Cabinet approves biofuels plan Star business report 8/12/06 - adapted from Anthony Sguazzin
The Cabinet has approved a plan to establish a biofuels industry that is expected to attract R 6 billion in investment. The plan, which will be funded by government and private investors, might create 55, 000 jobs and meet 75% of the country's renewable energy requirements by 2013, the Cabinet said yesterday. A task team would submit a more detailed plan to Cabinet in May.
South Africa is following the led of the US, Brazil and some European countries which have encouraged investment in ethanol plants to combat high crude oil prices, diversify fuel supplies and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Brazil, the UK and the EU would help South Africa develop the industry, energy minister Buyelwa Sinjica said on October 30. the task team might propose compelling fuel retailers to blend motor fuels with a certain proportion of biofuels or ethanol and could propose subsidies if a fall in the crude oil prices made the plants unprofitable, said Nhlanhla Gumede from DME.
CDM Housing Project to Become Replicable Energy Savings Model for South Africa
The REEEP is to provide support to enable an internationally recognised renewable project in Cape Town to be replicated across South Africa. The Kuyasa Housing Project is a low cost housing and poverty alleviation initiative in Kuyasa, Capetown.
Cape Town City Council in partnership with the non-profit developmental organisation, SouthSouthNorth, has over the past three years developed the Kuyasa Low Income Urban Housing Energy Upgrade Project. This involves retrofitting 2300 low income houses in Kuyasa, Khayelitsha, with energy efficient lighting, insulated ceilings and solar water heaters. These interventions resulted in a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions through the avoidance of electricity or alternative fossil fuel use by households. The project provides numerous additional sustainable development benefits such as improved health, access to energy services, and employment creation.
The results have been impressive, but currently lack a viable financial mechanism to enable further replication. Despite the carbon income, Kuyasa is financed predominantly by one-off government grant funding. In response to this challenge the REEEP, working with SouthSouthNorth, has funded a project to develop a sustainable financial model to enable replication of similar projects. SouthSouthNorth is a network organisation, funded by the Dutch Government, operating in Brazil, Bangladesh, Indonesia and South Africa to build capacity on the CDM.
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To hear more about the Kuyasa project do contact Emily Tyler at SouthSouthNorth - emily@southsouthnorth.orgEmission-to-biofuel technology comes to SA Published 16/11/2006
A newly formed biofuels company in South Africa has secured the rights to use a system that recycles CO2 in flue gases into clean, renewable biofuels. Global Renewable Energy Efficiency Network (GREEN), headquartered in Johannesburg and led by Frik De Beer and Hendy Schoonbee, is a pioneer in South Africa's biodiesel industry. Under the terms of the agreement with GreenFuel, Global Renewable will have the rights to install and operate GreenFuel's Emissions- to-Biofuels algae bioreactor systems at multiple locations with commercial deployment potential of 1,000 acres or more.
"Successful deployment of the GreenFuel Emissions-to-Biofuel process could play a major role in helping South Africa achieve its goal of 5% biodiesel production by year 2014," said deBeer. "When algae are introduced to a rich carbon source, such as the flue gas emissions of a power plant, they propagate exponentially compared to traditional agricultural crops and do not compete for land or water that might otherwise be used for food production."
Plans are already underway for Global Renewable to deploy a GreenFuel Technologies Field Assessment Unit (FAU) at the Kelvin Power Station in Johannesburg. The FAU is the first stage of testing to optimize algae growth based on local climate, water and solar conditions.
For more information, visit www.infinitibiodiesel.com
To read this articles in detail, do log onto: http://www.sagoodnews.co.za/search/environment/426948.htmInnovative financing for solar water heating increases affordability Two new reports on "Fee for Service" financing of solar water heating.
One of the most common complaints about clean power and heating is its high upfront cost. But two REEEP funded guidebooks offer a practical solution that can eliminate this cost barrier. Green Markets International (Massachusetts, USA), the Vitae Civilis Institute (Brazil), and Bill Guiney of Caribbean Solar Technologies (Anguilla) have developed detailed guides to an innovative business model involving fee-for-service operations for solar water heating.
Green Markets International, Vitae Civilis, and Guiney claim that solar water heating can reduce greenhouse gas emissions while providing business opportunities to utilities, energy service companies, and other local entrepreneurs in parts of the world where the sun shines strongly and where conventional water heating is expensive. Moreover, solar water heaters can be produced at a reasonable cost in many countries and offer investors an attractive rate of return.
In the fee-for-service operations, both customers and the program operators' benefit, as consumers pay a reduced fee for hot water services while the operating company generates attractive financial returns.
