Archive for January, 2009

We read this article today with shock. Why the government can’t undertand that the major reason we are in the power circumstances we find ourselves is due to the fact that power generation was controlled by one enetity – Eskom. It now seems that Eskom is in the controlling seat where tarriffs are discussed for alternative COMPETITVE energy investments. Well that is sure one fine way to avoid foreign direct investment in our Green energy market. 

Read this article from Fin24:

Cape Town – Great concern exists that the appointment of Eskom as sole purchaser of all forms of renewable energy creates conflicts of interest, claims the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA). 

In its commentary on the proposed import tariff model for renewable energy drawn up by the National Energy Regulator (Nersa), SAWEA says Eskom clearly has a conflict of interest because it, too, be a large generator of renewable energy if the 100MW wind farm near Koekenaap and the envisaged 100MW concentrated solar energy station at Upington become reality. 
If Eskom has a double role as gatekeeper for the money used to finance the import tariff, as well as being a participant in the generation of renewable energy, this could lead to unfair treatment of the new independent power producers that could be regarded as competitors to Eskom. 

SAWEA says Eskom is a commercial entity and the temptation to protect its own interests could be too difficult to resist. 

In December, Nersa announced its proposed import tariff model for renewable energy for commentary. The period for commentary expired last week. 

A public hearing on the model is envisaged for February 5, and an approved tariff model will be announced on March 9. The tariff is intended as a form of subsidy to promote investment in renewable energy.

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Greencon 

Greencon has a sales agreement with an American manufacturer of water saving shower heads. These products can save from 7 to 10 litres of water per minute. Let’s say the average shower is 5 minutes, and the average person showers at least once per day, therefore you are looking at a yearly saving of 18 250litres per year per person.

Now consider the fact that +/- 50% of that water used in the shower was hot water. If you use less hot water, then there is less power needed to heat more hot water. You can safely say a couple of tons of CO2 has been saved from going into the atmosphere per household.

 

Have a look at some of the range available

Elite Shower Head with comfort control

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5 Star Resort Shower Head

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Skin Care Shower Head

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Tri Spa Fixed Head Shower Head

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X-stream Shower Head

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Water harvesting is a common practice in many countries around the world. Water security is a major political issue for the future. Here are some examples of houses and industry using various different methods to store and re-use water harvested off the roves of houses and buildings.

Please contact us if you need any assistance in harvesting your water

As research increases and the climate deniers are allowed less access to the gullible media, it seems more and more research is coming to light about the almost inevitable prospect of a much hotter planet. We found this article on Scientific Americans web site, makes for some scary reading:

“In summer 2003, more than 52,000 Europeans died from heat-related ills, 30,000 in France alone, during an unrelenting heat wave that featured temperatures 6.5 degrees Fahrenheit (3.6 degrees Celsius) higher than normal. Crops also suffered, with corn production down by 30 percent and wheat by 21 percent, among other foodstuffs. And a similar hot spell in Ukraine in 1972 led to a wheat shortage that prompted that staple’s prices to more than triple by 1974. But even without record-breaking heat, recent years have seen food riots from Bangladesh to Haiti as world agriculture was pushed to the breaking point by a combination of greater demand for food, biofuels and poor weather.

Such disruptions in the world’s food supply may become even more the norm by the end of this century, according to a new analysis published today in Science. Climate modeler David Battisti of the University of Washington in Seattle and food security expert Rosamond Naylor of Stanford University used the results of 23 climate models to determine that there is a more than 90 percent chance—in other words, it is very likely—that the lowest growing season temperatures in the tropics and subtropics by the end of the century will be higher than the highest temperatures at present.

That area includes the southern U.S., Central America, southern Europe, central Asia, northern Australia and all of Africa, according to Battisti. “Although it had not been calculated before,” he says, “it was not surprising to find that for most of the tropics and subtropics, the future summer temperatures would be out of bounds compared to what we have ever experienced.”

Planning meetings for the Global Seed Vault in Norway spawned the idea of looking at average summer temperatures, which climate models can project relatively reliably and which have a large impact on crop yields—between 2.5 and 16 percent less wheat, corn, soy or other crops are produced for every 1.8–degree F (1–degree C) rise. “The impacts we will see on yield, combined with a growing population that depends greatly on agriculture for food and income, will demand a profound level of adaptation, which might include moving hundreds of millions of people,” Battisti says.

According to the projections, the temperate zones, like most of the continental U.S., will also be affected. “By the end of the century, however, the seasonal growing temperature is likely to exceed the hottest season on record in temperate countries (equivalent to what France experienced in 2003), and the future for agriculture in these regions will become equally daunting,” the researchers wrote.

To date, concerns about climate change’s impact on agriculture have focused on drought—another likely outcome of warming world. As a result, plant scientists have researched ways to develop drought-resistant strains of various crops, such as a variety of corn that agriculture giant Monsanto Company and chemical company BASF have submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval.

Funding for such agricultural research in general has been dwindling in recent years, according to the Washington, D.C.–based International Food Policy Research Institute.

