Green Economy Journal Issue 46

Economy 

G R E E N 

journal 

ISSUE 46 | 2021 

PLANET PRECAUTION: The current crisis is precursor to acute climate change 

LOCAL CONTENT: Developing a lithium-ion battery value chain in SA 

POWER PIPELINE: The gas industry anticipates major growth 

PESSIMISM/OPTIMISM: The Earthshot revolution set to repair the earth

YOU SEE USED 

BOTTLES. 

COLLECTORS 

SEE VALUE. 

Recycling PET plastic bottles creates over 60 000 income 

opportunities every year in South Africa. Many of these are 

reclaimers, who helped divert upwards of 95 000 tonnes 

of PET plastic bottles from landfill in 2019. The used bottles 

they collect are recycled, ensuring that they become 

bottles yet again. This creates yet more jobs in the process, 

contributing positively to our country’s GDP while eliminating 

the chance that they end up harming the environment. 

Recycling ensures that a circular economy is established 

where the value of plastic bottles continues indefinitely. 

Plastic bottles are not trash. 

18.2 BILLION 

PET plastic bottles 

collected for recycling 

R7.7 BILLION 

injected into South 

Africa’s economy 

65 900 

income opportunities 

created** 

** 2019 specifically 

1905356_FP_E 

ISSUE 46 | 2021 

G R E E N 


journal 

6 

8 

NEWS & SNIPPETS 

ontents 

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP 

The battle humanity is waging against the coronavirus is only 

the preliminary round, next is the climate emergency 

16 ENERGY 

Industrial energy efficiency 

18 

22 

SPECIAL REPORT 

An excerpt from the report: Opportunities to develop the 

lithium-ion battery value chain in South Africa 

OIL & GAS 

The gas-to-power industry expects major growth 

26 PROFILE 

Packa-ching has a solution for recyclable packaging 

28 INNOVATION 

The Earthshot Prize is the most prestigious global 

environment prize in history 

32 ENERGY 

An interview with Mercia Grimbeek, Chair of SAWEA 

34 ENERGY 

A case for a net-zero carbon economy 

35 ENERGY 

South African wind mean speed map 

36 TECHNOLOGY 

Artificial intelligence and the green economy 

40 PROFILE 

Greenhill Estate celebrates its off-grid approval from 

the City of Tshwane 

42 INFRASTRUCTURE 

GBCSA showcases the 27 buildings that have been awarded 

green star certificates this year so far 

48 EVENTS 

CTICC is facing the future with hope and optimism 


Enabling economic activity 


The history of lighting and energy efficiency 

8 

22 

28 

36 

3

PUBLISHER’S NOTE 

The RMIPPPP bones have fallen, and that which was foretold has 

come to be. 

There is much to celebrate in the outcome, and much to look 

forward to as these mega-trends of private gas-to-power and large 

scale solar/wind-storage hybrids slouch forward to financial close 

and commercial operation by latest December 2022. 

There is also some foggy air that one hopes will clear, relating 

to the outrageously successful Karpowership bids. The foggy air 

persists due to the apparent irresistible force seemingly pushing 

this bidder forward. Soon after the RMIPPPP RFI was released in Fen 

2020, the name Karpowerships was in the media for attempting to 

short-circuit the EIA process, and this back-channelling triggered 

rumours that political figures were behind these bids and alarm 

bells started ringing, just as Judge Zondo was trying to clear up the 

existing procurement mess. 

Meanwhile, legal experts gave opinions that Karpoweship bids 

could not be compliant, industry pundits left, right and centre 

criticised the 100% import and lease model, with ownership never 

changing hands. These projects would not tick the key government 

boxes of contributing to ‘gas-industrialisation’ or infrastructure 

development, that no meaningful employment would be created. 

Also adding fuel to the fire was the sense that the RMIPPPP bid 

document was written for gas, some say written for Karpowership 

specifically. How could floating gas-fired power stations, designed to 

provide emergency power, ostensibly for countries in some or other 

crisis (read customer list: Cuba, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, 

Senegal, Indonesia, Iraq (past project), Lebanon, Mozambique, Sierra 

Leone, Zambia (past project), Sudan) outperform land-based projects 

over 20 years? One would expect such an emergency source of 

power to come at a premium, and yet through it all – the predictions, 

the rumours, the opinions – Karpowerships come in with a 

remarkably competitive tariff and have been awarded 60% of the 

entire allocation of 2 000MW of generation capacity. A windfall 

of biblical proportions. 

In the meantime, the other mega gas bidder who was unsuccessful, 

DNG, has brought an urgent high court application against everyone 

(DoE, IPP Office, Eskom, and all successful bidders) to halt all steps 

towards financial close on grounds of out-and-out corruption. 

I don’t know about you, but I won’t be overly disappointed if 

Karpowerships can’t close, but there are some excellent bids from 

excellent consortia that deserve this success after a lengthy delay 

in the REIPPPP, and so I would not wish to see the baby thrown out 

with the bathwater, or at all. 

G R E E N 


journal 

EDITOR: 

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PUBLICATION DATE: May 2021 

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Gordon Brown, Publisher 

EDITOR’S NOTE 

In our thought leadership article, Llewellyn van Wyk, attests to the 

fact that Covid-19 and climate change need to be grasped now 

as interconnected crises that call for a common set of solutions. 

Solutions are what this issue of the Green Economy Journal is all 

about. Developing a lithium-ion battery value chain in South Africa 

could ensure a just transition to e-mobility and help solve South 

Africa’s job crisis (page 18). On page 22, the Journal speaks to 

Prashaen Reddy from Kearney about possible solutions to increase 

gas capacity in South Africa. The Earthshot Prize is hunting down 

game-changing solutions that if achieved by 2030, will improve life 

for us all, for generations to come (page 30). 

And as always, the Green Economy Journal is your sustainable 

solution to keeping ahead in the green economy. 

Alexis Knipe, Editor 

4 

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in any form without the prior written permission of the Publisher. The opinions expressed herein 

are not necessarily those of the Publisher or the Editor. All editorial and advertising contributions 

are accepted on the understanding that the contributor either owns or has obtained all necessary 

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by or on behalf of any organisations or products. Please address any concerns in this regard to 

the Publisher. 

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BASIC MINISTERIAL MEETING ON CLIMATE CHANGE 

Key outcomes of meeting hosted by India on 8 April 2021 

BASIC countries (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) are implementing climate actions based on 

their national circumstances and are fully committed to executing their Nationally Determined 

Contributions (NDCs). 

South Africa has made significant progress in its response to climate change since 2015. Last year, 

its low emissions development strategy was communicated to the UNFCCC. South Africa’s NDC 

significantly enhances both mitigation and adaptation ambition. The 2030 mitigation target will be 

reduced by a proposed 28% compared to the current target. 

Our National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy is concluded, co-ordinates adaptation actions 

at all levels of government. A compre-hensive legal framework is being executed for climate 

change, which includes the recent establishment of the Presidential Climate Change Coordinating 

Commission to oversee the country’s just transition. 

In terms of mitigation, South Africa has launched a massive investment programme contained 

in its 2019 Integrated Resource Plan as well as the fifth bid window of its renewable energy 

procurement programme. Eskom has committed to net-zero emissions by 2050. The national energy 

efficiency strategy has established new goals for 2030, a carbon tax was introduced in 2019, and a 

green transport and national waste management strategy will reduce emissions in these sectors. 

Recognising differences in capacity and historical responsibilies between developed and 

developing countries, Ministers agreed that developing countries require time and policy space to 

achieve a just transition of their economies. Developed countries shall provide new and additional, 

sustained, adequate and timely finance, technology and capacity building support to developing 

countries. The substantial gaps in mitigation, adaptation and support provided by developed 

countries to developing countries in the pre-2020 period must be counterbalanced through 

ambitious climate change action by developed countries in the post-2020 period. 

GREEN [HYDROGEN] IS FOR GO 

Sasol and Toyota South Africa Motors have partnered to explore the development of a green 

hydrogen mobility ecosystem in South Africa. They intend to build a mobility corridor and expand 

the demonstration to a pilot project using a main freight corridor, such as the N3 route between 

Durban and Johannesburg, for hydrogen powered heavy-duty long-haul trucks. 

“One of the focus areas for Sasol in South Africa is to provide a comprehensive and sustainable 

mobility solution. Hydrogen and electric vehicles with refuelling and charging infrastructure form 

part of this sustainable future. We believe hydrogen mobility is a real opportunity for the country 

to decarbonise the sectors of long-haul and heavy-duty transport, mining and others and see the 

creation of hydrogen hubs, or ecosystems, as a practical and affordable way to scale the deployment of 

hydrogen in the transport sector,” said Fleetwood Grobler, Sasol President and CEO. 

Source: The Africa Logistics 

NEW SCHOOL FOR 

CLIMATE STUDIES 

Minister Dr Blade Nzimande has welcomed 

the establishment of a new School of Climate 

Studies at Stellenbosch University, due to be 

launched in June 2021. The Ministry of Higher 

Education, for the first time, brings together 

higher education with science and innovation, 

thus presenting an opportunity to “enrich 

our understanding of the systemic issues 

rethinking and re-engineering to mitigate and 

adapt to the vagaries of climate uncertainty”. 

He said that all South African universities 

and TVET colleges must plan their differentiated 

and collective contributions to help 

understand climate change dynamics, and to 

work towards changing the world for a more 

equal humanity. 

SA CARS IN 

THE MAKING 

Government and automotive original equipment 

manufacturers (OEMs) are working 

towards the development of manufacturing 

capabilities for new energy vehicles in South 

Africa. The Automotive Business Council 

is in discussions with the dtic and is keen 

will review the South African Automotive 

Masterplan (due for implementation in 

July) and incorporate the latest global 

developments of new energy vehicles. 

Trends in the automotive industry have 

been augmented by Covid-19, including 

several countries bringing forward the date 

from which internal combustion engine 

vehicles will be banned. OEMs worldwide 

are speeding up the implementation of their 

electromobility strategies. 

LEADERS’ SUMMIT ON CLIMATE CHANGE 2021 

President Ramaphosa asked leaders at the summit to adhere to the principle of common but 

differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. “Developing countries often suffer 

the most from the devastating effects of climate change in the form of drought, extreme storms 

and rising sea levels. Consequently, developed economies have a responsibility to support 

developing economies to enable them to mitigate and adapt to climate change. We need 

to emphasise the primacy of multilateralism in ensuring the full implementation of the UN 

Framework Convention on Climate Change,” he said. 

“We plan to build capacity to generate over 17GW of renewable energy by 2030. It is critical 

that all three of the goals of the Paris Agreement – mitigation, adaptation and finance – be 

advanced with equal determination and ambition. We must massively scale up support in the 

form of financing, technology and capacity building, so that developing economies, including 

those in Africa, are able to enhance ambition on adaptation and mitigation.” 

NO MORE PLASTIC BAGGAGE 

The amendments to plastic bag regulations, 

gazetted by Minister Creecy in April 2021, 

promote circular economy and ensure 

circularity by setting minimum recycled 

content in a phased manner starting 2023 

until 2027. The amendments enhance the 

demand-side of waste management and 

will drive the diversion of plastic waste 

from landfill. The manufacture, trade or 

commercial distribution of plastic carrier bags 

will be prohibited for use in South Africa, other 

than those which comply with compulsory 

specifications. Plastic bags must be made 

from a minimum of 50% post-consumer 

recyclate from 1 January 2023, 75% of 

recycled materials from 2025 and 100% from 

1 January 2027. 

WATER MAINS 

At the recent Presidential Infrastructure 

Coordinating Commission, municipal water 

infrastructure was the main topic in which 

challenges ranging from infrastructure failure 

to service delivery interruptions were identified. 

The Council resolved to enable the 

coordination function of the water component 

of the District Development Model through the 

implementation of a National Water Programme 

Management Office. Blended finance will be 

accessed through the infrastructure fund. The 

establishment of a National Water Resource 

Infrastructure Agency and a review of the raw 

water pricing strategy will be fast-tracked to 

ensure effective pricing and cost-reflective tariffs. 

MY OCTOPUS TEACHER WINS AN OSCAR 

My Octopus Teacher is the first documentary 

to win a coveted Oscar Award at the Academy 

Awards. Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed walked 

away with the award for the documentary that 

tells the story of Craig Foster and his remarkable 

relationship with an octopus in the kelp forests 

along the Western Cape coast. 

At a time when more and more people 

are focusing on the health of the oceans, the 

documentary raises awareness about the role 

kelp forests play in the ocean environment, 

the abundance and fragility of the marine 

environment and the need for a healthy marine 

environment to sustain a diversity of species. 

SEAS OF CHANGE 

BlueCape, a partnership between V&A Waterfront and the City of Cape Town, has been founded 

to unlock value in the oceans economy by focusing on marine manufacturing, ocean sports 

and superyachts. BlueCape is part of the Ocean Cluster at the V&A Waterfront, which facilitates 

collaboration between ocean economy tenants and other stakeholders to create a sustainable 

blue ocean economy. The feasibility of an ocean economy hub is also being explored. 

6 7



When COVID 

Met CLIMATE 

WARMING STRIPES GRAPHIC DEPICTING ANNUAL MEAN GLOBAL TEMPERATURES 1850 – 2018 i 

Data values are visualised using colour rather than locations of points on a graph. Horizontal scale is time, from 1850 (left) to 2018 (right). 

Data is global (not for a locality). ii It is also the only full colour illustration used in my book iii – deliberately. 

In an article of the same name published 

by The Practice Utopian, Guy Dauncy uses 

When Harry Met Sally as a metaphor for his 

article. He writes that when we generally 

think of the movie our thoughts probably 

go immediately to that scene in the 

delicatessen, and the “I’ll have what she’s 

having” comment that follows. 

BY LLEWELLYN VAN WYK, B. ARCH; MSC. (APPLIED), URBAN ANALYST 

However, Dauncy suggests that if we put that aside for a moment, 

we may realise that it took Harry and Sally a long time before 

they realised that they were natural partners. In Dauncy’s version 

of the story, Harry is the climate and biodiversity action movement and 

Sally is the Covid-19 community response movement. For each, the 

movement includes a wide mix of people, organisations, scientists, 

health workers, artists, businesses, banks, and governments who have 

realised the urgency of their respective crises. 

The point Dauncy makes is this: sometime soon, whether next week 

or the middle of next year, a community that is struggling to contain 

Covid-19 is also going to be hit by a climate-strengthened hurricane, 

tornado or flood, and social distancing will conflict quite hopelessly with the 

need to rescue people from flooded homes. The climate and biodiversity 

emergencies are not taking time off to give the Covid-19 emergency some 

space. Nature does not work that way. But while Covid-19 may or may not 

return once it has gone, the climate and biodiversity emergencies will not 

go away at all, not until we have made big changes to the way we do things 

throughout the planet. The emergencies will just get more dire, every year. 

