• Getting updates on how to align your CSP technology with South Africa’s incentives & pricing to win RFPs for your projects;
• Evaluating cost v efficiency, storage capability and South African adoption from trough to tower and beyond to get the best technology for your project;
• Formulating your business plant to power into Phase II , use success stories and meet the buyers to get your project license in a competitive market place;
• Streamlining your CSP procurement through effective partnerships and local sourcing to meet requirements and grow a domestic market;
• Global CSP market on South Africa’s doorstep: Journey the CSP plants of the world and get exclusive access to critical data from development to commissioning and beyond; and
• Getting financed fast! Prove CSP’s bankability to your investors and the world to compete for the cash with other renewables

It is estimated that 1GW of power will be generated from CSP in South Africa in the coming years. The second round of bidding for CSP starts the 5th March 2012, and this leaves little time for bidders, hoping to get the next 200MW CSP allocation, to sort out their paperwork.

The Southern African region is seen as a key market for CSP projects. It is recognised that many developing countries have overtaken developed countries when it comes to CSP project implementation. So what makes the South African market so exciting and potentially lucrative? Well the continued energy shortage and massive carbon footprint,  and decreasing solar prices, make South Africa a current hot-bed of activity in this field.

In short, 2012 promises to be an exciting time for CSP and other renewable energy technologies in South Africa.

• Approx. 324 L. of water is used to produce 1 KG of paper.
• The paperless office, once predicted as a result of information technology (IT), has not transpired. Industry analysts estimate that 95% of business information is still stored on paper.
• Paper manufacturing is the 3rd largest user of fossil fuels worldwide.
• 115 billion sheets of paper are used annually for personal computers.
• In the US, 9,190 million tons of office paper was generated, and 4,220 million tons were recovered in 2002. In 2000, only 4,545 million tons were recovered.
• Every tree provides oxygen enough for 3 people to breathe.
• When paper rots or is composted it emits methane gas which is 25 times more toxic than CO2.

(For more facts about paper see here)

So how can you help reduce the amount of paper needlessly printed everyday across the world in homes and offices? Well the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has come up with its own green file format called WWF.

Simply visit the Save As WWF website and install the WWF file format for your OS. This installs a “Save As WWF” option. Then whenever you need to send someone a document simply “Save As WWF” within the application you are using and email the document as usual. The recipient can then use any PDF reader to open the document.

Now here’s the clever bit: The document cannot be printed.

So help save paper, Save As WWF.

Water vs. Energy

With the energy consumption in the world increasing, other resources are becoming strained as well. There is an ever increasing need in the developing world for clean water, for drinking and irrigation purposes. The choice of energy production will have a significant impact on the amount of water that is required for producing the energy required, also impacting the water available for other applications. The power source that uses the most water is geothermal energy, consuming about 11 metric tons of water per MWh produced; other highly water-intensive power sources are hydroelectric (5.5 ton/MWh), solar thermal (4 tons/MWh), nuclear (1.5-2.7 ton/MWh), as well as coal and biomass based electricity production (1.5 ton/MWh). At the other end of the spectrum we have natural gas based production with (0.5 tons/MWh), photovoltaic (0.1 tons/MWh) and wind (0.01 tons/MWh), all according to the US Dept of Energy.

The majority of the water required for thermal cycle plants such as nuclear, coal, natural gas and solar thermal comes with the use of the cooling tower make-up. This make-up water can be expensive in areas where water is scarce and alternative supplies such as lake or sea water or indeed gray-water should be considered; however in considering these alternatives, the environmental impacts should also be taken into account. However, the different power sources not only impact the water quantity required, but also the water quality.

The extraction and production of energy will impact the surrounding environment. In the case of oil and gas exploration, water is used for drilling and fracturing which may impact groundwater quality. The same can be said in the case of the impaired water in oil and gas or the water generated during mining operations; it too can impact groundwater and surface water. Also the production of energy with its emission of NOx, SOx, HC and CO, as well as thermal emissions, impact surface waters, ecology and lead to acidification. Finally the refining and processing of fuels as well as the transportation and storage of energy will lead to water consumption, and impacts on water quality.

