The Living Ghoen

Owing to uncertainty surrounding South Africa’s electricity supply, it is important for State-owned power utility Eskom to conform to legislation that governs emission limits, as forced shutdowns of its generating units is not an option for the country.

A biomass-to-energy plant is being built to convert sugarcane waste to ‘green charcoal’, which will provide additional revenue for small-scale farmers in Nkomazi, Mpumalanga, says consulting engineering firm Aurecon project manager Jean Bouwer. Second-generation biomass-to-energy technologies convert waste or residual biomass into energy products, which include solid and liquid fuels, electricity and gases. Residual biomass, including plantation and process waste, alien vegetation and municipal solid waste, can be used to generate revenue and reduce operational costs, he explains.

A competitive agriculture sector capable of creating jobs, especially among poor rural communities in South Africa, is needed to achieve sustainable economic growth in a developing society, says the Agricultural Research Council (ARC).

Critical deadlines for the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act (NEM: AQA) No. 39 of 2004 have either passed or are looming for activities listed under Section 21 of the Act and operators need to be aware of and meet the remaining deadline by handing in their licence applications or applications for postponement or exemptions from compliance with new emission standards that came into effect on April 1, 2015 and a further reduction of emission levels as of April 1, 2020.

Forestry and forest products group York Timbers is hoping to break ground early next year on its R1.5-billion site integration project at its Sabie facilities, in Mpumalanga, once it receives a record of decision from the Department of Environmental Affairs on its environmental-impact assessment submission.  

Building developer Abland received a four-star Green Star SA certification from the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) for the design of its Alice Lane project, in Sandton. This is the GBCSA’s thirtieth green star certification.

South African industry have until August 2 to comment on the carbon tax proposals tabled by the National Treasury on Thursday. The Treasury aimed to promulgate a phased-in tax rate of R120/t of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), increasing 10% a year during the first phase, in an attempt to curb the country’s greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions.

The Coega Development Corporation (CDC), Uhambiso Consult and WBHO Construction have partnered to undertake an “environmental experiment” at the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) over the next 12 months. The baseline study, funded by the Uhambiso/WBHO joint venture, entailed a natural restoration process and allowed for ecosynthesis, wherein naturally introduced species filled the niches in a disrupted environment.

Information technology (IT) giant International Business Machines (IBM) South Africa recently launched a crowd-sourcing project to capture, share and analyse information about the water distribution system in the country.

During bilateral talks held at the same time as the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (better known as Brics) summit held in Durban on March 26/27, Russian President Vladimir Putin told South African President Jacob Zuma that Moscow was willing to fully finance South Africa’s planned new nuclear power plant (NPP) programme, should Pretoria select the Russian bid, Engineering News has been told. Putin is reported to have offered different funding options for the programme, stating that Russia would provide the one that South Africa found the best.