Time for renewable energies to take the centre stage
Thématique :
sud afrique
By Christy van der Merwe, Engineering News, 19/02/2008
The reactions of the National Electricity Response team were said to "lack a renewable energy flavour", but the National Business Initiative (NBI) said on Tuesday that the energy security challenge should be seen as "the opportunity of a lifetime" to develop the local renewable energy industry.
Speaking at a conference, in Johannesburg, NBI sustainable futures unit manager Yaw Afrane-Okese maintained that although small steps had been made in developing renewable energy in South Africa, initiatives were still lagging behind, despite the current power crisis.
He viewed renewable energies as "the only supply side solution with a reasonably short lead time, and installation flexibility".
Afrane-Okese said that renewable energy alternatives were often left out of energy efficiency strategies, and that there was no proper renewable energy framework. He said that the playing fields were just not level, especially considering the low price of electricity in the country. This combination of factors was scaring investors away.
He hoped to motivate the often sidelined and struggling renewable energy ‘fraternity' into taking advantage of the power crisis and kick-starting the market in South Africa, as people were opening up to more innovative renewable energy solutions.
The impending power rationing would promote an energy efficient culture, and stimulate the behavioural changes that would see energy efficiency and renewable energy go hand in hand. This would promote the uptake of more sustainable systems, which would also benefit the environment, and have social benefits.
"The sky-rocketing prices of coal and liquid fuel will eventually drum some sense into the minds of renewable energy ‘snubbers'," Afrane-Okese added.
More pressure would be put on establishing a tariff or market system, which would provide certainty and sustainability for renewable energy investment. "We have an unequal market system, which won't work. Certainty that investors would get a fair return on investment in a set time is required," emphasised Afrane-Okese.
With all the talk of tariffs, feed-in-tariffs and incentives at the financing for renewable energy projects conference in Johannesburg, differing opinions arose, and there were delegates of the opinion that incentives and subsidies could harm the market as people became reliant on them. One delegate went as far as to say that subsidies were "evil, and distort the market", with particular reference to the biofuels industry.
Another example given was that of solar water heaters, where a Central Energy Fund pilot project offered hefty incentives for 500 domestic users to install the systems, and afterwards many potential buyers held out in hope until another scheme offered similar incentives.
"Subsidies distort the market completely," agreed Cresco project finance director Robert Futter.
The reactions of the National Electricity Response team were said to "lack a renewable energy flavour", but the National Business Initiative (NBI) said on Tuesday that the energy security challenge should be seen as "the opportunity of a lifetime" to develop the local renewable energy industry.
Speaking at a conference, in Johannesburg, NBI sustainable futures unit manager Yaw Afrane-Okese maintained that although small steps had been made in developing renewable energy in South Africa, initiatives were still lagging behind, despite the current power crisis.
He viewed renewable energies as "the only supply side solution with a reasonably short lead time, and installation flexibility".
Afrane-Okese said that renewable energy alternatives were often left out of energy efficiency strategies, and that there was no proper renewable energy framework. He said that the playing fields were just not level, especially considering the low price of electricity in the country. This combination of factors was scaring investors away.
He hoped to motivate the often sidelined and struggling renewable energy ‘fraternity' into taking advantage of the power crisis and kick-starting the market in South Africa, as people were opening up to more innovative renewable energy solutions.
The impending power rationing would promote an energy efficient culture, and stimulate the behavioural changes that would see energy efficiency and renewable energy go hand in hand. This would promote the uptake of more sustainable systems, which would also benefit the environment, and have social benefits.
"The sky-rocketing prices of coal and liquid fuel will eventually drum some sense into the minds of renewable energy ‘snubbers'," Afrane-Okese added.
More pressure would be put on establishing a tariff or market system, which would provide certainty and sustainability for renewable energy investment. "We have an unequal market system, which won't work. Certainty that investors would get a fair return on investment in a set time is required," emphasised Afrane-Okese.
With all the talk of tariffs, feed-in-tariffs and incentives at the financing for renewable energy projects conference in Johannesburg, differing opinions arose, and there were delegates of the opinion that incentives and subsidies could harm the market as people became reliant on them. One delegate went as far as to say that subsidies were "evil, and distort the market", with particular reference to the biofuels industry.
Another example given was that of solar water heaters, where a Central Energy Fund pilot project offered hefty incentives for 500 domestic users to install the systems, and afterwards many potential buyers held out in hope until another scheme offered similar incentives.
"Subsidies distort the market completely," agreed Cresco project finance director Robert Futter.