“Current levels of agricultural research are not adequate to help developing countries to adapt to climate change,” says IFPRI water resources expert Claudia Ringler. But “the dire picture in the paper assumes no adaptation. Adaptation will certainly happen. Farmers in Russia will change the time of wheat planting [for example], and may switch to a different crop if the hot summer of today becomes the norm of the future.”

Battisti and Naylor, however, assumed greenhouse gas emissions lower than the present output and the fact that more carbon dioxide (CO₂), the most common greenhouse gas, will boost plant growth may not help. The forecasted CO₂ boost—as much as 10 percent—in crop growth will be more than offset by the 20 to 40 percent drop due to higher temperatures alone—and will be further exacerbated by any drying, Battisti warns.

That means the future of agriculture as the climate changes could be even worse than this prediction—and that’s before taking into account other factors such as the effect of pests.

“We want to look at the impact of climate change on the distribution of pests and pathogens that affect crops,” Battisti says, “starting with maize in Africa.” With three billion people living in the affected regions, at least a billion of whom are already malnourished, figuring out how to adapt agriculture to global warming couldn’t be more urgent.”

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Makes for some surprising reading. Look at what are the highest per capita users of motor vehicles and also some novel ways different countries are trying to point out emission that are being pumped into the atmosphere. The graph is from the Economist Magazine and the article is written by David Bello from Scientific American:

“Cars in California offer a new kind of sticker shock this year: carbon. In addition to the familiar smog ratings, labels on new Cali cars rank them 1 to 10 based on greenhouse gas emissions.

The best, a perfect 10, will emit less than 200 grams of greenhouse gases per mile. The bad ones more than 520.

Vermont will also begin offering the labels next year. And the 11 states that compose the northeastern region of the U.S. are also attacking the problem at the source: fuel. The states plan to develop new standards for biofuels and other alternatives that will reduce the greenhouse gases emitted when burned in a car, a furnace or a factory.

These states already cooperate in a cap-and-trade scheme to limit the carbon dioxide emitted by power plants. Other regions, including California and other western states, are copying that plan.

U.S. power plants released roughly 2.4 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2007 generating our electricity. But our vehicles were the second largest source of America’s greenhouse gases. Tailpipes spewed out 1.2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide from burning gasoline.

The easy-to-interpret labels—10 is great, 1 is bad—aim to change that. By reminding us to keep emissions in mind next time we buy a car.”

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It is important to understand the complete life cycle analysis of a product. Many people site various fantastic properties of certain products and how amazing there thermal properties are for instance. What the objective observer needs to realise and research is what is the total cost of the product. How much energy goes into making, transporting and installing these products, and then of course can the product be effectively recycled, in order to complete the cycle. Read this article in the Cape Business News about clay brick research conducted in Australia. It really caught us by surprise.

“Researches at the University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia (which has similar climatic conditions and building materials to South Africa) have been conducting extensive empirical research, over eight years, on the thermal performance of buildings constructed using a variety of walling systems.

Not surprisingly, they have concluded that thermal mass is essential to obtain optimal energy efficiency for the operation of a building, and that a single-minded focus on thermal resistance (R-values) is detrimental to energy reduction efforts. In fact, a combination of thermal mass and resistance, used correctly in walling systems, with consideration of climatic conditions and solar passive design principles, always yields superior results.

To demonstrate the benefits of various construction methods in terms of energy efficiency and environmental compliance, the LandCorp of Perth, WA, commissioned the construction of 10 show homes. The only home to receive 8 stars for energy efficiency under the BERS rating system, is the one built from cavity walls using clay brick, with insulation in the walls and ceiling. This is practical proof of the benefits of combining thermal mass and resistance to achieve optimum results.

“This is even more proof that clay bricks are an excellent choice for sustainable buildings. Besides the energy efficiency gains of thermal mass, clay bricks are durable, long lasting, require low maintenance, are recyclable and provide a healthy and comfortable living environment”, says At Coetzee, the executive director of the Clay Brick Association of South Africa.

He says the clay brick industry is firmly committed to reducing its impact on the environment. “We are actively involved in technical workgroups that are designing and implementing solutions to address a range of issues, such as emissions and air quality, sustainable manufacturing practices and fossil fuel reduction. Most clay brick makers use local resources, recycle waste back into the process and design products with a long life span and optimal performance. Many brick makers use energy sourced from waste streams of other industries and, in that way, make a substantially positive impact on the environment,” Coetzee says.

It is unfortunate that in South Africa very little scientifically valid research has been done on different materials and walling systems in order to assess their impact on our environment.

However, the results from Australia provide a good lead and proxy for South Africans to consider. The newly formed Green Building Council of SA is modelled on the Australian version, with the GreenStar rating tools an adaptation of the tools used successfully in Australia.

Coetzee stresses that there is an unfortunate plethora of statements being made in the public arena by suppliers of building materials, many of whom are guilty of ‘greenwashing’. This is the practice of making unsubstantiated statements of a product’s performance under the umbrella of environmental friendliness. Lately, we have come across many claims under the banner of embodied energy, where suppliers publish tables of data in an attempt to prove that their product is better than the competition’s.