Enrique Dans put it very succinctly when he wrote that the battle 

humanity is waging against the coronavirus is only the preliminary round, 

and after that, we have a much bigger and stronger opponent waiting for 

us, called the climate emergency. iv 

If there is a silver lining to be found anywhere in the Covid-19 pandemic 

experience it is that having stood, as it were, at the edge of the abyss and 

looked over, seen a dark and distressing future, our species may be more 

inclined to make the changes required to avoid the full-scale impacts of 

climate change. 

The more obvious coronavirus pandemic and the disguised dangers of 

climate change parallel one another in important ways, and the assertive, 

if tardy, response to the pandemic holds valuable lessons for how we 

respond to climate change events going forward. 

As the Economist put it, “Following the pandemic is like watching the 

climate crisis with your finger jammed on the fast-forward button. Neither 

the virus nor greenhouse gases care much for borders, making both 

scourges global. Both put the poor and vulnerable at greater risk than 

wealthy elites and demand government action on a scale hardly ever 

seen in peacetime. And with China’s leadership focused only on its own 

advantage and America’s as scornful of the World Health Organisation 

as it is of the Paris Climate Agreement, neither calamity is getting the 

co-ordinated international response it deserves.” v 

Notwithstanding the welcome drop in industrial greenhouse gas 

emissions experienced because of a near-global lockdown, the drop 

reveals a crucial truth about the climate crisis: it is much too large to 

be solved by the abandonment of planes, trains and automobiles. The 

‘no-travel’ consequence still leaves more than 90% of the required 

decarbonisation left to do to get on track for the Paris Agreement’s 

most ambitious goal of a climate only 1.5°C warmer than it was before 

the Industrial Revolution. While the pandemic reveals the size of the 

challenge ahead it also creates a unique chance to enact government 

policies that steer the economy away from carbon at a lower financial, 

social, and political cost than might otherwise have been the case. 

This is, of course, an optimistic view based more on hope than 

experience. However, commentators do point to several positive factors 

that have the potential to give effect to this view. 

First, this is the first time billions of people around the world have 

experienced, simultaneously, a frightening new existential threat surging 

around the world, upending familiar routines, disrupting local economies, 

and endangering lives at such a scale. In that sense it makes more real 

what may lie ahead as climate change impacts begin to bite. It may also 

crystalise what the perfect storm may look like: just as we have seen 

that pandemics are increasing in frequency and intensity, so too are the 

frequency and intensity of extreme events caused by climate change. 

8 

9



In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of 

Sciences of the US, the authors note that theory and numerical models 

consistently link increasing tropical cyclone intensity to a warming 

world. vi Increasing frequency in climate change driven extreme 

weather events and increasing frequency in disease outbreaks have 

increased the likelihood of a natural disaster striking during a pandemic 

significantly, and its likely to impact more severely. Under the perfect 

storm, disasters that might have otherwise proved manageable will 

compound and amplify pandemic effects until the carnage – measured 

in lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure – end up worse than it might have 

been from a single disaster. Storms, floods, and fires will greet a crippled 

nation, its people sequestered inside homes, its workforce locked down, 

unable to procure even basic emergency supplies. Governments tasked 

with responding to it will already be consumed by other emergencies, 

their capacity to provide even the most fundamental aid limited, their 

budgets gutted. vii 

Far more fundamental systemic 

changes are required than simply 

dialling down the energy use. 

This is how cascading catastrophes can compound in effect, kicked 

off or made worse by climate change, which promises to amplify the 

harm and make even unrelated crises more painful. To crown it all, 

multiple and strengthening extreme events could potentially coincide 

with expanding vector-borne disease. As Sara Goudarzi notes, a 

hotter climate could, in addition to precipitating extreme events, 

change the relationship among infectious agents, their hosts and the 

human body’s defence mechanism. viii Scientists have long known that 

the rise in average global temperatures is expanding the geographical 

presence of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue 

fever, because the animals that transmit them are adapting to more 

widespread areas. 

Second, this sudden transformation is teaching us about the virtues of 

mutual aid. What has become clear over the past year is the sense that 

we are all in this together and must look to an empowered common to 

address systemic risks – like pandemics or climate. Psychotherapist Kyle 

MacDonald says the formerly dominant ‘individualist’ culture is being 

pushed back. “What is being pulled to the fore for all of us is that sense 

of community, connection and generosity. What we are seeing is just an 

overnight 180-degree culture change and yeah, there’s always going to 

be people who don’t buy into that or are disengaged from it… but the 

swing towards the valuing community and connectedness is kind of 

wartime effort level, and it’s necessary.” ix 

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic poses a serious challenge not only 

to our health and economic well-being, but also to our society’s basic 

structures of social cohesion and even our democracy. But the pandemic 

alone is not what is bringing our society to its knees. A longstanding 

anti-human, anti-science, anti-democratic, individualistic, racist, and 

xenophobic narrative is clashing with the reality of a pandemic that can 

only be overcome by humanity, science, equity, collective effort, and 

trust in the democratic institutions that are coordinating and delivering 

health services and economic relief. 

10 

11



Despite the fear and anxiety, a counternarrative of human compassion, 

social solidarity, and government responsibility for all of us is playing out 

in the everyday stories of neighbours helping neighbours, of state and 

local governments taking decisive action, and of brave first responders 

and medical staff risking their lives to save those people who have been 

stricken by the virus. What everyday people, social movements, and 

political actors do now to further an inclusive narrative and address the 

pandemic and the underlying structural defects and inequalities will 

determine who we will be on the other side of the multiplex crisis. 

As Eric Klingenberg, a professor of sociology and director of the Institute 

for Public Knowledge at New York University wrote, “The coronavirus 

pandemic marks the end of our romance with market society and hyperindividualism. 

We’re now seeing the market-based models for social 

organisation fail, catastrophically, as self-seeking behaviour makes this crisis 

so much more dangerous than it needed to be… When this ends, we will 

reorient our politics and make substantial new investments in public goods 

– for health, especially – and public services. I don’t think we will become less 

communal. Instead, we will be better able to see how our fates are linked.” x 

Ironically, the physical distancing required because of the virus has 

the potential to bring us closer together, as a local, national, and global 

community. One commentator has made an analogy of this theme of 

lockdown and transition with the rite of passage found in many human 

cultures. Traditional rites of passage are numerous and typically include 

a coming of age, baptisms, weddings, and funerals for some. xi There is a 

moment during a transition when those involved are no longer what 

they were, but also not yet what they will become. Anthropologists refer 

to this phase as ‘liminality’. Assadourian suggests that Covid-19 could be 

our contemporary rite of passage, with this period of isolation almost a 

textbook example of liminality. 

The traditional rite of passage (ulwaluko) of the AmaXhosa people of 

South Africa marks the transition from boyhood to manhood. This ritual 

is meant to prepare them for life, leadership and being custodians of 

their culture. The initiates (abakwetha) live in isolation for up to several 

weeks after the circumcision until they have completed their training 

and are able to re-join the community as full men and assume all the 

responsibilities that that entails. Assadourian wonders if, when we emerge 

from our self-imposed exile, we will re-join the community as adults, with 

the expectations, responsibilities, and new-found wisdom that entails, or 

whether we will fail to understand the significance and continue to act 

like children? If moving from a society based on continual consumption 

and depletion to one based on stewardship and renewal is the goal, then 

our relationships must be grounded in the principles of reciprocity and 

care – because our relationships with one another are our most valuable 

resource of all. 

Third, Covid-19 is likely to force policymakers into being more 

precautionary in the face of future risks and less inclined to imagine that 

the worst may never happen. Most governments’ responses thus far have 

indicated a greater willingness to believe the warnings, and advice, of 

experts (and a welcome return to this position in the US). Perhaps the 

immediate fears over the pandemic, and the massive failure of various 

countries to prepare for it, will increase respect for the experts who are 

raising the climate alarm bells. While the disease is playing out more 

quickly than the effects of global warming, the principle is the same: If you 

wait until you can see the impact, it is too late to stop it. 

Fourth, Covid-19 has forced governments to act like government, and 

implement the measures needed to manage the pandemic. Leaders will 

generally prefer to not deal with difficult issues head-on. On the one hand, 

they view heading off a risk as risky and are afraid they may be doing 

something that may be unnecessary in the long run. On the other hand, voters 

reward politicians for fixing problems, not necessarily for preventing them. 

Covid-19 has demonstrated that provided you can articulate a risk 

appropriately people will make a sacrifice for the common good (for a 

superb case study of this see New Zealand). These trillion-dollar measures 

show once again that if political will is present and society acknowledges 

the acute need to act, drastic measures can be implemented in a short 

period of time. 

Mark Maslin, professor of climatology at University College London 

notes that there has been a paradigm shift away from government 

regulation and general support for society since the 1980s. Consequently, 

several generations have grown up with the notion that markets, and 

business know best because, they argue, they are more efficient than 

anything organised by governments. But what Covid-19 dramatically 

illustrates is that markets business and industry structurally do not act 

in everyone’s best interests. Governments have the critical central role 

in maintaining our health and safety not just in times of crisis, but each 

day. xii Hopefully Covid-19 will change the collective view of government 

and its role in society. By embracing this we can now ensure that win-win 

solutions are adopted to deal with the climate change emergency. 

There is a caveat to this new responsibility and one which citizens and 

civil society groups will need to be very vigilant toward: democracies are 

facing profound quandaries as they try to control the havoc wrought 

by the pandemic. Questions such as what the proper use of emergency 

powers is; how a proliferating executive can be contained; and how 

individual freedoms can be protected against a state with new coercive 

appetites need to be answered. Emergency powers are the exception to 

the foundation of liberal constitutionalism which limits the sovereignty 

of the state to protect individuals from tyranny by the state. For this 

reason, most constitutions only permit governments to declare a ‘state 

of emergency’ under extraordinary circumstances. It is one of the most 

revealing tests a leader can face. It is hoped that society will recognise, and 

demand, the ability and ultimate duty of governments to act decisively 

in the common interest, whether enforcing lockdowns, in the case of 

Covid-19, or moving aggressively toward zero emissions in the case of 

climate change. 

Fifth, post-Covid-19 reconstruction is eliciting millions of dollars (G20 

governments have already pledged around $5-trillion to stimulate their 

economies in the wake of the global shutdown) and this investment could 

potentially be harnessed to kickstart the drive toward a post-carbon society. 

In this sense, it is an historic opportunity to steer investments onto a more 

sustainable path. There are serious doubts in many corners of just how 

‘green’ these recovery budgets will actually be – the jury is still out on that. 

Sixth, many city dwellers are witnessing first hand the difference in the 

quality of their environment, particularly air quality, pre-and post-Covid-19. 

The sudden absence of air pollution, the emergence of wildlife and clean 

rivers, will highlight the poor quality they have been willing to accept for 

decades of urban living and given a glimpse of what is possible. As the 

head of the International Monetary Fund has observed, environmentalists 

have an unprecedented chance to turn their policy hopes into a global 

reality during the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. xiii 

Seventh, climate change mitigation, which is largely aimed at reducing 

greenhouse gas emissions, requires a reduction in the flow of heattrapping 

greenhouse gases into the atmosphere through a two-pronged 

strategy; first, reducing sources of these gases (for example, the burning 

of fossil fuels for electricity, heat, or transport) and second, enhancing 

This sudden 

transformation is teaching 

us about the virtues 

of mutual aid. 

12 

13



potential of the sinks that accumulate and store these gases (such as 

the oceans, forests and soil). These mitigation strategies rely on altering 

human behaviour, especially around energy use. 

Covid-19 has however, shown us the extent to which human behaviour 

must be altered for this approach to deliver the reduction levels required. 

It has required virtually half of the world’s population and the global 

economy to be shutdown. Clearly, this is of itself not sustainable. Public 

and private sectors will now have to realise that for mitigation strategies to 

be effective and sustainable far more fundamental systemic changes are 

required than simply dialling down the energy use. 

Tackling the climate crisis is about decoupling wealth and growth from 

emissions and ensuring a sustainable future for all, not economic decline. 

Dealing with the long-term climate emergency will not come from 

shutting down the economy as coronavirus has done, it will come from 

restructuring systems to enable people to live in a low-carbon way. 

The Covid-19 experience will also teach us lessons about the limitations 

of implementing very drastic behavioural changes in people’s everyday 

lives for a long period of time. If lessons are indeed learned from our 

current crisis, these can in turn inform future policies for the better. The 

academic literature essentially concludes that almost all forms of direct 

entreaty or psychological nudge to individuals to voluntarily change 

their behaviour to combat climate change do not work, or at best have 

extremely limited impacts. 

Substantially changing behaviours requires, as a rule, structural 

changes to the choice architecture in which individual consumers make 

decisions, such as regulations to ban certain products or activities, or 

large price hikes, or new infrastructure. Glen Peters, a research director at 

the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research, makes 

a challenging point when he suggests that while individual action and 

behavioural change play important roles for climate, Covid-19 may just 

demonstrate that solving the climate problem is going to have to focus on 

solving the technological challenge. xiv 

The pandemic and the climate crisis are both problems of exponential 

growth against a limited capacity to cope argues Elizabeth Sawin, 

co-director of the think tank Climate Interactive. xv In the case of the virus, 

the danger is the number of infected people overwhelming healthcare 

While individual action and 

behavioural change play important 

roles for climate, Covid-19 may 

just demonstrate that solving the 

climate problem is going to have 

to focus on solving the 

technological challenge. 

systems; with climate change, it is that emissions growth will overwhelm 

our ability to manage consequences such as droughts, floods, wildfires, and 

other extreme events. Covid-19 and climate change need to be grasped 

now as interconnected crises that call for a common set of solutions. 

There are, of course, sharply divided views on whether this will happen. 

Some policy experts and activists hope it will bring out the best in us and 

our leaders, and that the resurgence of government action during the 

pandemic offers a roadmap for fighting climate change. Others fear the 

worst, that the rush to resuscitate a badly battered global economy will 

push climate into the background. xvi 

Notwithstanding this, optimism may not be wishful thinking. There are 

market analysts who argue that the shock of the pandemic crisis might just 

be the tipping point to consign old energy policies to a trash heap of history. 

As environmental activist Naomi Klein says, “During moments of cataclysmic 

change, the previously unthinkable suddenly becomes reality”. xvii 

Jessica Alsford, head of sustainability research at the banking firm 

Morgan Stanley, in a paper based on interviews with investors, argues that 

that while there might be short-term delays in climate policy development, 

“decarbonisation remains an attractive investment theme for the decade 

ahead.” Lost profitability in the oil industry “could free up cash [for] 

renewables.” Low prices could also encourage governments to abandon 

existing subsidies for fossil fuels and switch economic stimulus packages to 

clean energy. She wrote, “Our analysis argues that the current crisis could 

accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels.” xviii Watch this space. After the 

Covid-19 panic has past (Covid-19 is with us for life), societies may adopt some 

important adaptation and mitigation measures that would lower the risks 

of both future disease outbreaks and climate change events. 

