www . refrigerationandaircon . co . za RACA Journal I January 2024 1
RACA Journal : ISSN 1812-772X
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RACA Journal Publication www . refrigerationandaircon . co . za eamonn @ interactmedia . co . za
SA ’ S ENERGY FUTURE GIVES CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM
The heating , energy , ventilation , air conditioning and refrigeration ( HEVACR ) industry is rapidly developing technology with eco-friendly efficiency , as the necessity of energy-efficiency designs gain urgency amid the looming energy crisis . The latest and best technology the market has to offer is showcased at Africa ’ s only dedicated HEVAC & R expo , Frigair , which takes place next year in Gauteng .
The E of HEVAC & R is likely to make up an outsized component of the expo as renewable energy is gaining momentum around the world – and South Africa is no exception . As the country seeks to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and transition to cleaner , more sustainable energy sources , investment and financing into the renewable energy space have become increasingly important .
Last year ’ s Energy Indaba attracted a great deal of foreign interest . Indeed , foreign interest in Africa lies at the bottom of the many initiatives under way in South Africa . There is a palpable desire by foreign investors to make a success of the energy sector in South Africa , so as to develop a platform that can be replicated in the rest of Africa for investors . There is a pool of international investors active in South Africa who already have a deep knowledge of Africa and its challenges . These are impressive people with impressive intellectual property and business gravitas .
However , such investors wish to shy away from handing money to government bodies so as to demonstrate an intent to fix the country ’ s energy problem – irrespective of what government does . That too may be changing : there appears to be a trend for government to loosen up on allowing IPPs to start integrating and for the private sector to focus on transmission . While the Eskom grid has always been – and currently still is – untouchable , the transmission grid is becoming a bit more collaborative in terms of finding solutions .
This shift towards renewables has created a growing demand for capital to fund projects and infrastructure , while also presenting opportunities for investors looking to capitalise on the rapidly expanding market . Discussions are tending to revolve around the challenges involving the future of the coal-fired power stations and how to get traction on new renewable energy projects quickly , while the biggest frustration one hears relates to the transmission grid and government obduracy in freeing up the market .
For years , some companies have been offering to build their own grid to integrate into Eskom ’ s national grid – an offer continually rebuffed by government ’ s excessive red tape .
Underlying this reluctance is perhaps an important behavioural issue : while Europeans have long been accustomed to expensive energy – a factor which sparked innovation in renewables from an early point – South Africans have historically been used to cheaper electricity . Consequently , at a consumer and business level we are only now taking a belated interest in energy efficiency , or even taking elementary measures such as installing solar geysers . Done timeously , a more ubiquitous roll-out of solar geysers alone could have given South Africa an average 30 % saving in electricity consumption .
A positive one takes from discussions with the renewable energy sector – whether investors or financiers – is that there is a powerful amount of IP and ‘ dry powder ’ in this country that is imminently going to be investing in the sector . The single biggest obstacle is crime and corruption . Investors have made it plain they won ’ t have their capital go via government but rather directly to IPPs . To achieve this , they ' ve set up conduits to manage the flow of funds to make this work .
Notwithstanding widespread scepticism , there is more happening in the energy sector than most people are commonly aware of , which in aggregate is the output of a Medupi power station .
Unfortunately , African countries are acting alone in the absence of a co-ordinated power grid . It was this factor which had greatly assisted Europe in the wake of the Ukraine-Russia war , to redeploy power from other regions to replace Russian power . There is no equivalent in Africa .
In some ways this could assist Africa in adopting a decentralised power grid which could enable the skipping of a generation or two of technology advancement – much as has occurred with mobile telephony . This has spread throughout Africa without a ubiquitous national phone service ever having been established in most countries .
In the power sector , decentralised hydrogen cells represent the potential to replace a centralised grid with a vast number of standalone units throughout rural parts of Africa , as these hydrogen cells are batteries ‘ on steroids ’. RACA
Eamonn
REFERENCE 1 . Interview with Andrew Bahlmann , chief executive : DLI
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