OVERVIEW Energy New uses
OVERVIEW Energy New uses for platinum are being uncovered. The head office of the Minerals Council South Africa is powered by 40 ounces of platinum and natural gas. A fuel cell at the Johannesburg site of the national mine owners’ association is South Africa and Africa’s first base load installation. Finding new uses for platinum provides good news for the North West which has huge numbers of people employed on mines which have been struggling to make ends meet in recent years. Anglo Platinum, one of the province’s biggest companies, launched its first underground mining locomotive powered by a fuel cell in 2012 (pictured). Platinum coating greatly enhances the hydrogen absorption capacity of fuel cells. Amplats intends using a fuel cell dozer in an underground mine in 2019, which will use hydrogen in liquid. Most of South Africa’s energy requirements are met by Eskom’s coal-fired power stations but the drive to start producing renewable energy is growing, and researchers and companies in the North West are investigating several options. Bioethanol, biodiesel and methane gas from waste and renewable resources are among the types of biofuels being investigated. Sunflower seeds and sweet sorghum are suitable for converting into biofuel and bioethanol. The South African Energy Resource Institute (Saneri) Chair in biofuel research is held by a professor on the Potchefstroom campus. Silversands Energy is a North West company that produces ethanol fuel for an ethanol-powered bus made by Scania South Africa for the City of Johannesburg. The North West normally has about 300 days of sunshine per year, so solar power has great potential, and there is a programme aimed at converting bush that is encroaching onto arable land into biomass in the form of biocoal (TOR) or briquettes. The Engineering Department of North-West University regularly competes in an international solar car challenge. In 2017 the Bridgestone ONLINE RESOURCES National Department of Energy: www.energy.gov.za South African Energy Resource Institute: www.saneri.org.za South African Renewable Energy Council: www.sarec.org.za Southern African Alternative Energy Association: www.saaea.org SECTOR INSIGHT North-West University competes annually in a solar car challenge. World Solar Challenge started in Darwin and finished 3 000km away in Adelaide. The mines and smelters around Rustenburg and the industrial plants in Brits use a lot of energy. They are served by Transnet Pipelines, which has recently made a big investment in the New Multi-Product Pipeline. The NMPP is built to pump threemillion litres of product per hour over a distance of 715km, from Durban to the industrial hub of the country. South Africa’s nuclear-research centre is located at Pelindaba near Hartbeespoort Dam and is run by the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation. The Nuclear Engineering Department at North-West University (NWU) is the only one of its kind in the country, and the National Department of Science and Technology granted a chair in Nuclear Engineering to NWU. NORTH WEST BUSINESS 2019 40
Water OVERVIEW A new body is helping municipalities deliver services. SECTOR INSIGHT JB Marks Municipality regularly wins Green Drop awards. South Africa is a water-scarce country and water management is critical to economic planning. The western part of North West Province is particularly dry. In the eastern part of the province, national government has sent water tanks to some parts, and has upgraded the treatment plants upstream from the Hartbeespoort Dam. Municipalities are charged with delivering water and waste-water but many of these municipalities have not been equal to the task. A new body has been formed to help municipalities deliver services. The Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency (MISA) falls under the National Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and will assist municipalities to plan for, provide and maintain infrastructure. The first action of MISA was to commission 81 engineers and town planners to get to work in areas that need the most help. A partnership between the National Departments of Water and Sanitation and Public Works and the Provincial Government of the North West has delivered training in solar geyser installation and plumbing to 140 young people in Madibeng. Maintenance of water works is one of the most serious challenges facing municipalities in South Africa, with 71% of waste-water treatment plants being non-compliant. Infrastructure in some cases has not been serviced for some time, and leaks and skills shortages are problems. In response to the long-term drought, water tankers organised by the National Department of Water and Sanitation and the provincial ONLINE RESOURCES Blue Drop Awards: www.ewisa.co.za National Department of Water and Sanitation: www.dwa.gov.za South African Association of Water Utilities: www.saawu.org.za Water Research Commission: www.wrc.org.za government dug several boreholes to supplement supply. Three of South Africa’s six major catchment areas are located in the province: the Limpopo, the Orange and the Vaal. Within these catchment areas, only the Vaal River has a strong-enough flow to allow for significant amounts of water to be taken from it directly to support irrigation or industry. There are four water-management areas in the province, three of which are linked to the Vaal River. Water is imported into the provincial system through transfers between water basins. The province has 83 sewagetreatment plants, and the national Blue Drop award system has found most of them need a lot of improvement. JB Marks Local Municipality, which has Potchefstroom as its main town, is one of only three municipalities in the country that acts as a water-service authority and as a service provider. It has won awards for its levels of service. For two consecutive years to 2016/17, the municipality’s waste-water works won Green Drop awards. The biggest service providers active in the North West are: • Rand Water • Magalies Water • Sedibeng Water • Midvaal Water Company supplies water to Matlosana (Klerksdorp). 41 NORTH WEST BUSINESS 2019
