Green Jobs

Energy efficiency and renewables may be power crisis' silver lining - 27 March 2008

Delegates at the Energy Development Corporation's third yearly Energy Roundtable were reminded by the Central Energy Fund (CEF) that in light of South Africa's energy crisis "one man's crisis is another man's opportunity," and in this case the silver linings lay in the fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy generation.

In terms of energy efficiency, Eskom has set targets of increasing efficiency to save 3 000 MW in the short term, which was non-negotiable and would be done through initiatives like solar water heating roll-outs, energy efficient lightbulb distribution, residential geyser management, and energy efficient motor programmes for industry.

"The 3 000 MW saving is realistic, but we can do more," indicated National Energy Efficiency Agency acting operations manager Barry Bredenkamp, and added that South Africans "need to make energy efficiency sexy".

The residential sector, which consumed about 17% of South Africa's total energy (more than the mining sector at 6%) was said to have a big role to play in this energy efficiency boost. Residential electricity consumption was dominated by the ‘big users' like lighting, television sets, heating and cooling, water heating, and refrigeration and freezing.

Standby power was also highlighted as an area where big savings could be made, and leaving a television or computer on standby was likened to leaving ones car idling in the garage overnight, so as to avoid the inconvenience of restarting the car in the morning.

Bredenkamp said that energy efficiency should be done not only because of the current power crunch being experienced, but also to fight climate change and environmental degradation, as well as to assist with job and wealth creation in the country.

. . . read the remainder of this article by Christy van der Merweon Engineering News . . .