Eden DM and Local Municipalities set Green Energy transition goals

GEORGE NEWS - Eden District Municipality (EDM) hosted a Green Energy Summit on 11 and 12 April at Fancourt in George, which was themed "Promoting Green Energy initiatives towards an even greener Eden district".

More than 200 delegates from the public and private sectors confirmed their 'green energy' ambition through active participation in discussions about the region's transition to a collective, sustainable and renewable energy model. The idea, which corresponds to the prerogative of the Western Cape Government, is to harness enough power for positive, sustainable growth that has a low carbon footprint.

In addition, the aim is that executive mayors of all municipalities in the Eden district sign a declaration of intent that outlines municipalities' drive toward sustainable energy solutions that will provide collaborative, partnership-driven, green and cleaner environment.

High-powered presentation
Delegates who attended the summit included the Western Cape Energy Game Changer, GreenCape, CSIR Energy Centre, Independent Power Producer (IPP), Green Building Council SA, NMU, Stellenbosch University’s Centre of Renewable & Sustainable Energy Studies, South African Local Government Association (Salga), Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), George Municipality and various private sector entities and NGOs.

Greenest District
In his opening speech, Eden DM Executive Mayor Memory Booysen said, "Our district was voted the Greenest District for the past five years in a row, and this summit is yet another confirmation of our commitment towards ensuring a greener future for all." He also explained that vulnerable members of the community require subsidised electricity and that "the district is committed to meeting their needs for affordable and reliable energy supply".

Day one of the Green Energy Summit was facilitated by Mawethu Nyakatya, who works at the University of Stellenbosch's division for social impact.

Putting Eden on the green energy map
During a press conference held on the first day of the conference, Booysen said that Eden is going to take up its rightful place on the Green Energy map. He said that EDM has a keen interest in biomass and possibly biofuel. "Our regional landfill site is situated next to PetroSA, which is one of the leading refineries in the world, and we will leverage this strategic position to see how we can work with them in the future," he said.

Eden’s PV Plant
EDM took its first step of going greener as far back as 2016, when it invested in a solar photovoltaic (PV) plant of 476 panels at its head office in George. The concept of green energy is also one of the key priorities of the EDM council and is now well reflected in its new Spatial Development Framework, which was adopted and approved by the EDM Council on 5 December 2017.

Nearly 200 delegates from the public and private sectors joined hands over the two-day summit to find a green way forward for the district.

On the second day of the summit, the public and private sector delegates voted to pursue the following government-driven green initiatives over the short-, medium and long-term (in order of priority):

To develop an “Eden Integrated Energy Plan” aligned with local raw water sources in Eden District (e.g. groundwater pumping and desalination) and to then integrate this plan into the planned “Eden Growth and Development Plan.”

To implement at least one new green energy project per municipality in the Eden District and to collectively pursue such projects under a new Eden Energy Forum that will aim to meet on a bi-monthly basis, with the first meeting on 31 May.

To explore and implement alternative transport fuel strategies, including the conversion of municipal fleets and alternative fuel charging / filling networks / PV charge stations throughout the Eden district.

To create an enabling environment to ensure that existing and planned IPPs projects such as the 75MW Dysselsdorp PV (solar) project and the George Biomass Energy Project are implemented; and to attract new IPPs to the district by ensuring that green planning elements are fully reflected in each municipality’s SDF, IDP and sector plan implementation framework.

To establish a local Biomimicry Research Centre and Discovery Park at an appropriate location in the Eden district.

According to Dr Hildegarde Fast, head of the Western Cape’s Energy Security Game Changer initiative, PV prices will continue to fall and level out at around R8 000 to R10 000 per kWp. Fast said that "solar will be one of the cheapest sources of energy in South Africa and uptake of solar PV will continue to increase". Talking about local government creating an enabling environment for PV, she raised concerns about the district and its municipalities “lagging behind”.

EDM Executive Mayor Memory Booysen (fifth from left) and EDM Municipal Manager Monde Stratu (fourth from left) with all the speakers of the first day of the summit.

Wind and solar power
Chief engineer of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Dr Clinton Carter-Brown, presented interesting facts about new wind and solar PV plants installed globally. According to him, 54GW of new wind and 70GW of solar PV capacity was installed worldwide in 2016. This indicates that, globally, roughly 80% of the existing solar PV capacity was installed since 2013. He also said that future key drivers in energy consumption and control would include plug-in electric vehicles, energy efficiency, energy controls, heat pumps and consumer electronics.

Biomimicry
Sue Swain from Biowise / Bio Mimicry also presented an alternative approach to green energy, which involves humans making use of the same system nature uses to create conditions conducive to life. She explained to the audience that becoming "earth savvy" is a wise decision, because the natural environment offers limitless opportunities - a dynamic system, cyclical processes, inter-constructiveness, multi-functionality, to mention a few.

EDM Municipal Manager Monde Stratu said that the outcomes of the Green Energy Summit marks the beginning of the hard work ahead and that the summit will form part of EDM's long-term growth and development strategy and an integrated energy master plan.

"This summit was part of us positioning ourselves as a 'district of choice'. Section 84 of the Municipal Structures Act also gives us as a district the authority to distribute energy".

On the second day of the summit, delegates from the public and private sectors voted to pursue specific green initiatives over the short, medium and long term.

New dawn
The Green Energy Summit follows on the Salga 2018 Energy Summit held from 7 to 9 March at the Sandton Convention Centre in Gauteng, which was inspired by the spirit of a new dawn of green energy focus in South Africa. The theme was “Defining the Energy Future of Local Government” between municipalities, national and provincial government, international guests, technology partners, academic institutions, businesses and stakeholders within the local government sector.

Click here to read more about what was discussed at the Green Energy Summit.

'We bring you the latest George, Garden Route news'