In recent years many consumers have been added to South Africa’s power grid. But there is not enough electricity available, so customers are switched off the grid for hours. This practice called »load shedding« is a nuisance for private households, and a serious problem for the commercial industry.

It is not the only challenge concerning the energy sector: South Africa’s heavy dependency on coal-fired power generation is a factor for global warming. The country ranks as the world’s 13th largest CO2-emitter. Given the demand of water for coal mining, coal-firing aggravates water shortages, too.

Buffalo City decided to kill these three birds with one stone. It promotes climate protection, renewable energy and energy efficiency, moving towards security of power supply for everyone.

The municipal building in Beacon Bay was chosen as the site for the pilot project. Apart from solar panels and a wind mill, a solar water heater, energy saving LED lightening, a hybrid air conditioning unit and occupancy sensors on all lighting were installed over a period of 17 months from October 2014 to March 2016, in cooperation with the City of Oldenburg in Germany. A smart meter monitors changes in energy supply and consumption.

Municipal staff benefited from training on energy efficiency and sustainable energy production – know-how to be shared with the public in an attempt to change outdated consumption patterns. The pilot project turned into a showcase after implementation. Among others, child-friendly leaflets informed about the results.

The project's costs of 1.4 Million Rand, or 60.000 Euro, have been invested well. The project was funded by the State of Lower Saxony, the City of Oldenburg and the Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW) of Engagement Global – Buffalo City and Oldenburg’s climate partnership was already being supported by the SKEW in 2015. As part of the twinning agreement with Buffalo City, Oldenburg provided input by experts.

The brief payback periods for the installations makes them attractive for municipal institutions, the business sector and private consumers alike. Measuring and displaying reliable data on savings concerning a mix of technologies turned out to be persuasive to foster change in the energy sector.

Author: Sabine Hammer