In December this year the UN Climate Conference takes place in Paris. Ahead of the summit, we will release a series of stories, titled "Earthprints," that show the ability of humans to impact change on the landscape of the planet. From sprawling urban growth to the construction of new islands, each site has profoundly changed in the last 30 years. Each story has accompanying … [Read more...]
City concludes embedded electricity generation contract
Today the City of Cape Town signed the first small-scale embedded electricity generation contract with Black River Park Investments, an office block in Observatory. They commend Black River Park for leading the way in the commercial real estate sector by utilising large-scale solar power systems to generate environmentally sustainable energy. Black River will be producing … [Read more...]
City to offset small-scale electricity generation
Small scale alternative energy generators - yes that includes you and I with solar PV on the roof - will finally be able to feed our excess energy back into the grid and get paid for it by the City of Cape Town! The City of Cape Town has set itself a target of sourcing 10% of its electricity from renewable energy resources by 2020 and the roll-out of the small-scale embedded … [Read more...]
PV course teaches delegates about solar energy
The recently launched SUNCybernetics hosted its first solar photovoltaic (PV) training session at the North West University (NWU) campus’ Solar Training Centre of South Africa. A total of 60 delegates had the opportunity to learn from the recently completed installations at the NWU. The one-day course introduced delegates to PV solar by using a generic training module and … [Read more...]
Solar power in sunny South Africa
With the rise in demand for sustainable energy, solar power is stepping up to supply. In a country with plentiful sunshine, this seems like an ideal and bottomless resource to tap. Last week the Solar Indaba was hosted by the Mount Nelson hotel in Cape Town, and Green Times attended. This conference gave 250 director and board level stakeholders the opportunity to enter … [Read more...]
Solar breakthrough could alleviate hardships
Two Queen's University researchers have made a significant breakthrough in solar technology. The Sustainable Energy Society of Southern Africa (SESSA) has applauded this Canadian pair, whose research has led to a new solar photovoltaic thermal (PVT) system that generates both electricity and heat. Solar PVTs are normally made with crystal silicon cells which generate … [Read more...]
Solar Energy Africa makes eco energy work
South African Energy and Public Enterprises Ministers, Elizabeth Dipuo Peters and Malusi Gigaba are both speaking at the opening session of the upcoming Solar Energy Africa conference in Johannesburg from 19-20 September. 'Solar Energy Africa is the platform where we will critically assess how Africa is doing with solar and what assistance they need to take it further. We … [Read more...]
Wind power for Two Oceans Aquarium
South Africa is one of the world's most carbon intensive economies, primarily because the majority of the country's electricity demand is satisfied through coal-fired power stations. This heavy dependency on coal and fossil fuels directly contributes to the current environmental crisis that is climate change and global warming. Unless the citizens of the world, including … [Read more...]
ABB to build solar energy plants for Eskom
Leading power and automation technology group ABB is to construct two solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants for South African national power utility Eskom Holdings. In a statement issued here, the company revealed that the pilot plants, each of one hectare, would be located on greenfields sites adjacent to the coal-fired power stations at Lethabo, in the Free State province, … [Read more...]
