“South Africa is currently ranked as one of the top three investors in the renewable energy generation sector in the world, and the South African Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) not only supports the continued development of a ‘Green Economy’ but offers a range of services and incentives for companies wishing to invest in, or expand their local opera- tions and embrace energy saving or green processes,” said Yunus Hoosen, Acting Head of Investment Promotion and Inter Departmental Clearing House, at the dti in Pretoria.

In 2011 the South African Department of Energy (DoE) launched the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme (REIPPP) in order for energy procurement of 17.8 GW of renewable generation capacity by 2030, which contributes, among other things, towards South Africa’s greenhouse gas emission reduction commitment. The REIPPP has also contributed to South Africa becoming a major manufacturer of components for renewable, energy projects, putting electricity onto the grid while at the same time supporting industrialisation and job creation. April 2015 saw 13 new projects launched via the REIPPP, which has attracted R140-billion in private investment into industry in the last round.

Hoosen continued “Our role at the Investment Promotion and Inter Departmental Clearing House is to establish a pipeline of investment projects and to facilitate inter-governmental cooperation in order to create an enabling investment environment, with a focus on key sectors such as the green economy, services, resource based industries, manufacturing and advanced manufacturing. To this end the dti established an ‘Inter-departmental Clearing House’ function in April 2015, aimed at being a, a ‘one-stop-shop centre’ that assists in the generation of foreign direct investment and also supports local companies with their investment planning in South Africa”.

“We aim to help fast track investment projects by offering a service where all the required information, regulations and standards are available from one source thereby taking the ‘pain’ out of dealing with a multitude of government departments. There is a perception that investor confidence in the economy is down, but that is not the reality. In relatively new sectors such as waste management and the green economy, over R190-billion has been invested in the last five years,” said Hoosen.

Hoosen stated that it was imperative for companies to engage with the dti at the start of any investment project. When working, for example, with companies establishing manufacturing facilities, it is essential to look at the latest technology in energy efficiency and other applications that can contribute to sustainability and resource efficiency. The idea is to create global hubs of excellence in certain key industries in South Africa – the green economy being one of them. 

Energy Efficiency
“In order to comply with international energy management systems standard (ISO 50001) and energy systems optimisation, South Africa practitioners (engineers, consultants, and government officials) underwent tailored ‘train-the-trainer’ training in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation. The programme has been so successful, that the programme is now replicated in countries like Venezuela, Myanmar, Ukraine and India. The South African graduates from the programme are now training the trainers in other countries. It is our commitment to not only conform to internationally accepted energy management practices, but to also show local industry the tangible energy saving outcomes that can be achieved with none, or very little cost to the company.”

Some companies that have benefited through these interventions include Arcelor Mittal, King Shaka International Airport and Toyota SA, where a partnership with the dti’s NCPC-SA programme at no cost to company achieved energy savings of sev- eral million rands. The com- panies saved on three elements namely monetary savings, energy savings and greenhouse gas emissions reductions; King Shaka International Airport in KwaZulu-Natal, saved over R2-million by looking at processes and optimisation of systems for greenhouse gas savings – again with no investment costs,” said Zakhele Mdlalose, Director: Environment and Energy Efficiency Industrial Development and Policy Division at the dti.

The Industrial Energy Efficiency Project undertaken by the dti underwent a performance review in May 2015. Mdlalose said “A project of this nature is regularly reviewed to ensure that objectives are on track to be achieved. In terms of direct project related energy carbon emission savings our goal was a saving of 500 GWh and 478 500 t of CO2e, we over-achieved with an 860 GWh and 800 000 t of CO2e saving recorded”.

Other achievements include: the development of two national EE qualifications; development of ESO guidelines and software tools; ISO 50001 became a key certi- fication; application of measurement and verification savings verification methodology and increased collaboration with governmental and industrial programmes. Recycling targets of 19.9% for plastic in 2012 were achieved compared to 17.8% in 2009. In addition, 57% of paper, 80% of metals and 35% of organic waste were recycled.

“the dti’s focus on water pollution prevention is another key activity. Industry is encouraged to increase their recycling of mainstream products, turning their recyclable material into other applications in sustainable quantities. The local technology is available; South African industry is aware of the need; we are not the environmental pollution ‘police’, we are here to help local and foreign industry comply to accepted anti-pollution standards and benefit from the incentives we offer them. Industry has become attuned to these issues, we need more industrialists on board to realise our potential and make a difference,” said Mdlalose.

It’s All About Assistance
“The establishment of the Inter Departmental Clearing House enables us to work with other government departments (like the DoE and the Department of Environmental Affairs) in the renewable and green economy sectors by  highlighting  the industrialisation opportunities in those sectors” said Annelize van der Merwe, Director: Green Economy, Investment Promotion and Inter-Departmental Clearing House at the dti.

Van der Merwe continued “It is crucial for the sustainable development of our industries that environmentally friendly processes and technologies are used, and we encourage companies to invest in energy and resource efficient technologies. We are very proud of the environmentally driven projects that the dti has been associated with. They are a testament to how powerful joint collaborations can be”.

“The green economy, (including renewable energy, waste and emissions man- agement) sector is a strategic and key focus of the dti and the dti is committed to creating an enabling environment that will facilitate investment, job creation and growth and will continue to improve support measures that can help us achieve this,” concluded Hoosen.