Housing in Southern Africa June 2016

Energy Efficiency

The contribution of independent power producers under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Programme (REIPPP) is expected to grow to 7 000 MW. Power producers to contribute 7 000 MW E nergy Minister Tina Joemat- Pettersson says: “The energy contribution of independent remains on track tomeet the national commitment to transition to a low carbon economy with the target of 17 800 MW of renewable energy power by 2030.

power producers is expected to grow to approximately 7 000 MW with the first 47 renewable energy independent power producers fully operational by mid-2016. Private in- vestment in the programme currently exceeds R194 billion.” REIPPP has become one of the world’smost progressive and success- ful alternative energy programmes. Since the introduction of solar, wind, biomass, small hydro and landfill gas, power plants have been going up across the country, feeding clean energy into the national grid. Last December 2015, the depart- ment procured6 377MWof renewable energy and has already connected 44 projects with a capacity of 2 021 MW to the national grid with more in the pipeline. Bids totalling an additional 1 800 MWare currently being evaluat- ed and the department will announce the preferred bidders during the second quarter of the financial year. Investments made though the small projects programme will increase in- vestments to more than R255 billion. The Department of Energy also

engage with these change agents,” says Wilkinson. These keynote speakers, and oth- ers on the compelling programme of the country’s top green gathering, will tackle topics that South Africans have proven they care deeply about. South African green building is driven by an acknowledgement that green building is ‘the right thing to do’, rather than by regulations, ac- cording to new research published in World Green Building Trends 2016. The report alsopredicts that South Africa could be a leader in the global green market in the next three years. “It’s a clear sign that green build- ing practices are gaining significant momentum in South Africa, along with an acknowledgment that Green Star-certified projects are not only “The current renewable energy operational portfolio is contributing an increasing percentage of the buf- fer between the available supply and projected demand for electricity,” says Joemat Pettersson. The department has procured private peak stations with additional capacity of 1 000MW that can be used when demand exceeds more than Eskom can produce. The Avon plant in Eastern Cape, which was completed in September 2015, produces 330 MW, the Dedisa plant in KwaZulu-Natal will contrib- ute 630 MW by the end of 2016. The R8 billion spent on projects created 210 permanent and 6 190 temporary positions at the plants. “To further boost renewable en- ergy development in South Africa, we agreed with the National Energy Regulator of SA, that 1 500 MW will be generated from a Northern Cape Solar Park.” This will stimulate investment in new and expanding industrial and manufacturing facilities, the

world-class and innovative, but ben- efit people, the planet and profits,” says Wilkinson. At the United Nations’ COP21 in Paris, in December 2015, the GBCSA announced its commitment to in- troduce a net zero/positive building certification scheme by 2020. It also set itself challenging green goals to grow its number of certifica- tions and accredited professionals, expand its training reach and grow fledgling green building councils across Africa. The annual Green Building Con- vention has become a powerful plat- form for the country’s and the con- tinent’s green building movement. For all the information on the Green Building Convention 2016 visit www.gbcsaconvention.org.za ■ “Not only have numerous employ- ment opportunities been created, with 52% of total job opportunities specifically for youth. But, the youth have also benefitted from various skills development initiatives prepar- ing them for, hopefully, a bright and successful future,” said theMinister. ■ development of local supply chains andentrepreneurial andemployment opportunities for South Africans. The Solar Parkwill be developed in a clustered fashion, sharing common infrastructure and services such as access to land, water supply, feeder lines to electricity transmission sys- tem, roads and support industries. As part of the YouthMonth in June, the department will celebrate the strides made by the REIPPP towards the development and empowerment of the youth.

positive change and build a better world. There is no better platform than this convention to network and

Brian Wilkinson

June 2016