SA’s cities eye energy alternatives
Architects as well as property developers across the country will have to start “thinking green” when they plan new developments.
Johannesburg has already announced it is introducing requirements for new buildings to ensure greater energy efficiency and Cape Town and Durban are following suit.
The City of Johannesburg said last week new developments would need to include alternative energy sources or energy-saving devices. Building plans would be evaluated in terms of steps to promote low energy use.
This approach followed extensive consultation with organisations such as commercial property association Sapoa, the Association of Consulting Town and Regional Planners, and academics from Wits and Johannesburg universities.
Phillip Harrison, executive director of development planning and urban management at the city of Johannesburg, said the nationwide power shortage obliged the city to tighten up its management of development.
Cape Town, meanwhile, has been exploring ways of introducing energy efficiency in new developments by way of new devices for two years.
However, Shirene Rosenberg, manager of resource conservation for the city, said due to legislation these could not proceed until agreement was reached on an “intergovernmental process”.
“Cape Town wanted to introduce a solar water heater bylaw that would have meant all new buildings of a certain size would be required to make use of solar water heaters for hot water requirements. This would have applied to new commercial and residential developments,” she said.
Yet after meetings in March last year it was realised that Cape Town did not have a mandate to amend national building regulations. The city was now planning to liaise with the trade and industry department and any other spheres of government that “may be involved,” she said.
“We hope to conclude this process on how to go about establishing such regulations by June,” Rosenberg said.
Michael Sutcliffe, city manager for the Ethekwini city council, said the council started some pilot studies a few years ago that focused on ensuring energy efficiency in all its buildings. Sutcliffe said Durban had also been looking at ways to reduce energy use.
“In our comments on building plans from private developers, we do provide comments on energy-saving devices. When we look at building plans, comments focus on energy efficiency.”
He said the city also took legal opinion last year on whether or not it could introduce bylaws that focus on energy efficiency. “We have been given legal opinion that we can go ahead.”
Even smaller cities such as Port Elizabeth have plans to reduce electricity consumption in developments. Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan municipality spokesman Lourens Schoeman said the city was undertaking a project with a company to set up a wind farm outside Nelson Mandela Bay with a view to generating alternative forms of energy.
Schoeman said the government had also announced it would be rolling out solar water heaters and that a large number of these would be installed throughout Nelson Mandela Bay.
The Eastern Province Herald reported last week that 90000 energy-saving solar water heaters were to be installed in Nelson Mandela Bay in phase two of the state’s solar water heating programme.