It is therefore imperative that the scientific and engineering community both take the water requirement into account, given the local conditions, when constructing or refurbishing a plant; but also continue to do research and development of improving and inventing new methods of water purification.

• When boiling the kettle only boil as much as water as you need. For example, if you are making one cup of tea, then boil enough water for that one cup of tea. However, be mindful of the “minimum” water level indicator present on many kettles;
• If you have an electric hot water heater or geyser then set the thermostat to a comfortable level so the water that comes out of the hot water tap is hot enough to be comfortable and does not require too much cold water mixing. In many homes where water is heated electrically via a hot water geyser, the geyser is the highest consumer of electricity. When going away on vacation just switch off your geyser from the distribution fuse box. Another method of saving energy is to install a timer switch for your geyser so that when you are away at work the geyser is off;
• The second highest consumer of electricity in the home is normally the fridge freezer. A simple tip is to only open the door of the fridge long enough to take out/put in the item you want. Do not stand with the door open since the fridge will warm up and when the door is closed the compressor will come on to then lower the temperature again. If you have cooked a dish that you wish to keep in the fridge or freezer, then let it cool to room temperature before putting it into the fridge freezer. Some fridge freezers have a “Vacation” setting that you can utilise to conserve energy when you are away from your home. If you are looking for a new fridge freezer look for one that has a high energy efficiency rating as well a small door within the main door that allows you to store items that you use on a regular basis like milk, juice and butter. This allows for easy access without opening the main door to warm the fridge up, saving energy;
• Many local councils will subsidise roof insulation. This will keep your house warm in the winter and cool in summer. This means you will use less energy for heating and cooling;
• Households produce a lot of waste. Much of this waste, such as glass, paper, metal, is highly recyclable. If your local council does not collect recyclable waste then contact many of the private companies that will come and collect your waste. If you have a garden, then look into composting. Much of kitchen organic waste can be composted which can then be added to your garden to improve the soil;
• Make sure you change all your traditional light bulbs for energy saving compact fluorescent (CFL) or LED lighting. Many of the new technologies come in a soft/warm light option to give a similar warm soft light that you are used to from traditional light bulbs. Many of the new lighting technologies are also dimmable. CFL or LED lighting can save significant energy compared to traditional lighting;
• Supermarkets now stock a range of “green” household cleaning products that harmlessly breakdown when washed down the sink. Purchase these products over harsher chemical cleaners;
• During the evening only light rooms that you are occupying, and turn off all other lights;
• Unplug cell phone chargers when not in use;
• Most modern household gadgets such as TV’s, satellite decoders, music centres, microwaves etc. don’t actually completely switch off when you turn them off, but rather they go into a standby mode which is using small amounts of electricity. If you can, turn these devices off from the wall to save energy;
• You can save water by installing low water flush system to your toilets. One simple way to do this with your existing toilets is to get an empty one litre plastic drink bottle, clean it out, and fill it with sand. Now place this in your toilets cistern. Now when you flush the toilet you will use one litre less of water;
• Fit low-flow shower heads in your shower to use less water when you shower;
• Modern washing detergents (make sure you buy a biodegradable one) that are used in washing machines are very effective in cold wash cycles. Therefore, for your daily loads of lightly soiled clothes use a good biodegradable washing powder and the cold cycle of your machine. Higher temperature washes mean that much more energy is used in heating the cold water; and
• If you are thinking of putting in wooden floors, consider bamboo. Bamboo grows quickly, and uses less water than trees. It is strong and naturally anti-bacterial.

