The South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) says government’s 12L Tax Incentive has delivered more than 24 TWh in energy savings since November 2013.
This equates to a total gross rebate of nearly R20-billion to South African taxpayers.
SANEDI says there has also been a reduction of 24.4 megatons of carbon dioxide, which also indicates the success of the Section 12L Tax Incentive, in its aim of creating a local economy that is based on energy efficient practices.
The total terawatt-hour savings have grown from 5.2 TWh in 2015 – before the rebate was increased from 45c/kWh to 95c/kWh – to 24.7 TWh this year.
The regulations for Section 12L set out the process and methodology for claiming an allowance for energy savings, a baseline, or benchmarking, model and reports must then be compiled and submitted to SANEDI for approval.
At the forefront of the incentive’s energy savings are the South African mining and manufacturing industries, with each of these sectors having rolled out 69 certified projects since 2015.
Coming in at third is the wholesale industry, which has implemented 17 Section 12L-certified projects.
“The figures speak volumes of how well the Section 12L tax incentive has been received across industry. It is making a tangible difference, offering important relief to a variety of energy users and will undoubtedly continue to do so while helping to stabilise the grid. We look forward to seeing the energy savings curve grow even more in the coming years,” says SANEDI GM Barry Bredenkamp.
SANEDI has commissioned a detailed review on the full economic, environmental and socioeconomic impacts of the Section 12L incentive with a report due to be published in August.