But the most lasting lesson may 

be what the coronavirus teaches 

us about the urgency of taking 

swift action. What would be 

transformative is that at the end 

of this pandemic, we tell the story 

of what we just went through 

and help people understand 

that this is an accelerated version 

of another story we are going 

through that has the same plot 

structure but a different timeline. 

Covid-19 has demonstrated that the foundations of prosperity are 

precarious. As the Economist noted, disasters long talked about, and long 

ignored, can come upon you with no warning, turning life inside out and 

shaking all that seemed stable. The harm from climate change will be 

slower than the pandemic but more massive and longer lasting. 

If there is a moment for leaders to show bravery in heading off that 

disaster, this is it. They will never have a more attentive audience. xix 

Following the pandemic is like 

watching the climate crisis with 

your finger jammed on the 

fast-forward button. 

REFERENCES 

i From World Meteorological Organisation data, said to have been produced for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) provisional State of the Climate report. General 

notes: Credit for general concept of warming stripes: Climate scientist Ed Hawkins, University of Reading, UK 

ii Ed Hawkins, climate scientist at University of Reading - Hawkins, Ed, 2018 visualisation update / Warming stripes for 1850-2018 using the WMO annual global temperature 

dataset.. Climate Lab Book (4 December 2018). Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. “LICENSE / Creative Commons License / These blog pages & images are licensed under a 

Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

iii Van Wyk, L. 2020. This is not a drill: why Covid-19 rated our resilience politics an F. UrbanLab, New Zealand. 

iv Dans, E. 2020. “In a post-pandemic world, renewable energy is the only way forward.” Forbes, May 5, 2020. READ HERE . Downloaded: May 6, 2020. 

v The Economist, 2020. “Countries should seize the moment to flatten the climate curve.” The Economist, May 21, 2020. READ HERE . Downloaded: 2020. 

vi Kossin, J., Knapp, K., Olander, T., and Velden, C. 2020. “Global increase in major tropical cyclone exceedance probability over the past four decades.” PNAS, May 12, 2020. 

READ HERE . Downloaded: 2020. 

vii Lustgarden, A. 2020.” Climate change won’t stop for the Coronavirus Pandemic.” Resilience, April 15, 2020. . READ HERE . Downloaded: 2020. 

viii Goudarzi, S. 2020. “How a warming climate could affect the spread of diseases similar to Covid-19.” Scientific American, April 29, 2020. READ HERE . Downloaded: 2020. 

ix Howie, C. 2020. “Making sense of a world that has shifted on its axis.” Extracted from: Weekend Herald, March 28, 2020. 

x Lenoir, G. 2020. “Covid-19 has changed everything.” Resilience, April 10, 2020. READ HERE . Downloaded: 2020. 

xi Assadourian, E. 2020. “Is Covid-19 a collective rite of passage?” Resilience, April 17, 2020. READ HERE . Downloaded: Saturday, April 18, 2020. 

xii Carbon Brief Staff, 2020. “Coronavirus: What could lifestyle changes mean for tackling climate change?” Carbon Brief, April 9, 2020. READ HERE . Downloaded: Friday, April 10, 2020. 

xiii Gehrke, J. 2020. “Never waste a ‘crisis’: IMF chief sees coronavirus as ‘great opportunity’ to create a green economy.” Washington Examiner, April 29, 2020. READ HERE . Downloaded: 

2020. 

xiv Ibid. 

xv Gardiner, B. 2020. “Coronavirus holds key lessons on how to fight climate change.” Yale e360, April 3, 2020. READ HERE . Downloaded: April 4, 2020. 

xvi Pearce, F. 2020. “After the Coronavirus, two sharply divided paths on climate.” Yale e360, April 9, 2020. READ HERE . Downloaded: April 10, 2020. 

xvii Ibid. 

xviii Murray, J. 2020. “Morgan Stanley’s eight reasons why Covid-19 won’t derail decarbonisation.” Business Green, April 24, 2020. READ HERE . Downloaded: April 25, 2020. 

xix The Economist, 2020. “Countries should seize the moment to flatten the climate curve.” The Economist, May 21, 2020. READ HERE . Downloaded: May 24, 2020. 

14 

15

ENERGY 

ENERGY 

INDUSTRIAL 

ENERGY 

EFFICIENCY 

The South African Industrial Energy Efficiency (IEE) 

Project is the country’s largest and longest-running 

energy efficiency initiative. It was launched in 2010 to 

assist primarily industrial companies to transform their 

energy use patterns in order to reduce national energy 

demand and contribute to climate change mitigation. 

The first phase (2010 – 2015) was a great success, so much so that 

the project partners, the National Cleaner Production Centre 

(NCPC-SA) and the United Nations Development Organization 

(UNIDO) secured commitment from national and international funders 

for a second phase. This phase (2016-2021) aims to mainstream energy 

management in industry, by promoting increased investment in and 

adoption of energy management systems (EnMS) and energy systems 

optimisation (ESO). 

Last year, the IEE Project won international acclaim for South Africa’s 

energy industry, when it was selected as International Energy project of 

the Year 2020 by the Association of Energy Engineers. 

GEJ spoke to the NCPC-SA’s newly appointed National Project Manager 

of the IEE Project, Sashay Ramdharee, who has worked on the team since 

2014, about how the project hopes to make the most impact in its last year 

– and what the partners are planning after 2021. 

What is the award that the project won – and what does it mean? 

The International Energy Project of the Year is awarded by the global 

Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), which is the body that all energy 

engineering bodies across the world use as a benchmark. They manage 

the CEM qualification – Certified Energy Manager. 

So, winning this award means that the best in the world have chosen 

our project as, well, the best in the world! This category is for any project 

outside of the United States, and I can safely say that the award is the 

highest international accolade for an energy programme of this nature. 

Entries come from around the world, and I believe we were chosen 

amongst 26 other nominations. 

It really testifies to the commitment of the IEE Project partners, and 

the companies that have worked hard alongside us to save energy over 

the years. 

16 

How has the project gone about transforming energy use patterns 

and mainstreaming energy management in South Africa? 

We use a holistic approach, making sure that companies are capacitated 

and there are enough experts out there to support industry with 

or without the NCPC-SA. That is why capacity building is key to the 

sustainability of the energy management interventions. To date, more 

than 5 000 professionals have been trained at an end-user level, and over 

200 experts have successfully completed the internationally recognised 

expert training courses. 

Through the process of practical training of experts, we are actually 

partnering with companies to implement energy management. If the 

company doesn’t have the need or appetite for training at the time, 

we will use one of our own experts to help them improve their energy 

management, using the savings as a demonstration case study. 

Since the first implementation through the experts trained in 2010/11, 

450 industrial companies have realised savings through the IEE Project. 

To date, the energy saved amounts to over 6-million kWh – or 6 TWh of 

energy, which translates to a cumulative cost savings of R5.3-billion in 

these companies. 

The IEE Project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) 

with co-funding through the SA Department of Trade, Industry and 

Competition (the dtic). The work is implemented by UNIDO and 

executed by the National Cleaner Production Centre South Africa 

(NCPC-SA) and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy 

(DMRE) through the South African National Energy Development 

Institute (SANEDI). 

The IEE Project speaks a lot about ISO 50001. What is this standard 

and why is it so important? 

ISO 50001, together with various standards related to its implementation 

and measurement, is the international energy management standard. 

Unlike a lot of other ISO standards, it is very user- and business friendly, 

and has been designed to help companies save energy and therefore 

money on a ‘continuous improvement’ basis. 

Unfortunately, whist it is the fastest-growing standard globally, adoption 

in South Africa has been slow, and only 23 companies have become 

ISO 50001 certified, most of whom have been assisted in some way by the 

IEE Project. 

We believe the lack of uptake is as a direct result of a lack of understanding, 

or the technical skills to implement an energy management 

system. For example, through training linked to ISO 50006, we assist 

companies to understand energy performance indicators. You cannot 

manage what you don’t measure, and energy metrics and indicators 

provide organisations with the insight they require to continuously gauge 

the effectiveness of their energy management efforts, with substantial 

other energy saving and reporting-related benefits. 

How can industry benefit from the final year of the IEE Project? 

The IEE Project offers technical support and advice, primarily through 

the NCPC-SA. And for a limited time, we can even offer some financial 

support when companies apply for certification through the SABS. This 

includes funding of the certification-readiness assessment of a limited 

number companies, and contributing to the cost of certification with 

the SABS. 

I also highly recommend that companies consider enrolling for the 

energy management training – either through the NCPC-SA or one of our 

partner organisations if we don’t have a course at a convenient time. The 

expert level course will set a company on the energy management journey 

en route to ISO 50001. 

Also, we are concentrating this year on producing guides and tools 

to help companies along the way. For example, money for CAPEX is 

often viewed as an obstacle, but the truth is that there is actually more 

funding for green energy initiatives than people realise. Our guide on the 

Development of Bankable Business Solutions for Green Energy Projects, 

www.ieeproject.co.za 

www.ncpc.co.za 

Winning this award means 

that the best in the world have 

chosen our project as, well, 

the best in the world. 

has a step-by-step guide on how to prepare applications for various types 

of funding. It is freely available on our website. 

And, of course, our project team is available to provide further support 

to companies in establishing linkages with appropriate financing 

institutions. 

How does the NCPC-SA see the future of this work after the end of the 

donor-funded IEE Project? 

We cannot deny that the IEE Project, and the donor funding that backed 

it, was a key driver in really escalating our energy expertise and service 

to industry. The partnership with UNIDO also helped us to structure an 

integrated approach to national projects. 

But the NCPC-SA itself is a national support programme – funded 

primarily through grant funding from the dtic – and the energy efficiency 

work of the NCPC-SA will continue, have no fear. 

Industrial energy efficiency is a core part of the NCPC-SA mandate, 

which is ‘to promote resource efficient and cleaner production (RECP) in 

industry to assist in lowering costs through reduced energy, water and 

materials usage, and waste management’. 

I have no doubt that the partnership with Sanedi and UNIDO will also 

continue as we embark on other projects together. I want to encourage 

companies to contact us, and to see how they can sign up to benefit. The 

easiest way is to email ncpc@csir.co.za or to visit the NCPC-SA website.



Gearing up to 

GALVANISE GROWTH 

The world of mobility is changing. The market for electric vehicles (EVs), in all their forms, 

is growing exponentially. Combined with technological disruptions in the energy space, 

the rise of EVs puts battery technologies at the core of sustainable development. Multiple 

technologies are competing in a market currently dominated by lithium-ion batteries. 

18 

Excerpt from the report: OPPORTUNITIES TO DEVELOP THE LITHIUM-ION BATTERY VALUE CHAIN IN SOUTH AFRICA 

By Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS), March 2021 

Authors: Gaylor Montmasson-Clair, Lesego Moshikaro and Lerato Monaisa 

Both South Africa’s government and industry have indicated their 

intention to position the local value chain as a key player in the 

mobility of the future. This is critical to ensure a just transition to 

e-mobility which would notably preserve, if not increase, job creation. 

South Africa hosts a vibrant automotive manufacturing value chain. 

Like in the rest of the world, the domestic industry, however, produces 

internal combustion engine vehicles and components. This raises the 

question of the positioning South Africa in the value chain. 

GLOBAL DYNAMICS 

While economies of scale and improvements in battery technologies 

have led to battery prices falling dramatically over the past decade, 

batteries still make up between 40% and 50% of the total cost of an 

electric vehicle. Battery cells typically account for 70% of the total value 

of the battery pack, and cell costs are roughly composed of 50% raw 

materials and 50% manufacturing. 

A lithium-ion battery (LIB) is formed from the assembly of modules 

connecting battery cells to management systems. Cells consists largely 

of four components: a cathode that determines capacity and the average 

voltage of a battery; an anode; an electrolyte solution; and a separator 

which determines the safety of a battery. 

There are six types of LIB chemistries. The most prominent chemistries 

for EVs are lithium nickel cobalt aluminium (NCA), lithium nickel 

manganese cobalt (NMC), lithium manganese oxide (LMO), lithium iron 

phosphate (LFP) and lithium titanate (LTO). 

THE CATHODE 

The cathode is made from a lithium-based compound using mixed metal oxides and phosphates, while the anode is commonly made from graphite, 

a form of carbon coated in copper foil. The composition of the electrolyte varies from one type of battery to another. Aluminium foil is used as the 

current collector for the cathode electrode across each of the LIB chemistry applications. 

In a lithium-ion cell, the cathode represents approximately 25% of battery costs and is essential for determining battery performance. 

Building a better cathode is a key driver for advancing lithium-ion technology. Most cathodes for LIBs use combinations of phosphates and 

metal ions, such as lithium, cobalt, manganese, nickel, aluminium, titanium and iron. Each battery type has considerably different properties. 

The type of cathode chosen for a LIB can affect the energy density, power density, safety, cycle life, and cost of the overall battery. 

China is the dominant player in manufacturing LIBs, with three-quarters 

of production capacity. Panasonic and Contemporary Amperex Technology 

are the leading manufacturers of LIBs, while the cell manufacturing market 

is dominated by LG Chem, BYD Auto and Panasonic. Similarly, the supply 

of cathodes, anodes, separators, electrolytes and electrolyte salts is 

concentrated in a few countries (China, Japan, South Korea and the US) 

and a limited number of firms. 

Correspondingly, looking at patents related to climate change 

mitigation in transport and LIBs in particular, the landscape is heavily 

dominated by the US, Japan, Germany, South Korea, France, China, and 

the UK. 

MINING AND BENEFICIATION CAPABILITIES 

A wide array of minerals is used in the production of LIBs, including lithium, 

cobalt, manganese, nickel, graphite, bauxite, copper, iron, phosphate rock 

and titanium. South Africa is well endowed in such minerals (manganese, 

cobalt, iron ore, nickel and titanium). In the case of manganese, the country 

even benefits from a quasi-monopolistic position. South Africa boasts 

longstanding experience and expertise in mineral beneficiation. To date, 

there is little beneficiation of minerals to battery grade in the country. Only 

manganese and aluminium are refined to battery grade at present, while 

nickel and lithium are in the pipeline. 

The African continent has incomparable reserves and mining capacity 

in key minerals supporting the LIB value chain. Bauxite (Guinea), copper 

(Democratic Republic of the Congo – DRC, Zambia), cobalt (the DRC, 

Madagascar, South Africa), graphite (Mozambique, Tanzania, Madagascar), 

iron ore (South Africa), lithium (Zimbabwe), manganese (South Africa, 

Gabon), nickel (South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana), phosphate rock 

(Morocco, Algeria, South Africa, Egypt) and titanium (South Africa, 

Mozambique, Madagascar) are widely available on the continent. 