A report prepared by Lumina Energia for Vitae Civilis outlines key components of a successful fee-for-service activity involving hot water services. Based on their analysis of prospects for solar water heating fee-for-service businesses in Brazil, Vitae Civilis and Lumina offer the following conclusions:
Solar water heating systems can feasibly replace conventional systems
Rates of return on investment for solar water heating fee-for-service businesses can be upwards of 30%
A profitable solar water heating fee-for-service business can be established with a minimum of twenty systems
Guiney's report provides guidance to help utility managers conceptualize, develop and operate subsidy-free solar water heating fee-for-service programs.
English version of the Vitae Civilis report "Business Prospects for Solar Water Heating Fee-for-Service Operations in Brazil" and Bill Guiney's "A Guide to Fee-for-Service Solar Water Heating Programs for Caribbean Electric Utilities" can be found at: http://www.reeep.org/groups/financingsolarwaterheatingSida Publishes New Policy on Urban Development
Sida has again demonstrated a leading role in urban policy with its new policy document, entitled "Fighting Poverty in an Urban World - Support to Urban Development".
The focus of the new policy, guided by key national and international protocols like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Millennium Development Goals and the Swedish Policy for Global Development, is urban poverty reduction from both a poor and rights perspective, one which supports and encourages the active participation of the poor, the expression of their needs and defends their rights to a decent life.
Five key areas of integrated urban development support are:
Integration of local and national development
Local governance and urban management
Infrastructure and municipal services
Land and housing
Environmental sustainability.
Implementation will involve the participation of a multitude of stakeholders, including central and local governments, communities, civil society and private sector in participatory processes to define the priorities for local government. Sida will also continue to support urban development initiatives at global and regional levels, such as Cities Alliance and UN-Habitat, to promote coherent development strategies, leverage regional synergies, and scale up urban development interventions at national levels.
Further information on the new Sida Urban Policy is available by clicking on this link: http://www.sida.se/sida/Water Crisis Due to Inequality, Not Scarcity, Says Report Alana Herro - November 22, 2006
As part of the launch of the 2006 Human Development Report, Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and the Global Water Crisis, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) recently invited four water and development experts to offer their perspectives at a panel in Washington, D.C. The participants largely applauded the report's conclusion that the roots of the world's water crisis, rather than reflecting absolute scarcity, "can be traced to poverty, inequality and unequal power relationships, as well as flawed water management policies that exacerbate scarcity." According to the report, UN statistics estimating that more than a billion people lack access to clean water and 2.6 billion lack access to basic sanitation in fact underestimate the crisis by millions.
Author and lecturer Gregg Easterbrook, who served as the panel's moderator, asked the participants why water and sanitation, so crucial to human development, attract such low visibility in international politics. UNDP administrator Kemal Dervis responded by reiterating the report's focus on inequality. "It's really the very poor and [those] with weak voices who are suffering," he explained, noting that governments don't prioritize the issue as they might for more influential constituencies. Geeta Rao Gupta, president of the International Center for Research on Women, added that water is central to women in developing countries, since they typically spend hours each day collecting it, and agreed that "the poor…are at the bottom of the totem pole, and women at the bottom of that."
James Kunder, acting deputy administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, applauded the report but excused governments' inability to provide water and sanitation for everyone, saying that "the needs overwhelm the available resources." Dervis disagreed, observing that the necessary resources exist but are mismanaged. Steve Werner, executive director of Water for People, affirmed that the problem is not a technical issue, but a regulatory one. He concluded that ensuring clean water and adequate sanitation for all requires both creativity and an ability to adapt for the needs of different regions.
This story was produced by Eye on Earth, a joint project of the Worldwatch Institute and the blue moon fund. View the complete archive of Eye on Earth stories, or contact Staff Writer Alana Herro at aherro [AT] worldwatch [DOT] org with your questions, comments, and story ideas.
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http://www.worldwatch.org/Seoul protecting its green spaces November 16, 2006
To protect its limited green areas, Seoul (Korea) created the Seoul Green Trust Movement, whereby the municipality purchases, landscapes and manages parks and green zones.
By population, the city of Seoul only provides 4.53 square metres of park space per citizen, while a city like New York provides 14.12 square metres.
The Seoul Green Trust Movement also partners with public and private organizations, and cooperates with the National Movement for Forests for Life. Some of its goals are:
to establish at least on park in each ward of the city,
to establish green roofs on the tops of buildings including hospitals and apartment complexes,
to have each citizen plant a tree,
purchase one peong (approx. 3.3 square metres) of green space per household, and
contribute funds to build up to six ecological parks in Seoul.
For more information on the benefits of green spaces within urban environments, please visit www.iclei.org for its newest project on biodiversity.
Wastewater Plant Turns Kitchen Grease Into Biogas By Diane Padurean,
Nov 21, 2006
MILLBRAE, CA -- Chevron Energy Solutions, a unit of Chevron Corporation, and the City of Millbrae celebrated the completion of new facilities at Millbrae's Water Pollution Control Plant that use a common urban waste -- inedible kitchen grease from restaurants -- to naturally produce biogas for generating renewable power and heat to treat the city's wastewater.