• Think twice about printing emails and documents;
• If you do have to print documents consider printing them double sided and using the economy mode that uses less toner;
• Consider saving documents in the WWF format (from the World Wildlife Fund). The WWF format is a PDF that cannot be printed out. It’s a simple way to avoid unnecessary printing;
• If you able to buy good quality recycled paper then print documents on this paper stock, and proudly advertise that fact in the footer, e.g. “Proudly Printed on Recycled Paper”;
• If you own your office building then change traditional light bulbs for energy saving compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs);
• If you don’t own your office building talk to your landlord about adopting energy efficient lighting;
• Laptops are much more energy efficient than traditional desktops with old style monitors. If you can change old desktop IT equipment for laptops, or at least change the old style monitor for a LCD flat screen monitor (make sure you correctly recycle end-of-life IT equipment);
• Turn off all lights when you leave the office for the day;
• Contact your local recycling company to have them collect all office waste including paper, cans, printer cartridges, bottles and plastics;
• Source all your office stationary, catering and supplies from a local near-by supplier to avoid “last mile emissions”;
• Purchase locally grown food and drinks for stocking your office kitchen to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with long food logistics chains;
• If possible use conference calls and video calling to reduce travel;
• Start a car-pool in the office to reduce costs and emissions associated with the daily commute, or use public transport and a bike; and
• Don’t use disposable styrofoam or plastic cups in your kitchen, rather use proper cups and glasses.

The term “Smart Grid” has been thrown around for many years, but what exactly is a smart grid and what can it do for Africa? A smart grid uses innovative technologies to integrate diverse power generation technologies, distribute the power to where it is required and when it is required, and utilises smart meters to bill consumers for power used based on time of day. Thus smart grids can also influence the behaviour of consumers. In short, smart grids enable the two-way communication between the supplier and the consumer so that energy can be utilised in the most efficient manner.

Some of the benefits for Africa of smart grid technology include:

• Loss reduction [In some African countries technical and non-technical losses in the grid can be as high as 40%]
• Peak demand reduction [A reduction of 1% in peak demand could result in cost reductions of 4%, equalling billions of dollars at system level ]
• Quality of supply [Providing higher quality power to high-demand consumers, while lower quality power can be supplied to less-demanding consumers]
• Latent network capacity
• Climate change mitigation [A more efficient smart grid will use energy more efficiently thus reducing greenhouse house gases]
• Job creation [New smart grid technologies will create a need for new skills]

In summary, Smart Grids ensure a reliable, secure and efficient supply of electricity services by combining a range of innovative tools and practices supported by novel business models and regulatory frameworks. Speak to Enerleq if you wish to learn more about making your grid smarter.

—

Is there a difference in developing and implementing renewable energy and fuels in the context of emerging markets compared to more mature markets? The answer to this question is both yes and no.

On the one hand, the answer is yes in that there is a much higher absolute cost focus, meaning that there is less focus on tax incentives and the like in developing economies. The ability of finding investment-willing capital is also more limited, which inherently results in fewer and smaller actual projects. This means that there is a tendency to invest in smaller production units and with that more dispersed production. This is not always a major drawback; small-scale production may not give economies-of-scale, but if properly implemented economies-of-scale and higher energy-system robustness can be achieved.

On the other hand, the answer is no in that there are the same emotional arguments being made in, for example, fuel vs. food debate and environmental protection. There is usually also a strong connection between the agricultural production and the production of biofuels in both contexts, further complicating the picture of producing biofuels and bioenergy. With this said, it is my sincerest belief that there are more similarities than differences and that the experiences made in the more mature markets are relevant to the development of new, evolving markets.

—

Hulteberg C&E has more than 30 years of experience in addressing environmental related challenges. Hulteberg has three main focus areas of business:

• Catalysis
• Hydrogen Energy
• Environmental Engineering

“Within the emerging markets environment there are a number of obstacles to commercialising non-fossil fuel based fuels. Many nations in the emerging markets are still developing and therefore rely on cheaper sources of energy to drive industrialisation and development.

These energy sources are usually natural resources such as coal and/or oil, and therefore available cheaply. Also many non-fossil based fuels require greater technological development in order to be utilised safely and efficiently, and this technological know-how is not readily and cost effectively available in many developing countries.”