However, Africa remains an extractive economy, as most minerals are 

refined and processed outside the continent. This opens the door for 

regional integration. Importantly though, LIB costs depend less on raw 

material costs than on production volumes, putting the emphasis on 

economies of scale. 

In the sub-Saharan African region, the IFC estimates 

that over 900MW storage capacity would be deployed 

by 2025 and that about 70% would be from remote 

power systems as the region has an underdeveloped 

grid connectivity. Most remote power systems would 

include energy storage technology as prices fall and 

would rely heavily on renewable energy technologies. 

The IFC forecasts that South Africa would be the largest 

market in the region. 

MANUFACTURING COMPETENCES 

There is currently no commercial production of battery cells in South 

Africa and, despite some projects in development, it remains to be proven 

whether such an activity would be competitive domestically. Battery 

manufacturing based on imported cells is, however, a vibrant industry 

in the country. Numerous firms, in collaboration with academia, have 

developed IP and expertise in the manufacturing of specific components, 

parts and systems (most notably battery management systems) as 

well as the assembly of battery packs. In some cases, companies have 

further leveraged this expertise to develop additional offerings, such as 

specialised vehicles. Several companies are also involved in marketing 

second-life batteries on the local (and regional) market. 

At the end of life, there is currently no facility in South Africa in a position 

to effectively recycle LIB. 

Batteries are currently stockpiled and/or shipped to available facilities 

around the globe. All hazardous e-waste, including LIBs, will be banned 

from being landfilled from August 2021. In line with the regulations on 

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), an effective waste management 

scheme for LIBs should be established in 2021-2022, including a pilot 

recycling facility. 

LIBs account for over 90% of new energy storage 

installations, the remaining batteries account for less 

than 10%. 

POLICY IMPLICATIONS 

Several key policy implications arise: 

• The policy priorities should be to identify where in the entire LIB 

value chain South African industries are (or could be) competitive. 

Mining is a comparative advantage for the country. 

• Battery manufacturing as well as mineral refining emerge 

as competitive areas. Other stages of the value chain (cell 

manufacturing, recycling) remain to be proven viable. 

• Key components of an enabling policy framework should be 

formulated. Sending clear, positive signals in favour of the 

development of the industry would contribute to attracting 

investments. Access to funding, particularly for commercialisation, 

remains a key hindering factor, along with testing and certification, 

and the provision of warranty. 

• Accessing markets, both domestically and globally, is a challenge 

for firms operating in the LIB value chain from South Africa. On the 

domestic front, the lack of demand is a critical factor hindering 

development. Access to global markets is, moreover, extremely 

competitive and requires niche expertise. In the short term, a 

19



The African continent has 

incomparable reserves and mining 

capacity in key minerals supporting 

the LIB value chain. 

dual strategy aimed at growing local demand as well as local 

manufacturing (primarily on the back of global demand) would be 

required. 

• Access to a pool of skilled and experienced people is a critical 

condition for the development of the innovation-heavy LIB value 

chain in South Africa. While access to skills has not been a key 

constraint to date, South Africa is far behind leading countries in 

LIB-related R&D and skills development. More resources are required 

to develop skills and IP in niches in which South Africa displays a 

competitive advantage. 

WEIGHING OPTIONS GOING FORWARD 

Four avenues emerge as possible pathways to support the development 

of the LIB value chain in South Africa: 1) mineral refining; 2) cell 

Large-scale battery storage is projected to grow in 

Africa due to growing climate change mitigation 

policies, Africa’s underdeveloped power distribution, 

and the fall in renewable energy prices. In 2017, the 

IFC estimated that the energy storage market for 

Africa would reach US$4-5 billion by 2025 and that 

over 70% of the forecasted storage projects would be 

from utility-scale opportunities. 

manufacturing; 3) battery manufacturing and assembly; and 4) battery 

recycling. Importantly, such options are not mutually exclusive but are 

rather complementary in nature. However, the viability of these pathways 

largely differs in the short term. 

Similarly, industrial development associated with these options is at 

different levels of maturity in the country. Only two pathways, namely 

developing battery manufacturing and mineral refining, are ready for 

scale-up. The other two avenues, ie developing commercially-viable cell 

manufacturing and recycling, are yet to be proven viable in the South 

African context. 

Fostering the growth of battery manufacturing is the most viable 

option in the short to medium term. Programmes aimed at nurturing 

existing companies (for expansion, particularly to global markets) and 

assisting the emergence of additional businesses would be necessary: 

• Financial assistance would go a long way in facilitating access 

to finance (particularly for commercialisation). This could be 

complemented by leveraging international development finance, 

innovative funding instruments, private finance and business 

development services. 

• The domestic capacity to test and certify battery packs would need 

to be materially enhanced. 

• An increased focus on R&D and skills development, in partnership 

with the Energy Storage Consortium, would contribute to improve 

access to human and intellectual capital. Making the existing R&D 

tax incentive more easily accessible for small, medium and micro 

enterprises (SMMEs) would also accelerate the development of 

innovative firms. 

• Improving the ease of doing business for SMMEs would strongly 

enhance their development and growth. This would range from 

reducing bottlenecks and hindering factors disproportionally 

impacting small businesses to improving the ecosystem of business 

facilitation services. 

• Consideration could also be given to setting up local content 

requirements for the public procurement of LIBs. 

Developing the beneficiation of local minerals to battery grade. South 

Africa can leverage its expertise and existing value chains to develop 

battery-grade products. This hinges on a set of measures: 

• Access to modern infrastructure would be required, particularly 

reliable, affordable and clean energy and transport services. 

• Investment support could be enhanced through both financial 

(such as development finance) and non-financial assistance (such as 

special economic zones and industrial parks). This could also extend 

to R&D and skills development support. 

• A mineral beneficiation policy could be enacted to further improve 

the competitiveness of the industry. A bottom-up approach, through 

an export tax or a development pricing policy, would represent the 

most viable option. A top-down approach, though the Automotive 

Production and Development Programme (APDP) and localisation 

requirements, would also be supportive. 

Exploring the possibility of building cell manufacturing capacity 

domestically. Effectively, it remains to be proven whether a South 

African-based company could be competitive on this market segment. 

Attracting investors to set up a giga-factory in South Africa would require 

research to confirm the business case. On the supply side, this would call 

for a partnership with an existing manufacturer and a leading research 

institution, as well as favourable investment conditions. On the demand 

side, a sizeable market, which remains to materialise, would need to be 

serviced from such a giga-factory. 

Battery recycling. South Africa does not at present have such a recycling 

facility. While the country has expertise in mineral processing and recovery, 

the economic viability of a possible plant is unknown at this point. The 

Large Capacity 

Energy Storage 

NGK’s Sodium Sulphur (NaS) Utility Battery 

is quite simply the best choice worldwide 

for large-capacity energy storage. 

NAS batteries are large-capacity 6-hour energy batteries 

with multiple power grid applications. 

Superior safety, function and performance made possible 

by decades of data monitoring from multiple operational 

installations across the world. 

• Long life 

• Ultra-deep cycle 

• Hot location resilient 

• Super-efficient 

• Low maintenance 

• 3rd party tested and certified by Rhineland, Germany 

• Manufacturer’s guarantee 

Manufactured by NGK Japan using cutting edge ceramic 

manufacturing techniques, in partnership with BASF Germany. 

In excess of 17 years of proven commercial operation. 

Business Wire projects that the global market size for 

battery energy storage system will grow at a compound 

annual growth rate of 32.8% from 2020 to 2025, rising 

from US$2.9-billion in 2020 to US$12.1-billion in 2025. 

The projection is based on further declining LIB prices 

and the efforts of the private sector to further improve 

the performance of LIB for stationary usages. 

ongoing process of establishing an EPR scheme for batteries sold in the 

country could provide the impetus for the establishment of a recycling 

facility in the medium term. 

Looking ahead, the possibility of developing the domestic LIB value 

chain should not be overestimated. South Africa displays key pockets 

of excellence but not all activities in the value chain are likely viable 

domestically. At the same time, the importance of developing the LIB 

value chain should not be underestimated: an established LIB industry is 

instrumental in the local development of both the (renewable) energy and 

(electric) transport industries. In fact, provided the emphasis is put on the 

country’s evidenced strengths, rather than unsubstantiated aspirations, an 

electrifying opportunity lies ahead for South Africa. 

GLOBAL DYNAMICS IN LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES FOR STORAGE 

Global Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), like EVs, are dominated by LIBs. This is due to the high energy density and the decrease in LIB prices. 

LIB technology in energy storage has grown at a slower rate than e-mobility applications. Global total storage capacity is approximately 200GWh. 

To date, 90% of the global energy storage capacity is attributable to pumped storage hydropower, while batteries account for less than 3%. 

Batteries in energy storage are expected to increase exponentially. Of the 3% battery storage capacity, lithium-ion technology is the dominant 

battery. LIBs have increased exponentially and are currently being installed at a rate on par with all other storage technologies combined. 

20 

APPLICATIONS 

GRID SOLUTIONS 

Peak Demand Management / Capacity 

Investment deferral 

RENEWABLES 

Renewables / Power plants 

CONSUMERS 

Industrial / Commercial & residential 

MICROGRIDS 

Islands / Remote grids and microgrids 

info@altum.energy 

www.altum.energy

OIL & GAS 

OIL & GAS 

GAS IS IN THE PIPELINE 

With the potential of gas as an alternative energy source, the development of the 

gas-to-power industry anticipates major growth. Green Economy Journal spoke to Prashaen 

Reddy, energy partner at global management consultancy Kearney. 

GEJ: Government has long sought to advance a gas economy in 

South Africa, and the impetus is now upon us with multiple ‘mega’ 

gas projects about to be announced as preferred bidders in the 

Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s RMIPP Procurement 

Programme. How many MWs of gas generation capacity are you 

expecting to be announced, and what will be the split between LPG 

and LNG? 

Reddy: As part of government’s recent IRP, 3 000MW of gas-to-power will 

be procured as part of the energy mix. Up until 2024, it is only expected to 

be around 1 000MW. The procurement process is set to start early in 2021. 

Without being privy to government’s procurement plan it can be expected 

that in the next bid window, government will likely be asking for the same 

MWs from gas. The 1 000MW could also be split over a few bid windows over 

the year or possibly all at once as the President stated in his 2020 SONA. 

Government does not clarify how natural gas will need to be sourced. 

The best way to transport it is by creating gas-to-power stations close to 

where there is a supply of natural gas. It is best to produce gas close to 

where it is naturally available. Where this is not possible, there will need 

to be ways to move the gas, likely in the form of LNG to plant. In this 

instance, there will need to be a constant supply of gas and infrastructure 

to ensure the power station receives gas via LNG, which is a more costly 

and impractical means of supplying gas to a power station. 

There are two large LNG projects being bid by DNG that seek to tap 

into the Republican of Mozambique Pipeline Company (ROMPCO) 

gas pipeline from Mozambique. Word is that the ROMPCO pipeline 

capacity is already allocated to Sasol and other industry consumers. 

Is this true, and if so, how can this capacity be expanded? 

It is well known that Sasol is the supplier and majority consumer of gas 

in the country, supplied from the ROMPCO pipeline. There is room for 

expansion and investment in the pipeline as has been in the past that 

has resulted in the pipeline being at the capacity it is now. The pipeline 

capacity can be expanded – it will just require additional investment. The 

bigger challenge though will be the source of natural gas. 

Sasol will need to access more gas into the pipeline if they are to expand 

it. They will have to look at how they can partner, or how the role of other 

players in Mozambique tap into that pipeline. The gas that Sasol uses 

to bring into the South African market and supply the southern part of 

Mozambique is sourced from southern gas fields, onshore in Mozambique. 

The new gas finds in Mozambique are in the extreme north, offshore 

and far from the pipeline and will need to be extended to the north to 

access the gas. This will then be shipped through the pipeline or other 

mechanisms for supplying the pipeline with LNG will have to be identified. 

An option that is being considered – bringing in gas from other parts of 

the world or in the region to supply the pipeline via LNG, and re-gasify the 

gas fed into the pipeline – will allow for increasing capacity and supporting 

the current capacity. 

Oil and gas have always been politically conflicted. All commodities 

have this challenge, but we should diversify. South Africa is looking 

for other sources of gas and want to establish LNG with Coega 

and Richards Bay as options, which are both LNG re-gasification 

facilities where gas can be transported to site, re-gasified and put 

into operations, pipelines, gas-to-power facilities and storage where 

required. Brulpadda and Luiperd are two finds off the southern coast of 

South Africa by Total that will see realisation as a source of gas for the 

market within seven to ten years. 

Sasol has enabled the gas market in the past but moving forward there 

are more than enough players introduced into the mix with Total, Eni, 

South African and Mozambican governments’ SEOs as well as Transnet 

looking at gas. Sasol is looking to offload certain gas assets so that they 

are not the most dominant player for gas in the market. This will allow for 

a shift in the landscape. 

How quickly can pipelines be put in place to obviate the impending 

negative impact of trucking to transport gas on road infrastructure 

and the environment? 

Both Sasol and Transnet already have pipeline networks operating in South 

Africa. The starting point would be how to leverage existing infrastructure 

to supply the market. If South Africa is to be successful as a gas economy, 

we will have to start building pipeline infrastructure. It takes five years 

or longer to build pipelines depending on the length of the pipeline 

and the area (as they could go through potential suburbia, communities 

and industrial areas that require approvals and environmental studies). 

South Africa has access to so much gas and studies conducted in the 

past, including those by the CSIR, clearly show that pipeline infrastructure 

must be built now and there are economic zones that can take advantage 

of this. An integrated infrastructure programme for gas including 

pipelines, LNG and gas-to-power needs to be established. The best option 

is to get pipeline infrastructure into place and to leverage existing pipeline 

infrastructure. Trucking is not the solution. 

Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) 

LPG is imported or produced through a chemical process from refineries in South Africa. LNG is merely a way to transport gas around the world, 

where it is liquified, shipped and transported to where there is demand. Power plants are expected to run off natural gas, which does not mean it 

will be LNG. For example, pipelines bringing gas from Mozambique is a natural gas, but it is not LNG as it is transported through pipelines. 

22 

23

OIL & GAS 

A primary benefit of developing a gas economy is the resulting 

need for infrastructure development and industrialisation. How are 

these areas advanced by awarding 20-year PPAs to power-to-ship 

companies, who simply dock their generators at the port and plug 

into the grid? Where is the economic development in this model? 

Not all power needs will be solved by power-to-ship, which is only an 

emergency, short-term solution to gain stability and reliability within the 

power sector. This option is only considered because of South Africa’s 

massive challenge between supply and demand, and we have a deficit. All 

solutions should be considered. 

