Advertorial – Department of Trade and Industry

South Africa is current-ly ranked as one of the top three investors in

the renewable energy gener-ation sector in the world, and the South African Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) not only supports the contin-ued 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, 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 procure-ment of 17.8 GW of renewable generation capacity by 2030, which contributes, among other things, towards South Africa’s greenhouse gas emis-sion reduction commitment. The REIPPP has also contrib-uted to South Africa becom-

ing a major manufacturer of components for renewable, energy projects, putting elec-tricity onto the grid while at the same time supporting indus-trialisation and job creation. April 2015 saw 13 new projects launched via the REIPPP, which has attracted R140-billion in private investment into indus-try in the last round.

Hoosen continued “Our role at the Investment Promotion a n d I n te r D e p a r t m e n t a l Clearing House is to estab-lish a pipeline of investment projec ts and to faci l i tate inter-governmental coopera-tion in order to create an ena-bling investment environment, with a focus on key sectors such as the green economy, services, resource based in-dustries, manufacturing and advanced manufacturing. To this end we 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 offer-ing a service where all the required information, regula-tions and standards are avail-able from one source thereby taking the ‘pain’ out of deal-ing with a multitude of gov-ernment departments. There is a perception that investor confidence in the economy is down, but that is not our real-ity. In relatively new sectors such as waste management and the green economy, over R190-billion has been invest-ed 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 excel-lence in certain key industries in South Africa – the green economy being one of them.

Energy Efficiency“In order to comply with inter-national energy management systems standard (ISO 50001) and energy systems optimisa-tion, South Africa practitioners (engineers, consultants, and government officials) under-went 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 l ike Venezuela, Myanmar,

Ukraine and India. The South African graduates from the pro-gramme 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 com-pany.”

Companies that have bene-fited through these interven-tions include Arcelor Mittal, K ing Shaka Internat ional Airport and Toyota SA, where a partnership with the DTI’s NCPC-SA programme, at no cost to company, achieved e n e r g y s a v i n g s o f s e v - eral million rands. The com- p a n i e s s a v e d o n t h r e e e lement s namel y mone -tary savings, energy sav-ings and greenhouse gas emissions reductions; King Shaka International Airport in KwaZulu - Nata l , saved over R2-million by looking at processes and optimisa-tion of systems for green-house gas savings – again with no investment costs,” sa id Zakhele M dla lose , Director: Environment and Energy Eff iciency Industrial Development and Pol ic y Division at the DTI.

T h e I n d u s t r i a l E n e r g y Efficiency Project undertaken by the DTI underwent a per-formance 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 sav-ings 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 in -clude: the development of two national EE qualifications; development of ESO guide-lines and software tools; ISO 50001 became a key certifi-cation; application of measure-ment and verification savings verification methodology and increased collaboration with

The South African DTI – partnerships to grow the green economy

20 ENGINEERING NEWS | August 28–September 3, 2015 MM

“

YUNUS HOOSENHead of Investment Promotion and Inter Departmental Clearing House, at the DTI in Pretoria.

governmental and industrial programmes. Recycling tar-gets 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 anoth-er key activity. Industry is en-couraged to increase their

recycling of mainstream prod-ucts, turning their recyclable material into other applica-tions in sustainable quantities. The local technology is avail-able; 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-pol-lution standards and benefit from the incentives we offer them. Industry has become at-tuned 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 econ-omy sectors by highlighting the industrialisation opportu-nities 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 ener-gy and resource efficient tech-nologies. 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”.

“ T h e g r e e n e c o n o m y, (including renewable energy, waste and emissions manage-ment) sector is a strategic and key focus of the South African DTI. Government is commit-ted to creating an enabling environment that will facili-tate investment, job creation and growth and will continue to improve support measures that can help us achieve this,” concluded Hoosen.

The DTI is making a huge contribution to the green economy, energy and renewables sector, through strategic facilitation of key investments; these are some of its successes:• SMA Solar Technology SA – market leader in solar inverters opened a multimillion rand manufacturing facility in Cape Town. The DTI (through the Investment Promotion Unit) facilitated investments of more than R3-billion in the manufacturing of equipment and components for the renewable energy sector since the 2013/14 financial year.• Gestamp Renewable Industries: GRI Wind Steel South Africa received a 12i Tax incentive from the DTI in 2014 at an approximately value of R80-million for its wind tower mast manufacturing facility in Atlantis, Western Cape. It is assisting GRI financially during the start-up phase of the business. Additional training grants were also received that allowed GRI to increase the knowledge transfer schemes. • Jinko Solar opened a R80-million solar photovoltaic module production facility in Epping, Cape Town – it was opened as a response to the local content requirements in the South African REIPPP programme and offers opportunities for job creation and economic growth in the region.• Unilever South Africa opened its R1.4-billion Khanyisa Home Care manufacturing factory in Boksburg through collaboration with the DTI. The factory uses world class green technologies; embraces best practices and is environmentally sustainable.

DTI ENERGY AND RENEWABLE SUCCESS STORIES

MM ENGINEERING NEWS | August 28–September 3, 2015 21

GREEN ENERGYGeneric environmental