Perhaps the most helpful insight into this comes from a quote by the World Business Council on Sustainable Development’s extensive research that says, “Embodied energy must be understood in the context of the system using the material, rather than the material itself. The whole system must be compared with alternatives performing the same function. The results of a direct comparison between a ton of one material and another would be misleading. Instead, a comparison must be made between one square meter of walls performing the same function.”

“This comparison needs to be based on similar insulation levels and life expectancy. Transport, construction and disposal aspects must also be taken into account.”

The National Research Center at Clemson University, U.S.A, conducted a life cycle analysis on various walling systems. Clay brick masonry was rated at a 100 years life, with the next best system rated at 50 years. The clay brick masonry was the only walling system identified to be 100% recyclable.

Coetzee concludes “Clay bricks are a natural solution to a challenge of nature. Why consider alternatives that are unproven, risky to finance and are not what the average South African wants and deserves?” ”

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Just for the record, this is how much coal Eskom burnt last year.

Eskom used 2m tons of export coal to ease crisis

Johannesburg – Eskom Holdings bought 2 million tons of export-grade coal last year to try to alleviate the electricity crisis, the state-run utility said on Tuesday.

“Eskom bought approximately 2 million tons of coal whose quality could have been improved to meet export requirements,” it said. “Eskom bought unbeneficiated exportgrade coal.” Beneficiation refers to the processing needed to improve the coal.

Most mines and smelters in South Africa closed for five days last January after the country’s power system almost collapsed, partly because coal stockpiles at some of the company’s plants were nearly exhausted.

Exports from Richards Bay coal terminal fell 6.6 percent last year to 61.79 million tons.

Eskom, which generates about 90 percent of its power from coal, has stepped up purchases of the fuel, increasing stocks at plants to an average of 37 days of use.

While the company’s plants were designed to use lower-grade coal than the fuel that South Africa ships abroad, the utility said last year it was in talks to buy export-quality coal that could be blended with lower grades.

The purchases did not affect shipments from South Africa, the biggest source of the fuel for European power plants, said the company.

Eskom added: “The coal purchased was over and above what was mined for export purposes and was available on the open market.

“The Eskom purchases did not negatively impact on the mines’ ability to export.”

Ben Magara, the head of Anglo American’s coal unit in South Africa, said last February that some equipment had been temporarily diverted to mine coal for the utility rather than for export.

Richards Bay’s exports were hurt by erratic rail deliveries, the terminal said this week.

Eskom burnt 125.3 million tons of coal in the financial year to last March.

Scary,

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Greencon.

Vacuum Tube Systems

1. Retro Fit Systems ( A solar collector is fitted to an existing geyser)

If you would like us to size the right solution for you click here

Greencon has been using the “Geyserwise” management systems with great success. This system allows us to save customers money, who for reasons of house position, geyser position within a building or purely due to budget constraints can’t go the solar route.

Coupled with good pipe insulation and geyser wrapping this system is giving our customers saving of up to 20%. It is inexpensive to have installed and has proved to be extremely reliable. It is locally manufactured so spare parts are available easily.

• Can control up to 4 separate on off times per day
• Can set maximum temperature (should never be higher than 55d/c)
• Can set separate time for the weekend

Look at an installed System here:

• Customer has vertically mounted 200litre geyser
• Positioned in cupboard

• Control panel mounted at head height for easy reading
• Control box mounted at element

• Extremely simple control system allow complete management of the electrical usage made by your geyser element
• Please not that the control panel can only be mounted a maximum of 10 meters from the geyser

If you would like us to come and install a system please click here and send us your details and we will get hold of you.

/climate/article/38970

LONDON (Reuters) – Next year is set to be one of the top-five warmest on record, British climate scientists said on Tuesday.

The average global temperature for 2009 is expected to be more than 0.4 degrees Celsius above the long-term average, despite the continued cooling of huge areas of the Pacific Ocean, a phenomenon known as La Nina.

That would make it the warmest year since 2005, according to researchers at the Met Office, who say there is also a growing probability of record temperatures after next year.

Currently the warmest year on record is 1998, which saw average temperatures of 14.52 degrees celsius – well above the 1961-1990 long-term average of 14 degrees celsius.

Warm weather that year was strongly influenced by El Nino, an abnormal warming of surface ocean waters in the eastern tropical Pacific.

Theories abound as to what triggers the mechanisms that cause an El Nino or La Nina event but scientists agree that they are playing an increasingly important role in global weather patterns.

The strength of the prevailing trade winds that blow from east to west across the equatorial Pacific is thought to be an important factor.

“Further warming to record levels is likely once a moderate El Nino develops,” said Professor Chris Folland at the Met Office Hadley Center. “Phenomena such as El Nino and La Nina have a significant influence on global surface temperature.”

Professor Phil Jones, director of the climate research unit at the University of East Anglia, said global warming had not gone away despite the fact that 2009, like the year just gone, would not break records.

“What matters is the underlying rate of warming,” he said.

He noted the average temperature over 2001-2007 was 14.44 degrees celsius, 0.21 degrees celsius warmer than corresponding values for 1991-2000.

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