MechChem Africa September-October 2022

⎪ PowerGen,PetroChem and Sustainable energy management ⎪

Carbon offset projects Akeywayof helping intensiveusersof carbon-basedenergy is through carbon offset projects, Zollner suggests. “There have been serious delays in the registration and approval of carbon offset projects in recent years, along with a shortage of projects that companies could invest in. But we are now seeing South African registrations on local databases that have been globally accredited. “We are also seeing many more projects being accredited for companies to invest in, particularly in the agricultural sector. There are now several agricultural project in the Western Cape that have come on stream, and these are nowbeing registered on SouthAfrican databases and managed and monitored locally, which significantly reduces delays,” he notes. Because carbonemissions have tobemitigated in the same country theywere generated, it is essential for SouthAfrican companies to be able to invest in local carbon-offset projects. This creates additional financial opportunities for those setting up carbon-offset projects, improving their emissions performance by adopting cleaner produc tion methods or technologies. By investing in these carbon-offset projects, steel and cement producers, brick manufacturers and petrochemical processors can receive carbon credits that canbe used to reduce emissions claims for compliance and Carbon Tax purposes. Also, though, an investment in an accredited regularly verified project also improves the company’s broader ESG standing. Zollner cites an example in theWestern Cape, whereAgriCarbon, SouthAfrica’s first internationally recognised car bonprogramme is paying farmers for the carbon credits they generate from sustainable land management practices.Emissions reductions are achieved using rotational grazing, cover cropping, reduced tillage and other naturally sustainable practices that improve soil quality and reduce input costs. They also increase organic carbon in the soil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which, when verified and ac credited, translate into carbon credits. Dairy farms, in particular, releasemethane, which is a greenhouse gaswith a high carbon equivalent, anduse large quantities of industri ally producednitrogen-based fertiliser, whichhas a carbonequivalent of 5.6 kgCO 2 per kg applied. The owner of one of the 40 SouthAfrican farms in the pilot AgriCarbon scheme reports that has more than halved his nitrogen-fertiliser use per hectare since 2018.

energy can be bought and sold. “We are starting to see more free market based energy trading, so companies can now choose to reduce their indirect emissions contributions by buying from renewable generators. Legislation is in place to enable renewable energy plants to sell power directly to industrial off takers instead of selling all of their power to Eskom. A commercial facility with its own rooftop PV plant can sell its excess power back into the grid or to another user,” Zollner explains. “An open marketplace is emerging where any power producer can, directly or through a licensed distribution company, sell green power to the highest bidder,” he adds. The optimisation and reduction of energy demand has been a key focus for reducing emissions, but reductions are also possible through the use of alternate fuel sources such as biomass products. Any initiative however needs to be monitored, measures and the data reported on a regular basis. Otherwise the investment may be completely wasted, Zollner warns. Another mature technology that is now being more widely ad opted is the generation of power from solid waste products at our increasingly few landfill sites. “We need to become more conscious andmore educated around emissions, environmental problems and consequences, and the seriousness of our lifestyle choices. “It's a global problem, yes, but we are certainly starting to experience the effects ourselves: in changing weather patterns bringingmore flooding, heat waves and droughts. Unless we change individual behaviour around being conscious of our emissions, we will always be slow to take these low emissions practices into our workplace or into the way we do things. “In Europe, we are starting to see products in supermarkets with emission factors on the labels. This is the future. Any product we manufacture for sale will have to have its net emissions foot print published so that consumers can make informed choices. Just as electrical goods now come with an energy efficiency fac tor, products will be rated according to how ‘greenly’ they were manufactured. “This all starts with industry, manufacturers, businesses, facil ity managers and individuals starting to monitor and record their emissions contributions so that, together, we can all change our behaviour, make better choices and steadily reduce our own na tional and personal contributions to global warming and climate change,” Eckart Zollner concludes. www.eds.holdings

Green energy trading Another change that is coming relates to legislation around how

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