Paradise of renewable energy still some way off

Societies globally, including South Africa, is heading for a world that will look dramatically different in terms of anything related to energy – be it how and where it is generated, used, the byproducts it produces, the legislative environment that regulates it, and the impact it has on the environment, the economy and society at large.
Towards the end of the 19th century, human society began a love affair with fossil fuels – first it was coal and, a quarter way into the 20th century, oil started taking over as the main source for the generation of electricity and the production of propellants for a fast, efficient and sophisticated global transport system.

The impact of oil, with its huge number of byproducts from fertiliser and other chemicals to plastics, has had a profound influence on the way of life of just about every society on earth.
It also created a world in which access to electricity has achieved the status of being a 'basic human right', along with clean water, education and healthcare. Electricity has become an entrenched and inseparable part of not only our daily lives but of the economy, which simply cannot function without it.

Globally, more than 40% of electricity is generated from coal and another 20% from natural gas. In the process, a great amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) is being released into the atmosphere.   
This fact, which considerably contributes to the threats and challenges – and particularly the speed – of climate change, combined with the fact that the planet as a whole has passed the peak of oil production, has made a new global energy regime inevitable.

With no single source of energy or energy generation in sight, the battle cry has become “renewable energy”.

The dream of achieving a world that escapes the trap of again relying on energy sources which will eventually run out, will not come about without very dramatic adaptations.

How early into the “age of renewable energy” we are, is illustrated by statistics such as the fact that renewable energy presently caters for only 9% of the energy needs of the world’s largest consumer of energy, the United Sates.

Not only do renewable energy and other alternatives to fossil fuels such as nuclear remain too expensive to compete with fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas, but we are at the very early stages of discovering the impact of renewable energy generation on our environment and way of life.

It is also not only the visual, ecstatic impact on the idyllic picture presented by travellers through the European or South African rural landscapes which has to be considered. Some of the implications of wrong decisions could be lethal.

In South Africa recently, plans to install solar panels on a new R540-million hospital in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town had to be scrapped. Barely three months before construction on the hospital was to commence, in January next year, concerns became known that since the hospital is to be situated in the flight path of the city’s international airport, the panels could temporarily blind pilots.

Health Department spokesperson Faiza Steyn said the entire issue was discussed in depth at the design stage by stakeholders. It was decided to instead use heat pumps for the supply of bulk hot water, since they are extremely efficient and cheaper than solar panels.

In a similar case, an investigation has been launched into possible radar interference from wind turbines planned to be established on South Africa’s West Coast. A similar investigation was done for London’s Heathrow airport. In that case, it was found that the turbines of wind farms planned east of the British city would be below the radar horizon form Heathrow and would not interfere with traffic control radars.

Reportedly, the South African Air Force, which has an air base at Langebaanweg, is concerned that wind turbines on the planned West Coast farm could interfere with radar operational at the base.
The potential problem is said to be that the rotating arms of the turbines’ giant propellers could reflect radar pulses in multiple directions. This could create an interference pattern on the radar screen, or generate anomalous and confusing returns to the screens of air traffic controllers.

In the meantime, the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) has drafted a new section of the National Building Regulations, which will set minimum requirements for energy efficiency in buildings. A development team has been set up to draft regulations that would be easy to understand, enforceable by local authorities and useful to all stakeholders.
The regulations would set targets for energy consumed yearly by large commercial buildings to meet the functional needs of users. It would affect all new buildings, except those used for industrial purposes.

The Department of Energy’s acting chief director for the clean energy division, David Mahuma, recently told a workshop on concentrated solar power (CSP) that renewable energy is the way to go, particularly with the financial and environmental cost of coal-based electricity generation increasing.

He said South Africa had a good and mature transmission industry, and a well-established manufacturing capacity that could be tweaked to support the renewable energy industry, which would be better than trying to establish the industry from scratch.

He said that CSP should be enhanced and supported to improve and to reduce the cost of components through local production.

The reality, however, is that renewable energy still has some way to go before it would be able to match coal-generated electricity in terms of costs.

A recent American report indicated that in that country, coal costs about two American cents per kilowatt-hour, and electricity from photovoltaics cost about five times more. Even with legislative efforts to increase the cost of emitting carbon, for the foreseeable future the imposed cost of emissions will probably be too low to drive substantial investment in alternatives.

The worldwide credit crisis that began late last year is compounding the problems, since it effectively halted construction of new types of power plant, many of which cost hundreds of millions to build.

It is clear that the paradise of clean, renewable, environmentally friendly supply is still some way off.

Renewable energy sources are unlikely to end the world’s reliance on fossil fuels within the next two decades or more.

But all is not lost. The above-mentioned American report also stated that “smarter policy decisions and technological innovation can reduce what our energy sources contribute to climate change.” For one, there is a big drive on for the 'clean' use of coal.

Locally, Eskom very recently stated that it intends to go ahead with its plans to build a 100-megawatt plant for concentrating solar power near Upington at a cost of R6 billion. The cost has been included in the recent application for a tariff increase. The plant will take about three and a half years to build.

“Legislation that puts a price on carbon emissions is essential, but it must be based on a full accounting of environmental and economic costs.

“It is also critical that government and industry make a long-term commitment to funding energy research,” the report stated.