The challenge with the economics around power is needed to create 

a certain level of longevity and companies are not prepared to put in 

place infrastructure and investments if they have not secured a certain 

number of years of supply. Shorter timeframes for these types of models 

are an option but it will still require infrastructure and investments to 

get this power into the grid. All power agreements, whether power-toship 

or building new power stations, require an agreement upfront of 

who will be purchasing the power, and these are generally long-term 

contracts. Funders and investors in this space will only make decisions if 

it is economically feasible. 

Economic development in this model is a bit more limited compared 

to more stabilised infrastructure but once these models are introduced, it 

will still require development and maintenance of infrastructure, tying into 

Eskom, re-maintenance and operations activities. Once stability is created 

in the power grid, other industries will be enabled. 

It was announced recently that there would be a dedicated gas 

procurement round before the end of 2021. How do you see this 

adding to the presence of RMIPPPP projects in terms of scale and 

strategic location? 

Renewables cannot be the only answer to the power mix so gas is a good 

example of something that can be brought in place to support baseload 

generation. Other sources of energy are needed in the grid to create a 

continuous supply of energy and gas is one of those as well as coal that has 

been used effectively in the past but is now a declining area of investment. 

Renewables and gas are complementary to ensure sustainability in the 

grid and to have diversified sources of energy. It is important to have a 

diversified mix. Having just one source could create a struggle to create 

consistency within the grid. Until we can get proper battery technology at 

scale, relying solely on renewables is not possible. 

24 

What is the latest position of government on extraction of shale gas? 

Shale gas is still on the government agenda but in the current oil and gas 

price environment it becomes economically unfeasible and as a result 

investment in these projects has slowed down. The technology required to 

extract gas from shale rock such as in the Karoo is a specialist technology 

and hydraulic fracking is controversial. There is an oversupply of natural 

gas in the market, so the complex route of extracting gas does not make 

economic sense. Shale gas extraction has been successful in countries like 

the US. When there is government support and it is attractive to investors, 

shale gas does offer opportunities. 

In the absence of South Africa accessing such gas local deposits, 

will this ramp up in gas-energy capacity not place an immense 

strain on the country's balance of payments as we embark on the 

importation of gas? 

A lot of South Africa’s energy needs are transported into the country, 

but we also export a lot of our production. The manufacturing sector 

is dependent on energy so if we scale and industrialise faster because 

we have more gas and gas-to-power, exports will be increased. If 

we can get more gas and more energy into the country and more 

capacity and reliability then the manufacturing sector, which is 

predominantly an export-driven sector, can be scaled. It is not practical 

to wait to have pipelines and all the infrastructure in place before we 

have gas in the country. We must work towards creating the demand and 

start to have the supply, bringing in local infrastructure and gas sources 

as we grow. 

Please outline the key advantages for SA in pursuing a gas-to-power 

strategy within the context of the global energy industry moving 

rapidly to renewables, and away from large gas-energy projects. 

In the last five to ten years, the world has shifted towards gas as it's less 

harmful in terms of emissions compared to that of coal and oil. There has 

been a shift in the growth of gas and projections into the future still show 

growth in gas but decline in coal and oil. Gas is viewed as a complementary 

source of energy to renewables, not one that is competing. 

Sustainability in the grid needs to be created with different sources of 

energy and having gas in the mix will be useful. We need to move away 

from the dirtier hydrocarbons. The most balanced way of bringing new 

energy, while creating and replacing jobs, needs to be navigated. 

* Prashaen Reddy is partner, energy and process industries Africa and digital strategy and transformation Africa 

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PROFILE 

PACKA-CHING: 

A SOLUTION FOR ALL 

By incentivising a change in behaviour and shifting the perception of recyclable packaging 

waste, Packa-Ching is cleaning up the environment and uplifting the communities in which 

it operates. 

KA-CHING FOR THE ENVIRONMENT 

AND FOR PEOPLE 

Packa-Ching collects used recyclable packaging material from the public in low income and 

informal areas and pays them for it. Due to the success of current mobile operations, Packa-Ching 

is launching two new collection initiatives. 

PACKA-CHING POP-UPS 

INVEST IN A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOR THE PUBLIC 

New static Packa-Ching buy-back units or “Pop- Ups” are designed to be installed at malls, targeting shoppers visiting retail spaces. 

Each Packa-Ching Pop-Up consists of a customised containerised structure that has been pre-fitted with weigh-pay technology 

and will be managed by waste collection enterprises. 

Safe cashless buy-back infrastructure. 

Incentive to recycle - contribute to poverty alleviation by creating an income earning 

opportunity. 

Materials are weighed and instant payments are made via a cashless 

system into an users eWallet, accessible from any feature cell phone. 

Users can spend their money at participating merchants, transfer to others 

via cell phone, purchase airtime or withdraw cash. 

Employment creation and opportunity for YES jobs. 

Maximizes the diversion of packaging waste from landfill. 

Cloud based record keeping – weighing system allows for full traceability of 

volumes and payments. 

Upon entering many informal settlements and low-income 

areas in South Africa, one is immediately struck by the vast 

amount of visible waste. A large portion of this waste is 

used household packaging, of which most is recyclable and therefore 

has a monetary value. 

Polyco’s mobile separation-at-source collection business, Packa-Ching, 

has a solution for this problem. Packa-Ching develops business enterprises 

that collect used recyclable packaging material from the public in lowincome 

and informal areas – areas that are often overlooked with regard 

to recycling education, recycling infrastructure and recycling services – 

and pays for it. 

Packa-Ching cleans up the environment in the areas where it operates, 

keeping valuable recyclables out of landfill by placing them back into the 

recycling value chain, and providing an income-generating opportunity 

for people living in these areas. Packa-Ching is proving that recyclable 

packaging waste has value. 

Packa-Ching has paid out over R2-million to its users and has collected 

over 2.5-million kilograms of recyclable packaging material, comprising 

plastic, paper, glass and metal packaging materials. 

Packa-Ching has paid out over R2-million 

to its users and has collected over 2.5-million 

kilograms of recyclable packaging material, 

comprising plastic, paper, glass and metal 

packaging materials. 

Each kilogram of recyclable material brought to a Packa-Ching unit 

is weighed and paid for via a cashless payment system, enabled by a 

technology-based weigh-pay system. Only a standard cell phone is 

needed to use the service, making it accessible to almost everyone. 

The first Packa-Ching unit was launched in August 2017 in Langa, 

Cape Town. Packa-Ching has since expanded its operations nationwide 

with seven units currently operating and aims to have a total of 25 units 

operating across South Africa within the next four years. Packa-Ching was 

founded by Polyco and is sponsored by Shoprite and Sasol. 

Packa-Ching provides the infrastructure, 

convenience, education and incentive to change 

littering behaviour and get people recycling. 

Packa-Ching is expanding its reach across South Africa by launching a 

Packa-Ching schools education programme in 2022. By getting learners 

excited and motivated to recycle, they not only learn the practice from a 

young age but can also be key influencers in their parents’ decision to get 

involved and use the Packa-Ching service in their community. 

Packa-Ching will also be launching Packa-Ching Pop-Up static units 

that can be installed at malls. To find out more about Packa-Ching 

and how you might get involved, please visit the website at 

www.packaching.co.za or contact Packa-Ching’s Operations Manager, 

Megan Swart, at megan@polyco.co.za 

PACKA-CHING RECYCLING EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS 

INVEST IN A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT AND EDUCATING LEARNERS IN SOUTH AFRICA 

The Packa-Ching schools programme will educate learners about the importance of recycling, install recycling infrastructure into 

schools, and pay the schools for the recyclable material that the local Packa-Ching enterprise collects from each participating school. 

Provide recycling infrastructure into schools. 

Teach learners about the environmental and economic value of recycling. 

Show learners that they can clean up their community by bringing 

recyclables to school instead of discarding them as waste. 

Teach learners that they can earn an income for their school through 

recycling. 

Empower learners to be key influencers and advocates for change 

within their communities. 

Encourage teachers to become advocates and champions for recycling. 

Corporate social investment (CSI) and enterprise development 

opportunity. 

= 

26 

To enquire about sponsorship opportunities for these two initiatives please visit WWW.PACKACHING.CO.ZA 

or contact Packa-Ching’s Operations Manager, Megan Swart, at megan@polyco.co.za

INNOVATION 

INNOVATION 

THE 

EARTHSHOT 

PRIZE 

The Earthshot Prize is the most prestigious global environment prize in history, launched 

last year by Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, and The Royal Foundation. It is designed 

to incentivise, change and help repair our planet over the next ten years, while turning the 

current pessimism surrounding environmental issues into optimism. 

BY CHRIS WHYTE AND SUSANNE KARCHER, ACEN 

to repair and preserve the habitats that our animals need to live, 

from rainforests and grasslands, to wetlands, lakes and rivers. The 

Earthshot Prize will be awarded to the most outstanding efforts to meet 

this challenge. To the conservationists who put a stop to poaching and 

illegal wildlife trafficking; to the landowners who create job opportunities 

for people who look after natural land; and to the entrepreneurs who help 

scale solutions for planting billions more trees that will secure the health 

and safety of generations to come. 

CLEAN OUR AIR. Millions of children all over the world breathe toxic air 

every day, causing countless deaths that could be prevented. This cannot 

be accepted – clean air and healthy lives are within our reach. We choose 

to end outdated transport that emits toxic fumes, remove pollution 

from the air using both technology and nature, and eliminate the 

burning of fossil fuels, choosing 100% renewable energy for everyone 

– from big cities to rural villages. The Earthshot Prize will be awarded 

to the most outstanding efforts to meet this challenge. To the innovators 

who create job opportunities in green transport and clean energy; to the 

businesses who remove more pollution from the air than they put into it; 

and to the communities who let us heat our homes, travel to work and 

feed our families without polluting the air that we breathe. 

REVIVE OUR OCEANS. Warmer temperatures, pollution and harmful 

fishing practices are having devastating impacts on the ocean, putting 

life under water in jeopardy. But this decade we can choose to make our 

ocean healthy. We refuse to accept a world where turtles, dolphins and 

coral reefs vanish from our seas. We choose to bring forward a new 

era where everyone uses the ocean sustainably. We will award The 

Earthshot Prize to the most outstanding efforts to meet this challenge. To 

the innovators who revolutionise our understanding of life underwater; 

to the leaders who end criminal and unsustainable fishing practices; and 

to the technologists who repair coral reefs and show us how to remove 

pollution from the ocean on a global scale. We choose a future where our 

children can enjoy the ocean for years to come, and where the ocean can 

continue to sustain and enrich all life on earth. 

BUILD A WASTE-FREE WORLD. The world we have built is not like this; 

we throw everything away, and this is harming our planet. But we have 

the power to build something better. We choose to eliminate food 

waste, single-use packaging, and inspire a new generation of people, 

companies, and industries to reuse, repurpose, and recycle. We will 

On the Earthshot concept, Prince 

William states: “The Earth is at a 

tipping point and we face a stark 

choice: either we continue as 

we are and irreparably damage 

our planet, or we remember our 

unique power as human beings 

and our continual ability to lead, 

innovate and problem-solve. 

People can achieve great things. 

The next ten years present us 

with one of our greatest tests 

– a decade of action to repair 

the Earth.” 

award The Earthshot Prize to the most outstanding efforts to meet this 

challenge. To the organisations that are eliminating single-use products 

and packaging; to the cities that revolutionise their waste management 

systems and to the innovators who give new life to things destined for 

landfill. We choose to build a system that can work forever, where people 

everywhere can live safe, healthy and happy lives, without waste. 

Taking inspiration from President John F Kennedy’s ‘Moonshot’, 

the Prize is centered around five ‘Earthshots’ – simple but ambitious 

goals, underpinned by scientifically agreed targets that if achieved 

by 2030 will improve life for us all, for generations to come. 

To find the game-changing solutions, The Earthshot Prize has 

established a truly diverse and experienced group of nominators who will 

seek out potential winners. The African Circular Economy Network (ACEN) 

was selected as a global nominator because of its networks across Africa in 

the circular economy. The nominators have been selected for their ability 

to identify the most impactful solutions to the five Earthshot challenges 

across all countries and sectors, from grassroots to businesses. Just like 

other established international prizes, by using nominators, The Earthshot 

Prize is tapping into a global network of knowledge and experience to 

select the solutions that will have the biggest impact on the world. 

The five Earthshots are described as follows: 

PROTECT AND RESTORE NATURE. Species all over the world face 

extinction as their homes are destroyed, but destroying nature threatens 

our lives too. Forests and natural land are vital to human health and 

happiness, helping to prevent global warming and producing oxygen 

that we breathe. We must act now to protect our future. We choose 

28 

29

INNOVATION 

INNOVATION 

The Earthshot Prize is about much more than awarding achievement – 

it is a decade of action to convene the environmental world with funders, 

businesses and individuals to maximise impact and take solutions to scale, 

to celebrate the people and places driving change; and to inspire people 

all over the world to work together to repair the planet. 

The search for the first five Earthshot Prize winners is officially under 

way. The African Circular Economy Network (ACEN) is proud to be one 

of over 100 nominating partners for The Earthshot Prize, working to 

identify the most impactful solutions, action and leadership that will help 

reach the Earthshots. Nominees can only apply through the nominators, 

so contact ACEN if you think you can save the planet. ACEN have made 

many nominations already and are happy to help guide you through the 

process. www.acen.africa 

THE EARTHSHOT PRIZE COUNCIL 

The Council is a truly global team of influential individuals from a wide 

range of different sectors, all of whom are committed to championing 

positive action in the environmental space. Council members include 

Prince William, Cate Blanchett, Christiana Figueres, Sir David Attenborough 

and Shakira, amongst others. 

Five, one million-pound prizes 

will be awarded each year for the 

next ten years, providing at least 

50 solutions to the world’s greatest 

environmental problems by 2030. 

Cate Blanchett Christiana Figueres Sir David Attenborough Shakira 

But it is not too late; if we act now, 

we can make the world a better, 

more sustainable home for everyone. 

FIX OUR CLIMATE. Carbon in the atmosphere is making our planet 

warmer, to levels which threaten all life on Earth. But it is not too late; 

if we act now, we can make the world a better, more sustainable home 

for everyone. We will combat climate change by removing more carbon 

from the atmosphere than we put into it and ensuring all countries 

reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. We will build defences 

to protect innocent people from climate driven disasters and crises. 

We will award The Earthshot Prize to the most outstanding efforts 

to meet this challenge. To the cities or countries who reach net-zero 

emissions; to the leaders who create millions of new jobs in a carbon 

neutral economy; to the technologists who remove carbon from the 

atmosphere on a global scale, whilst protecting human life and nature. 

We choose to fix our climate so that life everywhere can thrive for 

generations to come. 

