have more positive andmeaningful impacts >

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on our cities, environment and societies. I am extremely proud to be representing our country and our continent in the effort to drive green building forward with greater pace and results,” says Pienaar.

The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) is getting ready to install solar panels on rooftops of buildings located in the Industrial Develop- ment Zone (IDZ) in Nelson Mandela Bay.

Rudolf Pienaar has been appointed to the World Green Building Council’s board of directors.

CONSTRUCTION WORLD SEPTEMBER 2015