Electricity + Control December 2015

ENERGY + ENVIROFICIENCY

ROUND UP

Wind Energy Pioneer Award Ayanda Nakedi, Eskom ’s Senior General Manager for Renewables, was one of the leaders recognised at this year’sWindaba for their contribution to the industry. Windaba is the South AfricanWind Energy Association’s (SAWEA) annual conference and at

its gala evening a special accolade of ‘Wind Energy Pioneer Award’ was bestowed upon Ayanda for outstanding service to the industry. Ayanda has given a pioneering and sustained contribution to wind power in South Africa, she has shown leadership in the growth of the wind industry and her contribution has had positive impact on the country. Eskom’s Group Chief Executive, Brian Molefe, said: “She has indeed been a pioneer, having overseen the commercial opera- tion of Eskom’s 100 MW Sere Wind Farm, our first utility-scale renewable energy project. The project was completed on time and within budget, with a safety record in line with our Zero Harm policy, and without any environmental legal contraventions or incidents of industrial action!”

Meteorology for Wind Energy Professionals Dr Lars Landberg, a meteorologist at DNV GL , has written a book that will help non- meteorologists understand the critical con- cepts that underpin wind energy technology and project success. The fundamentals of meteorology dictate the success or failure of wind projects. The 224-page book starts with an explanation of howwind forms and how it is measured. Wind properties such as flow at all atmospheric scales, turbulence and wakes are examined, followed by a discussion on modelling, its resolution and accuracy. The reader is led through very simple concepts to more advanced theories with the use of examples. Enquiries: Email Per.Wiggo.Richardsen@dnvgl.com EcoTank Recent and ongoing technical develop- ments have made it possible to harness the sun’s energy andmake it easily available for all to use. Simple plug-and-play products are shaping the way in which consumers approach the use of solar as an alternative and viable option. The recently launched Ecoboxx 1500 (EcoTank), is capable of up to 350 hours of power. In addition to pro- viding enough power to support a small to medium sized business during times inter- rupted power supply, the EcoTank is used in residential and private homes, particularly in housing estates as an alternative to diesel generators. Enquiries:Talana Cole.Tel. 021 447 6849. Visit www.ecoboxx.co.za Energy Neighbour Transmission losses and fluctuations in electric power grids can be reduced when renewable energy is stored locally. Re- searchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a stationary intermediate storage system - the Energy Neighbour. Energy Neighbour increases the local consumption of generated power, reduces the load on the grid and facilitates the expansion of renewable energy produc- tion capacity. Among its greatest strengths is its long lifecycle. Enquiries: Marcus Müller. Email marcus.mueller@tum.de

Enquiries:Tel. 011 800 3304 or email mediadesk@eskom.co.za

Ayanda Nakedi, Eskom’s ‘Wind Energy Pioneer’.

Two countries score triple ‘A’ trilemma score In its fifth edition, the World Energy Council ’s annual ranking of energy and climate policies - the 2015 EnergyTrilemma Index – registers overall improvements across the three dimensions of the energy trilemma. However, this year’s report shows that the challenges faced by countries to develop a balanced approach to their energy policy mean that only two countries out of 130 are achieving ‘AAA’ balance score. Switzerland and Sweden, who top the list, achieve triple ‘A’ score, and while the UK remains in the top ten, it loses its ‘A’ grading for energy equity, moving it from a ‘AAA’’ to ‘AAB’ status. It is a downgrade that reflects the challenges that countries across the world are facing in balancing the trade-offs of the trilemma goals and dealing with financing the transformation of their energy systems.Two new countries have been added to the nega- tive watch list which in 2014 included German, Italy, Japan and the UK.The countries are South Africa, due to its electricity crisis, and the US where lack of investment in ageing infrastructure and exposure to extreme weather events pose threats to the country’s currently strong energy security performance in the Trilemma Index.The report’s findings show that the best-performing nations tend to be developed countries with higher shares of energy coming from low- or zero- carbon energy sources supported by well-established energy efficiency programmes. Every year, the EnergyTrilemma Index report ranks the energy systems of countries across the world by giving them a score based on how they are balancing the three dimensions of the energy trilemma between energy security (a country’s ability to meet its current and predicted energy demand), energy equity (the accessibility and affordability of energy across the population) and environmental sustainability (achievement of supply of renewable or low carbon forms of energy). Enquiries:Vivien Rees. Email rees@worldenergy.org

Energy Security 1. Canada 2. Denmark 3. United States 4. UnitedKingdom 5. Equador

Top 10 2015 Trilemma Index 1. Switzerland 2. Sweden 3. Norway 4. United Kingdom 5. Austria 6. Denmark 7. Canada 8. France 9. Finland 10. New Zealand

6. Australia 7. Nigeria 8. Gabon 9. Argentina 10.Switzerland

Download the 2015World EnergyTrilemma report and the EnergyTrilemma Index along with country profiles

Environmental Sustainability 1. Switzerland 2. Costa Rica

Energy Equity 1. United States 2. Canada 3. Luxembourg 4. Qatar 5. Switzerland

6. Norway 7. Paraguay 8. Mauritius 9. Sweden 10. Gabon

6. United Arab Emirates 7. Saudi Arabia 8. Hong Kong, China

3. Colombia 4. Uruguay 5. Albania

9. Austria 10. Oman

©2015 World Energy Council, Oliver Wyman

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