Every year from 2021 until 2030, Prince William, alongside the Earthshot 

Prize Council covering six continents, will award The Earthshot Prize to five 

winners, one per Earthshot, whose evidence-based solutions make the 

most progress towards these goals. The Earthshot Prize aims to find new 

solutions that work on every level, have a positive effect on environmental 

change and improve living standards globally. Prizes could be awarded 

to a wide range of individuals, teams or collaborations – scientists, 

activists, economists, community projects, leaders, governments, banks, 

businesses, cities, and countries – anyone whose workable solutions make 

a substantial contribution to achieving the Earthshots. 

All winning solutions and finalists will be given tailored support and 

opportunities to help scale their work, including being connected 

with an ecosystem of likeminded individuals and organisations. 

Five, one million-pound prizes will be awarded each year for the 

next ten years, providing at least 50 solutions to the world’s greatest 

environmental problems by 2030. 

* Chris Whyte B.Sc. (Hons); Dip.Bus.Man; M.Sc(Gi, London); Pr.Sci.Nat and Susanne Karcher are from African Circular Economy Network (ACEN). 

30 

31

ENERGY 

ENERGY 

WHEELS 

Green Economy Journal caught up with 

Mercia Grimbeek, Chair of SAWEA, to 

find out about capacity and content 

as the wind industry embarks on 

a journey of localisation and 

local economic development. 

32 

WITH THE WIND AT OUR 

What are the local content requirements stipulated in REIPPPP BW5? 

Local content for wind has a threshold of 40% but designated local content 

has been retained for this bidding round. This will require exemption 

applications for certain components to be lodged with the Department 

of Trade Industry Competition (dtic). No targets have been set in the RFP. 

Are you expecting these requirements to be increased in future 

bidding rounds? 

Absolutely. A consistent procurement pipeline through consecutive 

bidding rounds will enable local manufacturing concerns to be 

re-established and the potential expansion of already operating 

manufacturers, and hence necessitate an incremental increase in these 

requirements over time. This would be a positive development as it 

facilitates job creation and skills development as the economy recovers 

from the Covid pandemic. 

By 2015, meaningful momentum was established in the setting up of 

new manufacturing capacity within the wind and solar value chains 

in South Africa. To what extent was that capacity lost through the 

delays in rolling out rounds 4 and 4b and in the announcement of the 

subsequent rounds? 

Significant manufacturing capacity was lost in the delay between BW4 and 

BW5. Many companies were forced to shut down because of the delays, 

unable to carry the cost of overheads indefinitely. 

With new impetus from government in respect of REIPPPP, how 

quickly do you expect the momentum to be regained in respect of 

investments and local manufacturing? 

While we wholeheartedly celebrate the new impetus, one must be mindful 

that regaining the investor confidence will not be an overnight process. To 

Umoya Energy Wind Farm situated on either side of the R45 on the West Coast of South Africa. 

Mercia Grimbeek 

enable the required quantity and very importantly, quality, of components 

will require at least two to three years of investment and development. It is 

therefore crucial that further interruptions or delays are not encountered. 

A controlled roll out of procurement will allow all aspects of the value 

chain, and not only the manufacturing sector, to expand. 

The South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (SAREM) 

The national masterplan process falls under the dtic-led industrial 

strategy for South Africa. It builds upon the approach taken by the 

automotive sector as well as the sector plan process developed 

between private and public sectors, led by the Public Private Growth 

Initiative in conjunction with the Presidency. SAREM is one of 14 

industry specific masterplans in progress since July 2019. 

The masterplan approach is a collaboration between industry, 

labour and government to develop an industrial plan for the sector. 

This includes setting out a vision for an industry in South Africa, 

identifying blockages and proposing a set of key actions for the short 

and medium term. Government, for its part, undertakes to remove 

impediments to these plans. 

The IRP outlines the expected energy capacity needed in South 

Africa. SAREM represents an opportunity to identify jobs and 

investment in the renewable energy sector linked to the IRP, as well 

as to articulate how job creation and investment might be optimised. 

Are you confident that the wind industry will be able to meet local 

content requirements, needed by bidders as they seek to bid on 

round 5 onwards? 

I have no concerns that the wind industry will respond positively and 

meet the local content requirements. SAWEA has facilitated conversations 

between the IPPO, DMRE, dtic and OEMs to align strategically and map 

the way forward to meet increased local content requirements. The wind 

industry has submitted its vision to practically increase local content 

in the next few years and remains fully supportive of growing the local 

manufacturing sector. 

Do you see government policies, such as establishing Renewable 

Energy Development Zones (REDZs), as a meaningful facilitator of 

local manufacturing for the wind industry? 

Yes, consistent regulatory framework, such as the REDZ, supports a 

focused project delivery pipeline within a development zone, which 

means that the renewable energy industry would have the opportunity 

to expand the manufacturing value chain in this REDZ. A stable and 

consistent project pipeline will support manufacturing of components 

locally, with the added benefit of skills development and training for the 

local communities. 

What other policies would you like to see being implemented in South 

Africa to fast-track the establishment of this manufacturing capacity? 

The finalisation and implementation of the South African Renewable 

Energy Masterplan will contribute immensely to fast-tracking the 

establishment of local manufacturing capacity. It will provide a blueprint 

A controlled roll out of procurement 

will allow all aspects of the value 

chain, and not only the 

manufacturing sector, to expand. 

*Mercia Grimbeek is head of project development for Enertrag in South Africa and Chair of the South African Wind Energy Association. 

from which government departments, such as the dtic, can provide 

incentives for investment into local manufacturing. A focused action plan 

within the Industrial Policy Action Plan on how government will support 

development of renewable energy industry in the country would be of 

great importance. 

REDZs’ role in the 

GREEN AND GOLD 

REDZ create priority areas for investment in 

the electricity grid and increase South Africa’s 

green energy map, by enabling higher levels 

of renewable power penetration. 

Wind developers are investigating the potential for development 

in the eMalahleni REDZ, despite Mpumalanga not 

being known for high levels of wind, a challenge that can 

certainly be overcome with increased turbine hub height. Industry 

players believe that the region can be positioned as a component 

manufacturing hub that will further entrench the positive impact on 

job creation by the wind industry. It is recognised that engagement 

with the relevant government stakeholders is critical. 

“The new eMalahleni REDZ is a huge step toward accelerated 

economic development in Mpumalanga. As we move to implement 

the requirements of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2019, it would 

appear natural that a portion of the 1 600MW per annum should be 

allocated to the northern region of the country and research has 

dispelled the myth that wind is not an economically viable option in 

this region,” says Mercia Grimbeek. 

“Through the implementation of national and even regional 

auctions, the area could receive the economic stimulus that it needs 

and reduce the almost complete reliance on mining generated 

income to drive and support the economy. Renewable energy such 

as wind power plants are deployed quickly when compared to other 

large infrastructure projects. This allows for the economic benefits 

to flow through to communities in a relatively short period of time 

not only directly through job creation but also indirectly through 

manufacturing and supply chain management,” adds Grimbeek. 

Due to the large number of energy intensive users, in and around 

eMalahleni, it is seen as an ideal location to promote private off-taker 

agreements for the purchase of energy from IPPs. The deployment 

of wind energy, backed by a regulatory regime that supports private 

Power Purchase Agreements, could provide economic stimulus within 

a short timeframe. 

“A stable and consistent project pipeline will support manufacturing 

of components locally, with the added benefit of skills development 

and training for the local communities. One cannot ignore that the 

introduction of renewable energy would require a significant amount 

of skills transfer and human capital investment, so we believe that by 

expanding into eMalahleni, local communities will be empowered 

and less reliant on a single industry to provide economic certainty,” 

concludes Grimbeek. 

33

ENERGY 

A CASE FOR A NET-ZERO 

CARBON ECONOMY 

SOUTH AFRICAN WIND 

MEAN SPEED MAP 

Data source ERA5 downscaled at 1km 

Long-term averaged period 2008-2017 

Wind mean speed averaged at 100m height 

Golden Valley Wind Energy Facility. 

Ntombifuthi Ntuli 

Ahead of the 2021 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 26th 

Conference of Parties, referred to as COP26, South Africa Wind Energy Association has unpacked 

the role of renewable energy, as South Africa prepares for a net-zero carbon economy. 

BY SAWEA 

Africa’s Low Emission Development Strategy, backed by 

President Ramaphosa, was formulated last year and commits 

“South 

to moving towards a goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 

2050, which will require various interventions to reduce greenhouse 

gas emissions,” explains Ntombifuthi Ntuli, CEO of SAWEA. 

President Ramaphosa reaffirmed this commitment in his recent SONA, 

stating that Eskom, which is the country’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, 

has committed in principle to net-zero emissions and to increase its 

renewable capacity. This was followed by the presidential co-ordinating 

commission on climate change meeting for the first time, last month, to 

work on a plan for a just transition to a low-carbon economy and climate 

resilient society. 

“The energy sector contributes close to 80% towards the country’s 

total greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) of which 50% are from electricity 

generation and liquid fuel production alone, hence investments in 

renewable energy, energy efficiency and public transport, in line with the 

country’s energy roadmap, the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2019, is the 

key to reducing GHG emissions,” adds Ntuli. 

Wind energy is given the opportunity to play a leading role, and it is 

widely agreed that the country, as well as its economy and workforce 

will benefit from a net-zero future. This is easy to understand considering 

that the installed capacity of 3.3GW of wind power has reduced carbon 

emissions by 28.8Mt CO2 to date. 

It is no surprise then, that the increase in renewable energy capacity 

has been prioritised in the country’s key planning documents, starting 

SAWEA views South Africa as 

an ideal case study for large-scale 

deployment of renewable energy, 

and wind power in particular, 

on the African continent. 

with the National Development Plan, which commits to the procurement 

of 30GW of renewable energy by 2030, supported by the IRP2019, which 

commits to the procurement of 14.4GW of wind by 2030. 

This commitment is further supported by the Economic Reconstruction 

and Recovery Plan, which outlines a plan to accelerate the implementation 

of the IRP 2019 to provide a substantial increase in the contribution of 

renewable energy sources, battery storage and gas technologies. This 

economic recovery plan will ensure that South Africa rapidly achieves 

decarbonisation of its power system over the next decade and beyond. 

“We know that the key consideration for achieving net-zero emissions 

by 2050 is that this massive transition of the electricity sector will reduce 

the country’s demand for coal resources. The need to shift from a carbon 

intensive power system to sustainable power generation coincides well 

with the end of life of the ageing coal power fleet, rendering this transition 

process a natural and gradual one,” adds Ntuli. 

In the long term, decommissioning of coal plants will increase gradually 

as they reach end-of-life. The IRP stipulates a plan to decommissioning of 

11 000MW of coal by 2030, with a further 24 100MW of coal power expected 

to be decommissioned between 2030 and 2050. This capacity will be 

replaced by a combination of wind, solar PV, battery storage and gas. 

Although the published IRP 2019 goes up to 2030, it is assumed that 

wind power will constitute an even bigger share of new generation capacity 

beyond 2030, as the first wind farms will commence decommissioning 

from 2034 onward, this will create a capacity gap that will be closed by 

building more wind power capacity. This transition project should result 

in a total emission reduction budget for the entire electricity sector up to 

2050 of 5 470Mt CO2 cumulatively, according to the IRP 2019. 

SAWEA views South Africa as an ideal case study for large-scale 

deployment of renewable energy, and wind power in particular, on the 

African continent. 

“We demonstrate that with the right combination of policy instruments, 

a country can successfully develop energy infrastructure and drive 

economic growth that includes domestic and foreign investment, socioeconomic 

development and job creation, all while driving down the price 

of electricity and reducing GHG emissions,” concludes Ntuli. 

Map courtesy: Vortex. http://www.vortexfdc.com/ 

Wind mean speed map of South Africa. The wind mean speed is averaged at 100 metres in height. 

34 

35

TECHNOLOGY 

TECHNOLOGY 

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: 

TRUE GENIUS 

There is much talk of AI and the green economy. In this series of articles, the author sets 

out to provide an understanding of AI and its elements; and progressively review areas of 

its application to climate change, resource saving, circular economy, environmental and 

ecosystem protection, SDGs, energy management, as well as other related processes and 

markets set to be transformed by AI. 

BY ERROL FINKELSTEIN, B.COMM., B.ACC (WITS); CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT (SA) 

36 

So, what is AI and why should you be interested? 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not new or untested. However, its 

application has opened and been radically broadened by the power 

of computing available over the past few years. Why is that noteworthy? 

As humans we can only deal with a certain amount of incoming data and 

process the patterns emerging in a fairly limited manner if the data volume 

is overwhelming. Computers can now routinely do this on a scale not 

practical until recently. For example, in the healthcare field, researchers 

working on better approaches to Dementia diagnosis, identified related 

variables in a large-scale study. The study involved almost 60 000 patients 

and their anonymised clinical data covering over 50 000 indicators. From 

this vast array of data, the ten most important features were identified, 

and they are now being further refined to provide an extremely high level 

of confidence that if these ten criteria are current in a certain manner 

that a specific patient is very likely to be approaching hospitalisation due 

to Dementia. The early onset flag should significantly improve patient 

outcomes; and may lower the overall cost of the care. 

The above illustrates that both brute computing power and appropriate 

programmes, generally referred to as algorithms, are needed to detect 

the otherwise hidden patterns in the data. This is in a similar manner to 

‘unusual’ credit card transactions, or fraudulent insurance claims being 

flagged for further scrutiny with a high degree of accuracy. Isolating key 

patterns and applying them with useful outcomes is a key fundamental 

characteristic of successful AI deployment. The potential to misapply data 

or prior learnings are in part debated in much volume by AI practitioners 

under the vast field of AI and ethics, a subject for a subsequent article. 

AI encompasses several elements including machine learning, deep 

data, natural language processing, robotic processing automation, 

robotics and more. AI is the simulation of human intelligence processes by 

machines, especially computer systems. Specific applications of AI include 

expert systems, natural language processing (NLP), speech recognition 

and machine vision. AI programming focuses on three cognitive skills: 

learning, reasoning and self-correction. 1 

What has this to do with the green economy? Some examples illustrate 

the connection. 

Agriculture worldwide is a US$5-trillion industry . And AI is revolutionising 

this industry every step of the way – from preparing soils 

and sowing seeds to getting products to the kitchen table. AI-powered 

technologies are increasing productivity and reducing costs significantly 

throughout the production and supply chain. 

The market value of global AI in the agricultural sector is currently 

estimated at US$852-million . In the next decade alone, this value is 

expected to grow more than ten times, exceeding US$8-billion annually. 

As of 2020, artificial intelligence impacts about about 70-million farmers 

globally. North America is a clear front-runner in this technology race. 

WATCH VIDEO 

The giant leaps in language technology and who’s left behind 

Kalika Bali | TEDxMICA | TED Talk 

The ability to integrate and 

optimise human and digital assets 

could become one of a (human) 

chief executive’s top skill sets. 