More than 3,000 gallons of restaurant grease -- the kind washed from grills and pans -- will be delivered to the plant each day by grease hauling companies, which pay a city fee for disposals. Microorganisms in the plant's digester tanks eat the grease and other organic matter, naturally producing methane gas to fuel the plant's new 250-kilowatt microturbine cogenerator to produce electricity for wastewater treatment. Meanwhile, excess heat produced by the cogenerator warms the digester tanks to their optimum temperature for methane production.
"This project clearly demonstrates that cities can develop renewable energy economically, with multiple benefits to urban communities," said Jim Davis, president of Chevron Energy Solutions. "By applying proven technologies and looking at the entire waste stream in new ways, the City of Millbrae has cost effectively upgraded its facilities, reduced its operating costs, created new revenue and solved environmental challenges all at the same time."
The grease and other organic matter will produce enough biogas at the plant to generate about 1.7 million kilowatt hours annually, which will meet 80 percent of the plant's power needs and reduce its electricity purchases significantly. This lower demand for utility-generated power reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 1.2 million pounds annually, the same amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by planting about 170 acres of trees.
For more information about Chevron Energy Solutions, please visit www.chevronenergy.com
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http://www.waterandwastewater.com/Composting Toilets Offer Solution to Water, Sanitation Problems Alana Herro - November 27, 2006 - 5:05am
Predictions of more-severe droughts and worsening water shortages as the Earth's climate changes have led to an increased interest in composting toilets. These toilets, once deemed just for "hippies" or for areas without access to municipal sanitation, have evolved into sophisticated machines that many now prefer to conventional toilets. In addition to potentially saving the planet billions of liters of water a day through no-flush or extremely low-flush systems, composting toilets can provide nutrient-rich compost and even fertilizer for crops and other vegetation.
Historical as well as modern composting toilets function much like conventional flush toilets, but they use little or no water. Instead of sending waste into the municipal waste stream, composting toilets store it in an on-site compartment to facilitate natural aerobic decomposition, eventually producing a nutrient-rich compost. When used properly, the systems are odorless and kill any waste-borne pathogens. Some systems separate liquid from solid waste to create a liquid fertilizer in addition to the compost. Toilet designs range from the relatively simple, do-it-yourself bucket or bin systems to hi-tech patented systems like Biolet, Envirolet, and Sun-Mar.
For many parts of the world, flushing with clean water (often water that has been purified to drinking quality standards) has never been an option. According to the World Health Organization, as many as 1.1 billion people, almost all in the developing world, still do not have access to safe water, and some 2.6 billion people-about 4 in 10-lack access to basic sanitation. Every year, 1.6 million people die from diarrhoeal diseases spread by unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation.
Scott Smith of Sancor Industries notes that his company will be offering lower-cost composting toilets starting in 2007 in hopes of serving the developing country market. According to Smith, it is important to promote the systems in both developed and developing nations. While the compost resource the toilets provide can be beneficial to people across the globe, the real issue is saving water, he explains: "Composting toilets are a solution to the water crisis that is coming."
This story was produced by Eye on Earth, a joint project of the Worldwatch Institute and the blue moon fund.
To read this and more related articles, do log onto: http://www.worldwatch.org/node/4751Lessons From the First Generation of Integrated Population, Health, and Environment Projects by John Pielemeier
How can isolated fishing communities reverse the double-edged sword of declining fisheries and growing families? And how can upland farmers better feed their families without destroying forest cover and increasing erosion?
An assessment that by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) found that an integrated approach to these issues that simultaneously addresses conservation, family planning, and health needs is providing successful models for action from the Philippines to Madagascar.
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http://www.prb.org/Solar Prize to Heidelberg, Kassel, and Aachen
The European Association for Renewable Energies (Eurosolar) has announced this year's winners of the Solar Prize. The awards in the categories of cities/communities, rural district, and public services went to ICLEI member city of Heidelberg, the rural district of Kassel, and the public utilities company of Aachen AG. The city of Heidelberg has since 20 years made use of solar energy, with highlights of the city's environmental plan including own standards for climate protection and an energy-management program for the city. As part of this program, the energy use in public buildings in the city has been reduced by 40%. The rural district of Kassel has since many years been engaged with renewable energies. The district runs ten biomass plants in schools and other facilities and eight wind parks. Moreover, Kassel is the main partner of the German solar energy campaign - Solarlokal -, which includes co-operation with 13 other surrounding districts. The public utilities company of Aachen AG has also been involved in cutting-edge energy projects, particularly in the field of decentralised energy supplies with biomass, such as wood, bioethanol, and plant oil.
For more information, visit: www.eurosolar.deMore news:
Presentation for Seminar