So why is your data dirty? Well lets start with electricity. Most data centres are powered by electricity which in many countries comes from coal fired power stations. Moreover, many larger companies house their data centres where there is an abundance of cheap coal-generated electricity like the US Midwest. To put electricity consumption of data centres into perspective consider the fact that India (in 2007) consumed 568 billion kWh of energy, while cloud computing that year consumed 662 billion kWh’s of energy. Large data centres are referred as to as server farms, with 40% of the worlds server farms located in the USA. Apple’s new $1bn US dollar ‘iDataCenter’ in North Carolina is estimated to require as much 100MW of power, equivalent to about 80,000 US homes or 250,000 EU homes.

The electricity is not only used to power the computers in the data centre, but also to provide cooling via industrial scale air conditioners. Many companies globally are now providing “free cooling” solutions where cooling is provided in a much more efficient manner.

Other companies are utilising renewable energy sources to provide part of their energy demand for their data centres. Leading the way are the likes of Google.

Enerleq has worked with companies that are leading the way in providing efficient cooling solutions and/or renewable energy technologies for today’s data centres.

Diesel generators are noisy, and obviously require diesel fuel to be stored on site. Unfortunately, the diesel fuel is regularly stolen leaving sites without power. Batteries require temperatures of around 22C to function, and therefore in most cases air conditioners (which consume large amounts of energy) are required to keep the batteries cool.

So what makes fuel cells suitable for telecommunications applications in Africa?

• Autonomy – Fuel cells are able to operate as long as there is available fuel, so whether an 8 hour, 1 day or 3 day extended runtime is required, enough fuel can be stored onsite
• Security of Supply – Fuel cells are a relatively unknown technology and at present have little theft value. Being silent in operation they can be concealed. If running on hydrogen the fuel has little theft value
• Footprint –The space required for the same period of runtime is considerably less for fuel cells than for battery banks. Fuel cells do not require cooling like batteries which eliminates the need for spacious (and energy consuming) systems
• Fuels – The majority of these systems operate on hydrogen (in this instance the only emission is water), which can be generated from renewable sources or from reformed hydrocarbons (methanol and natural gas) or biofuels. Another promising fuel is ammonia
• Temperature tolerance – unlike batteries, fuel cells do not degrade a high temperatures
• Integration – fuel cell systems provided as either a standalone unit similar in size to a small refrigerator (for applications like base stations) or can be inserted in existing 19” racks
• Cost – over the lifetime of the unit can offer cost savings over existing technologies. This includes: maintenance, repairs, transport and disposal
• Reliability – In many cases, fuel cells are able to offer higher reliability and MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) and there is no degradation of voltage over time
• Environmental – Unlike generators, fuel cells do not use combustion and therefore there are no NOx, SOx or particulate emissions from the unit. These characteristics can reduce complications with site placement and integration
• Maintenance – fuel cells have very few moving parts which reduces the need for regular maintenance

However, there are some points one has to consider before exploring a fuel cell solution for telecoms in Africa:

• High upfront CAPEX – Fuel cells have a higher upfront cost when compared to batteries and diesel generators. However, the OPEX can be considerably lower over the lifetime of the fuel cell when compared to the batteries and diesel generators
• Fuel logistics – Bottled hydrogen is not readily available all over Africa. Outside of urban areas moving bottled hydrogen around (essentially moving metal) can be costly and can kill the economic business case for fuel cells
• Skills base – Throughout Africa finding mechanics that can work on diesel generators is fairly easy, as is suitably qualified engineers to maintain batteries. However, fuel cell technicians need to be trained and a new skill base developed
• Codes and standards – Codes and standards for the safe use of hydrogen in fuel cells do not exist in African countries and have to be adapted from US, European or Japanese standards
• Stack life – The fuel cell stack may only have a life time of 9-12 months of continuous use, and therefore is better suited to a back up application

In summary, fuel cells can provide an alternative energy source for base stations in some cases. Namely, close to a fuel supply and use for back up purposes (replacing the batteries).

Enerleq has 9 years experience of sourcing and installing fuel cells in a number of diverse applications in urban and rural Africa.