Data analytics and the use of information technology has a big impact 

in Africa as well. Maize production in Western Kenya is reported to have 

increased from an average of six to nine bags (90kg per bag) per farmer 

in just a single year. 

Weeds are key enemies of agricultural commodities. On a global 

scale, the value of weed damage is estimated at US$43-billion . 

In India alone, US$11-billion worth of agricultural products is 

damaged by weeds each year. AI technologies such as robots 

are powered by computer vision algorithms and are trained 

to identify weeds and destroy them on the field. These 

robots use 90% less herbicide and are 30% cheaper compared to traditional 

weed treatments. So, there are big financial savings there as 

well. 2 

AI will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 16% in the next three to five 

years. Nearly half of 400 businesses surveyed (for Energy Live News) are 

already using AI for climate action. The study surveyed 800 sustainability 

and tech executives from across 400 organisations – it found 48% are 

already using AI for climate action and on average, have reduced emissions 

by 12.9%, improved power efficiency by 10.9% and reduced waste by 

11.7% since 2017 as a result. 3 

Solcast’s technology employs a third-generation satellite ‘nowcasting’ 

system that can detect and predict cloud characteristics, track aerosols 

and utilise numerical weather model data, as well as model solar radiation 

and PV power output using proprietary algorithms. With five weather 

satellites contributing to 18 model predictions during each update, 

Solcast estimates that it calculates more than 600-million forecasts 

per hour and can forecast up to seven days ahead. According to Utility 

Magazine, Solcast’s 2017 pilot project yielded a 10-15% improvement.4 

The AI techniques are quite beneficial for environmental analysis, as 

they can process a huge amount of data quickly to draw conclusions 

that may have not been possible by humans. For instance, in China, 

IBM’s Green Horizon project uses AI technology to forecast air pollution, 

track pollution sources and provide potential solutions to deal with the 

problem. WHO estimates that exposure to air pollution causes around 

4.2-million mortalities across the globe each year. As per its further 

estimation, around 91% of the global population lives in places where the 

37

TECHNOLOGY 

Nowcasting is the prediction of the present, the very near future, and 

the very recent past state of an indicator. The term is a contraction of 

‘now’ and ‘forecasting’ and originates in meteorology. 

air quality is a concern. Moreover, an AI-enabled environment protection 

system monitors and reduces the amount of energy consumption and 

water usage that helps in preserving resources.5 

AI deployment in an array of sub-technologies will assist law 

compliance with advanced detection, processing and interpretation 

techniques now being established from geographical information 

systems (GIS) invasive species detection, right through to individual 

household building transgressions. 

The above broad examples provide a clue as to the vast potential of AI 

in all manner of applications. As we progress into a post-pandemic world, 

the acceleration of most processes and organisations progress toward 

being the object of and dependent on AI, will become more obvious. In 

organisations in the private and public sectors, the quest for better, faster, 

lower cost solutions and services will inevitably increase the deployment 

of AI. Human staff will tend to be limited to those undertaking high-value, 

high-touch roles requiring personal interface such as external negotiation, 

critical decisions through consultations with co-executives, personal 

financial or other commitments. Roles that are physical, paper intensive, 

low-value adding, routine or repetitive in nature will gradually be 

overtaken by digital assets of the kind outlined in the scope of AI stated at 

the beginning of this article. The ability to integrate and optimise human 

and digital assets could become one of a (human) chief executive’s top skill 

sets. Understanding AI and its transformational impact could therefore be 

the difference between success and failure in an organisation within the 

green sector with ever increasing, immediate effect. 

BUILD FOR THE FUTURE WITH VINYLS 

Polyvinyl chloride, also known as vinyl or simply PVC, is the 

third-most produced plastic in the world and is often 

referred to as “the building plastic”. 

Although it is used in a wide range of different uses and 

applications, 70 % of all PVC produced in Europe goes into 

materials commonly used in building applications, such as 

windows, pipes, flooring, roofing membranes and other 

building products. In South Africa the situation is very 

much the same, with 50 % of all the locally PVC produced 

going into the pipe industry, followed by cables, custom 

profiles, conduits and accessories. 

The use of vinyl products in building and construction 

received a major boost in October 2011 when a Technical 

Steering Committee of the Green Building Council of South 

Screeds 

Africa (GBCSA) withdrew the Mat-7 PVC Minimization 

credit from the Green Star SA rating system. 

Acknowledging the progress SAVA and its members made 

in addressing the historical environmental concerns and 

improving the environmental performance of vinyl 

products used in the construction and decorating 

industries, this decision effectively gave architects, building 

contractors and specifiers the thumbs up to use vinyl 

products in their projects. 

Vinyl products carrying the SAVA's Vinyl. product 

label comply with the Association's Product 

Stewardship Commitment (PSC) in that they are 

lead-free, use additives approved for high human 

contact applications and are recyclable. 

Safe, responsible and sustainable. 

During the past 11 years, SAVA has continued to assist its members, 

relevant authorities and experts to understand, characterize and 

address issues associated with the life cycle of vinyl products 

through its Product Stewardship Commitment (PSC). 

Lightweight concrete bricks 

As an industry, we continue to work towards ever improving our 

environmental credentials through the responsible and 

sustainable use of additives, the implementation of various 

sustainable recycling programmers and the promotion of a 

healthy vinyls industry. Awarding our 2021 Vinyl. Product Label to 

21 of our members was an important step towards confirming 

PVC products as being safe, sustainable and responsible. 

www.savinyls.co.za 

I buy PVC wisely. I choose 

REFERENCES 

1. https://searchenterpriseai.techtarget.com/definition/AI-Artificial-Intelligence 

2. https://medium.datadriveninvestor.com/economics-of-ai-agriculture-7c363b3ae3eb 

3. https://www.energylivenews.com/2020/11/18/ai-will-reduce-greenhouse-gas-emissions-by-16-in-next-three-to-five-years/#:~:text=The%20study%20surveyed%20800%20sustainability,since%202017%20as%20a%20result 

4. https://www.newenergysolar.com.au/renewable-insights/renewable-energy/applying-artificial-intelligence-in-solar-energy 

5. https://www.pv-magazine.com/press-releases/artificial-intelligence-ai-in-environmental-protection-market-overcoming-the-challenges-of-global-warming-and-resolving-environmental-concerns/ 

Errol Finkelstein, B.Comm., B.Acc (Wits); Chartered Accountant (SA) and member UK Chartered Institute of Information Security, was an honourary Cape Nature Officer for decades, and is the current chair of the Western Cape 

Biosphere Reserves NPC. He is the founder of Corporate Solutions.AI, a leading conversational AI, and AI data analytics company headquartered in Cardiff Bay, Wales. 

38

PROFILE 

FROM THE 

ROOTS UP 

Greenhill Estate celebrates their off-grid 

approval by City of Tshwane mayor Randall 

Williams and his team, and the launch of 

the estate’s self-sustainable development 

solutions for power, water and sewer. 

Fabulously positioned at the top of Waterkloof Heights, Greenhill 

Estate offers 360-degree views and energy-efficient, sustainable 

living in an exclusive, secure lifestyle estate. 

Founder, Brett Petzer, has over 30 years’ experience in the property 

industry, and has been involved in the construction of over 100 residential 

estates. Petzer’s experience and skill set includes identifying real estate 

opportunities, conceptualising property development plans, and building 

to the highest green building standards in the country. 

The concept of an off-grid housing development occurred to him 

after he bought a large tract of land that he was unable to develop 

because, at the time, Eskom had a moratorium on supplying power to 

new developments, which led to his coming up with the green housing 

concept. Rather than just offer buyers a solar-assisted house, he decided 

to offer them the opportunity to live free of the the problems associated 

with power delivery in South Africa. 

Water will be tanked at the guardhouse, with a tank provided at each 

home, ensuring an indefinite water supply to every household. Thereby 

alleviating future water supply issues, which Petzer believes are imminent. 

The 39 stands average about 600 square metres, with homes ranging 

from 273 to 358 square metres. Off-plan buyers can customise footprint, 

design and finishes – with expert advice from the design team at every 

step of the construction process. 

Conceptualised and developed by the Green Housing Company, the 

estate features insulative advanced tech buildings, ensuring that the 

contemporary-styled homes will require minimal (if any) heating and 

cooling. Solar energy generation also offers the potential for residents to 

live with zero power costs and independent of the issues surrounding the 

supply of commercial energy. 

The team has focused on the need to move around within the estate 

with 120 visitor parking bays available in the road design alongside 

indigenous gardens that look beautiful at all times – and that minimise the 

water required to keep the environment. 

Highlights: 

• 24-hour robotics and off-site security 

• Indigenous, water-wise gardens 

• Stunning views 

• Easy access to pretoria and the n1 

• Smart homes with ftth 

• Living right in the city 

The building technology 

Working from the roots up, our constructions feature foundations with 

air pockets, insulated concrete form (ICF) walling, double-glazing and 

advanced insulated roofing. The improvement in acoustic and thermal 

insulation means that the homes we build are 500% more insulated, 500% 

stronger, and twice as acoustically insulated as our closest competitor. 

Our renewable energy generation backed up by state-of-the-art 

high-capacity batteries, and our indigenous gardening combined 

with a comprehensive water management system enables us to offer a 

completely off-grid living solution. 

Perhaps even more importantly, our product is predominantly made in 

South Africa, which contributes to job creation while conserving foreign 

exchange. And, from a broader economic perspective, it also means that 

we are not beholden to fluctuating exchange rates, nor do we ever have 

project holdups due to stock being held up at customs. 

Our engagement with local government and Eskom at the highest-level 

means that we are constantly informing stakeholders of every aspect of 

the green building process. What this ultimately means is that eco homes 

are opening to more people in South Africa at grassroots level. 

We offer a complete and sustainable housing, power and water solution 

with more than 10 years’ experience. We have moved way beyond our 

initial proof of concept to being able to state proudly that we are the 

market leaders in sustainable green housing in South Africa. 

The Green Housing Company team is dedicated to providing the 

people of South Africa with sustainable housing that is not harmful to the 

environment. 

For more information contact Brett Petzer 081 736 6165, vip@tghc.co.za 

or visit www.tghc.co.za. 

THE ART 

OF LIVING 

Let us build you a custom designed 

home in our “Off-Grid” Estate. 

DEVELOPING BEAUTIFUL HOMES SINCE 1994 

INTRODUCING 

LEVY FREE 

LIFESTYLE 

NOW 

OFF-GRID 

FROM 

R4,995 000 

40 www.tghc.co.za I mobile 081 736 6165

INFRASTRUCTURE 


SOUTH AFRICA’s BRAND NEW 

GREEN STARS 

In the first few months of 2021, the GBCSA has awarded certifications to 27 buildings 

across South Africa. There are impressive new buildings achieving certifications, and the 

GBCSA is also encouraged by the number or re-certifications of buildings by owners and 

developers who have committed to maintaining their green status. 

BY GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL OF SOUTH AFRICA 

In 2020, we reached a milestone of over 600 certifications awarded by the 

Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA). Each building or project that 

goes through this rigorous and robust process of certification is one of the 

building blocks of a more sustainable built environment where the health 

of building occupants, and the planet are prioritised. The challenge now 

is to ensure that these buildings do not stand alone but form part of more 

sustainable infrastructure and systems. Connected by sustainable transport 

systems and powered by renewable generation sources, for example. 

Behind every building project is a dedicated team pushing for the 

creation of an environmentally principled place, and a place where green 

jobs become a reality. From the providers of renewable energy systems 

that generate clean energy, to the waste contractors ensuring proper 

separation and recycling of construction waste, it is a team effort to realise 

a high-performance green building. 

Congratulations to these project teams who are actualising the green 

economy and understand that sustainable progress is the only option. 

Botshabelo Mall 4-Star Green Star Existing Building Performance. A 

regional retail centre in Bloemfontein owned by Liberty Two Degrees, 

with sustainable building consultant ecocentric. 

GEMS Menyln Maine Orion Building 5-Star Green Star Office As-Built. 

An office building in Pretoria owned by GEMS, with sustainable building 

consultant Solid Green Consulting. 

De Zicht Lifestyle Centre 6-Star Green Star Public & Education Building. 

A community centre within the De Zicht residential lifestyle estate in 

Cape Town, developed by Balwin Properties with sustainable building 


Greenpark Lifestyle Centre Centre 6-Star Green Star Public & Education 

Building. A community centre within the Greenpark residential lifestyle 

estate in Johannesburg, developed by Balwin Properties with sustainable 

building consultant Solid Green Consulting. 

1 & 1a Protea Place 4-Star Green Star Existing Building Performance. 

Commercial office buildings in the Sandton CBD owned by Investec 

Property Fund, with sustainable building consultant ecocentric. 

The Oval 4-Star Green Star Existing Building Performance. A commercial 

office park in Newlands owned by Growthpoint, with sustainable 

building consultant Aurecon/Zutari. 

Eastgate 5-Star Green Star Existing Building Performance. A regional 

retail centre in Johannesburg owned by Liberty Two Degrees, with 

sustainable building consultant ecocentric. 

Golf Park 4-Star Green Star Existing Building Performance. A commercial 

office development in Cape Town owned by Growthpoint, with 

sustainable building consultant Aurecon/Zutari. 

33 Bree and 30 Waterkant 4-Star Green Star Existing Building 

Performance. A commercial office development in Cape Town owned by 

Growthpoint, with sustainable building consultant Aurecon/Zutari. 

Sandton City Precinct 6-Star Green Star Existing Building Performance. 

A retail and office development in Sandton CBD owned by Liberty Two 

Degrees, with sustainable building consultant ecocentric. 

New Buildings and Major Refurbishments 

Green Star rating tools validate the environmental initiatives of the design phase of new building construction or base building refurbishment, or the 

construction and procurement phase of a new building. 

42 

43



Honeywell 4-Star Green Star Existing Building Performance. An office 

building in Midrand owned by Growthpoint, with sustainable building 

consultant Aurecon/Zutari. 

Menlyn Maine Park Lane West 4-Star Green Star Office Design. An office 

building in Pretoria, owned by Barrow Properties and Menlyn Maine Investment 

Holdings, with sustainable building consultant Solid Green Consulting. 

Nersa Kulawula House 4-Star Green Star Office As-Built. An office in 

Pretoria owned by National Energy Regulator of SA, with sustainable 


Nicol Grove DQ4 4-Star Green Star Existing Building Performance. A 

commercial office building in Fourways owned by Investec Property 

Fund, with sustainable building consultant ecocentric. 

Investec Pretoria 4-Star Green Star Existing Building Performance. 

