Relais Hotels (Pty) Ltd. t/a African Hotels & Adventures 2013
GENERAL - NEWSLETTER
RENEWABLE ENERGY ON THE CARDS FOR SOUTH AFRICA JOHANNESBURG - South Africa should be generating four percent of its energy from renewable sources by the end of the year. Experts say the target will not be met, but government is adamant it will reach its goals. In a bid to reduce the country’s heavy reliance on coal to produce electricity government set a target to produce about 10,000 giga watt hours of power (GWh) from renewable sources by 2013. This will contribute about four percent of energy to the national grid. That was in 2009 although that goal now seems a little farfetched, officials are confident. Maduna Ngobeni, Energy Department said, 2013 is not finished yet. "We have rolled out a number of projects, some coming online in November. "We need to meet the demand according to the supply. We need to introduce this energy in different phases. "From 2010 to 2013 and I think we have introduced the renewable portion of it in accordance with the plan," said Ngobeni. This plan is also getting the thumbs up from those outside of government. “The recent announcement that beyond the round three bidding process," said Dirk de Vos, independent energy consultant. "The programme will be extended and almost doubled, shows we are well on track to meet those targets. But can renewables be a viable supply of electricity to the national grid? “We need to recognise that renewables will be a relatively small part of the total generating capacity. We’re looking at 10 percent maximum,” said Vos. The increase in renewable energy is good news for consumers, who will pay less for electricity. South Africa is still in the dark when it comes to clean energy. We may be a long way off from large-scale renewable energy output. But the future looks bright for a greener energy future.
NUS Consulting SA – August 2013
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