Commercial office buildings in Pretoria owned by Investec Property Fund, 


Midlands Mall 5-Star Green Star Existing Building Performance. A 

regional retail centre in Pietermaritzburg owned by Liberty Two Degrees, 








Irene Link Building B 4-Star Green Star Office Design. An office building 

in Irene, Centurion developed by Abland, with sustainable building 


Nelson Mandela Square 5-Star Green Star Existing Building 

Performance. A retail and office development in the Sandton CBD owned 

by Liberty Two Degrees, with sustainable building consultant ecocentric. 




Old Cape Quarter Development 4-Star Green Star Multi-Unit Residential 

Design. A multi-unit residential development in Cape Town owned by Tower 

Property Fund, with sustainable building consultant Imbue Sustainability. 

GBCSA tools for New Buildings and Major Refurbishments allow for 2 certifications: 

1. Design: Based on tender’s drawings and specifications 

2. As Built: Based on as-built drawings and commissioning records 

Certification for Green Star rating tools are 4, 5 and 6 stars 

• 4 Stars: Best practice 

• 5 Stars: South African excellence 

• 6 Stars: World leadership 

44 

45


Large Capacity 

Energy Storage 

NGK’s Sodium Sulphur (NaS) Utility Battery 

is quite simply the best choice worldwide 

for large-capacity energy storage. 

NAS batteries are large-capacity 6-hour energy 

batteries with multiple power grid applications. 

Park Square 5-Star Green Star Office As-Built. A mixed-use development 

with an office component in Umhlanga North, owned by Nedport 

Developments with sustainable building consultant Arup. 

Promenade Mall 5-Star Green Star Existing Building Performance. A 

retail centre in Mitchells Plain owned by Liberty Two Degrees, with 

sustainable building consultant ecocentric. 

The Courtyard Hotel Waterfall 4-Star Green Star Custom Hotel. A tenstorey 

hotel in Waterfall City Midrand, owned by Attacq with sustainable 


Waterfall Corporate Campus Building 4-Star Green Star Office As-Built. 

An office building owned by Waterfall Corporate Campus Joint Venture, 

with sustainable building consultant WSP. 

Superior safety, function and performance made 

possible by decades of data monitoring from 

multiple operational installations across the world. 

• Long life 

• Ultra-deep cycle 

• Hot location resilient 

• Super-efficient 

• Low maintenance 

• 3rd party tested and certified by Rhineland, 

Germany 

• Manufacturer’s guarantee 

Manufactured by NGK Japan using cutting edge 

ceramic manufacturing techniques, in partnership 

with BASF Germany. 

In excess of 17 years of proven commercial 

operation. 

APPLICATIONS 

GRID SOLUTIONS 

Peak Demand Management / Capacity 

Investment deferral 

RENEWABLES 

Renewables / Power plants 

CONSUMERS 

Industrial / Commercial & residential 

Ballito Hills Lifestyle Centre 6-Star Green Star Public & Education Building. 

A community centre within the Ballito Hills Lifestyle Estate in Ballito, 

developed by Balwin Properties with sustainable building consultant Solid 

Green Consulting. 

MICROGRIDS 

Islands / Remote grids and microgrids 

The Existing Building Performance tool covers the same environmental categories addressed in the Green Star New Building tool but the focus 

is directed on the operational phase of a building’s lifecycle. The tool recognises all six star ratings. 

info@altum.energy 

www.altum.energy 

46

EVENTS 


Facing an ever-changing future 

with hope and optimism 

The year 2020 was an unusual year; but like a chameleon responding to its changing 

environment, the Cape Town International Convention Centre adapted to the challenges 

presented by Covid-19. 

ENABLING 

ECONOMIC ACTIVITY 

Green Economy Journal speaks to Vuyo Ntoi from African Infrastructure Investment 

Managers (AIIM) about government’s commitment to invest R791.2-billion in infrastructure. 

This was the impassioned account of the unprecedented past 

year by CTICC CEO, Taubie Motlhabane, during the centre’s 

recently held 2019-20 Annual General Meeting (AGM). The 

organisation’s Board heard of how the centre pivoted its business 

practices, transformed its operations and reignited its passion 

for innovation. 

“The company was set for a good fourth quarter,” said Motlhabane. “And 

we were poised to achieve our revenue target of R285-million. However, 

when lockdown level 5 was implemented in March 2020, the CTICC’s 

closure had a significant impact on our performance, resulting in revenue 

falling to R220.7m, 23% below the initial target.” 

As a result of this, an EBITDA loss of R23.6m was anticipated. However, 

with careful management of costs, Motlhabane and her team managed 

to reduce the deficit to R12.5m (a 46.8% improvement on the revised 

target). 

Since its inception in 2003, the centre has contributed R5.5bn to South 

Africa’s national GDP, created more than 11 000 jobs nationally, bringing 

the total number of jobs created since the CTICC opened its doors to 142 

326. Jobs made possible due to the existence of the CTICC. 

The CTICC also reported that in the previous financial year, 87.5% of the 

total procurement spend was with locally based service partners, while 

86% of its spend was placed with B-BBEE service partners. 

Adapting with agility 

One of the CTICC’s achievements that Motlhabane and her team are proud 

of is the hosting of the temporary Covid-19 Hospital of Hope in CTICC 1. 

The 862-bed hospital cared for more than 1 500 patients over the 11 weeks 

it was open. In that time, the CTICC kitchens provided up to six meals a 

day for patients, catering for a range of dietary needs, such as those with 

diabetic, cardiac and other specialised requirements. The CTICC staff also 

provided operational support, WiFi and security, amongst other services. 

With its halls standing empty because of the national lockdown, CTICC 

entered into a partnership with the Ladles of Love feeding scheme and 

donated space to store, prepare and distribute food to some of Cape 

Town’s most vulnerable communities. In the 60 days based at CTICC 2, 

Ladles of Love delivered close to 2.6-million meals across the region. 

Extraordinary events and experiences 

From July 2019 to March 2020, the CTICC hosted 397 events, including 34 

international conferences, meeting their annual target. The same as the 

previous year, despite three and a half months of no activity. The largest 

international event was AfricaCom 2019, attended by 11 527 delegates, 

while other major local events included the Cape Homemakers Expo 2019 

(26 686) and the Investec Cape Town Art Fair 2020 (22 000), as well as 

Mama Magic: The Baby Expo (19 782). 

The CTICC attracted several new events such as the Korean Consumer 

Showcase, the Asian Racing Conference and the Doha Debates. The 

CTICC also instituted its ‘own events’ this year, with the first CTICC Gift 

Fair attracting almost 3 000 visitors in November 2019. The AllSport Expo, 

its one-stop-shop sporting exhibition, was formally launched in March 

2020 and was planned for September 2020. This provided the CTICC the 

opportunity to demonstrate its agility by adapting the event and hosting 

digital AllSport coaching workshops in October and November 2020. 

Adapting to the ever-changing Covid-19 environment 

The CTICC adapted swiftly and not only implemented comprehensive 

Covid-19 safety measures under the C19-Care initiative, but has also 

introduced remote working, as well as a range of new hybrid and digital 

event options for its clients. Adopting a hybrid model that sees it offering 

an event space as well as providing digital facilities and services. 

Keeping sustainability at the fore 

In keeping with its sustainability focus, the CTICC diverted 71% of its waste 

from landfill and reduced its water consumption by 33.1% and energy 

consumption dropped by nearly 5% compared to the previous financial 

year. The water produced by the centre’s reverse osmosis plant quality was 

good enough to be used by the Hospital of Hope for all their requirements. 

Where to next for the CTICC? 

“Our priority now is to get the CTICC back to full operational activity so 

that we can continue to contribute to South Africa’s and the Western 

Cape’s GDP,” concluded Mothlabane. “We will focus on finding new ways of 

doing business and continue to innovate in the event space. We have hope 

and we will work hard to ensure that our hope becomes reality.” 

How will continued investment and infrastructure unlock the South 

African economy? 

International research shows that the provision of infrastructure provides 

a big benefit for economies. As a public good, the infrastructure stock 

makes the economy more efficient, with good roads, port facilities and 

sufficient power supply being major enablers of economic activity. 

Secondly, the actual construction of infrastructure has stimulatory impact 

on the economy, with widespread civil construction activity increasing 

employment and demand for input goods and services in the economy, 

thereby boosting GDP growth. 

What is the role of the private sector in partnering with the state in 

funding these projects? 

As money is fungible, capital allocated from the private sector and the state 

both have the impact of stimulating the economy. As the national fiscus is 

currently under significant strain, it makes sense for private funds to be 

utilised in the development of infrastructure to maintain the stimulatory 

impact of new construction in the economy. Furthermore, there is also a 

Sustainability is key for infrastructure 

projects, which tend to have a significant 

footprint in the societies in which 

they are based. 

belief that private sector led infrastructure projects lead to better efficiency 

in construction and implementation, as a result of the way in which risks 

are allocated in private sector owned infrastructure projects. 

What are the potential investment opportunities created by the 

announcement that government will be accelerating investment into 

infrastructure investment and proposed changes to Regulation 28? 

The government’s stated intention of allowing greater private sector 

investment through the amendment of Regulation 28 is welcomed. 

The impact of more pension money being allocated to productive 

infrastructure in the economy will have a positive impact on economic 

growth in the short to medium term, while also creating a greater stock 

of infrastructure in the long term alongside credible investment returns 

of the pension fund contributors. We do have some thoughts on how 

the current draft changes to Regulation 28 can be improved and these 

comments have been filtered through to the National Treasury through 

the industry associations we are a member of. 

How do ESG considerations add value? 

ESG considerations drive sustainability. Sustainability is key for 

infrastructure projects, which tend to have a significant footprint 

in the societies in which they are based. It is important that projects 

add value to the communities they serve and are managed in a 

manner that supports long-term sustainability for the infrastructure 

concerned. We, for instance, have a dedicated team of three people, 

ensuring the sustainability of all our investments. We have also 

seen the evolution of ESG from being primarily a risk management tool, 

to an orientation where actual impact is targeted and monitored over 

the long term. 

*Vuyo Ntoi is joint managing director of African Infrastructure Investment Managers. 

Vuyo Ntoi 

48 

49


When the first incandescent lamps were introduced, the lighting 

industry focused on increasing their energy consumption. 

The light generating principle of an incandescent lamp is 

intrinsically inefficient because it generates more heat than light. 

Because of this, the development of an effective energy-saving solution 

was diverted with the invention of the halogen lamp. The introduction 

of the gas discharge principle (fluorescent tubes and high-pressure 

sodium streetlamps) produced better results. 

The 1970s and 80s saw an acceleration of new energy-efficient lighting 

products, which resulted in the introduction of compact fluorescent 

lamps and tubes as well as electronic control gear. In the early 90s, Shuji 

Nakamura developed the blue Light Emitting Diode (LED) that was later 

used for commercial lighting. It allowed the creation of white light (either 

by combining blue LEDs with green and red LEDs or by adding yellow 

phosphors to blue LEDs). 

The last 20 years has seen a dramatic increase in efficiency of LEDs 

(increased Lm/W ratio) and prices have dropped making LEDs the 

LIGHTING 

ITS OWN WAY TO 

A GREEN FUTURE 

BY HENK ROTMAN, IESSA* 

Henk Rotman, IESSA 

technology of choice and transforming lighting from traditional (analogue) 

to modern (digital) technology. 

Coupled with the conversion to LEDs, the use of lighting control devices 

gained popularity. Motion-sensing and daylight harvesting (replacing 

artificial light with incoming daylight) are now widely used. 

The role of legislation 

Legislation and government incentives play a large role in realising the 

energy-saving potential of new lighting technologies. In 2006/7, the mass 

rollout by Eskom of ca 40-million compact fluorescent lamps to replace 

inefficient incandescent lamps contributed substantially to avoiding 

power cuts. In later years, Eskom subsidised LED downlights to reduce 

energy use in the private sector. 

Legislation such as the Minimum Energy Performance Standards 

(MEPS) prohibit the use of inefficient lighting and enforce the use of more 

effectual products. The ban on incandescent lamps from 2014 is the best 

example of MEPS. 

Implementing the aforesaid energy-efficient products and technologies 

combined with legislation and government incentives has reduced the 

lighting share of global electricity consumption from 19% in 2006 to 13% 

in 2018 and is projected to decline to 8% by 2030. 

PROFILE 

The Bright Spark of Technology 

Lighting technology has not disappointed us in its learning curve 

over the last few years. Currently, lighting technology has shown 

great innovation on several fronts like efficiency, sustainability, 

aesthetics of light, control and management systems. 

Efficiency is a pressing issue as the cost of energy rises. We all know 

that the cost of carbon footprint is increasing, and a green star status is 

becoming essential. Who would have thought that we would go past 

200lm/W a few years ago? This is now a reality and companies can light up 

their spaces to much better levels at a fraction of the cost than it used to 

be. Lights also do not need to burn at 100% capacity when not needed, as 

dynamic dimming is an option. 

The lifetime of lighting has also changed drastically. This might not be 

good news for lighting suppliers, but the lifetime of luminaires can go up 

to 100 000 hours. For an office block this can equate to well past 25 years. 

The technology is there. Why not opt for lighting that lasts for the duration 

of the building? 

On the aesthetical side, lighting also creates more inviting and 

inspirational spaces in the workplace and leisure environments. Today we 

know so much more about the way that humans perceive lighting and 

what their preferences are. Imagine having skylights with natural light 

following circadian cycles throughout the centre of a large multi-storey 

building. This is now possible, and buildings can be designed without 

ALTSA half page expensive FINAL 3/30/21 construction 7:14 PM considerations Page 1 to bring in natural light. 

Smart lighting means that everything in a building can be monitored 

and communicated to a central “brain” that controls the building’s 

functions. Imagine streetlights that are dimmed at night and only light up 

before a vehicle arrives. Lights are becoming linked devices on an IoT level. 

They 

can monitor and report occupancy and conditions like CO2 levels 

and temperature to web-based systems and can be controlled based on 

occupancy, time and other local conditions or from web-based “brains”. 

C M Y CM MY CY CMY K 

The unit to measure the light output of a lamp is the Lumen. The 

lighting industry uses the Lumen/Watt ratio to indicate the efficiency. 

Further energy savings 

When it comes to LED efficiency there is a clear case of good-better-best, for 

example, side-lit LED panels are widely used in indoor applications (offices, 

schools, etc). The average efficiency of a side-lit LED panel is 100 Lm/W, which 

is good compared to luminaires using traditional technology, but poor in 

comparison to the best LED-based luminaires. Back-lit recessed luminaires 

that use LEDs and a LED driver combined with good optics or lenses result 

in a 50% improvement (150 Lm/W) compared to the average side-lit panel. 

Lighting has come a long way from the incandescent lamp – no 

other technology has contributed more to energy-use reduction than 

lighting has. 

Lighting has come a long way. 

An example of daylight harvesting. 

* Henk Rotman acts as the chairperson of the Gauteng branch of the Illumination Engineering Society of South-Africa (IESSA). 

50

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Green Economy Journal Issue 46

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