EcoLocalizer

One hundred and twenty Euros ($175 million) has been made available to fund renewable energy and efficiency improvement projects of small and medium sized businesses in South Africa.

The funding

French development bank Agence Française de Développement (AFD) announced, at the end of September 2009, that it would be extending a €120-million credit facility to commercial banks in South Africa, to be used for smaller energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

South African banks Absa, Nedbank and the Industrial Development Corporation are to distribute the credit as loan capital for the projects of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

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Kenyan and Ethiopian authorities have seized over 1,200 kilograms (2,600 pounds) of ivory - representing the killing of about 100 elephants.

Raids in the main airports of Kenya and Nairobi have netted two shipments of bloodstained tusks headed for Thailand. While the final destination is not known at the moment, these shipments may be part of the growing link between China and elephant poaching.
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Another renewable energy business that could get South Africa moving towards its goals is taking shape in Richards Bay in KwaZulu Natal.

The History

After South Africa speedily set up a renewable energy strategy the focus moved to ethanol and biodiesel with the involvement of large companies including SASOL.

First to falter was ethanol, where Ethanol Africa had actually started site works for its plant in Bothaville, when government got cold feet about using maize, the staple food of the poor of South Africa, to power cars.

Later the world food crisis lead to the Food for Fuel debate and an effective halt to the promotion of biofuels from agricultural production. There were also other smaller and less legitimate operations such as a franchise scheme based on low cost imported palm oil and even algal processing that turned out to have been “demonstrated” using scum from the farm dam!

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The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) is launching a high-tech initiative in an effort to promote awareness, tourism, and gorilla conservation. The unique Friend a Gorilla project will launch on September 26th in Kampala.  Gorilla enthusiasts will now be able to watch, track and befriend real live gorillas from the comfort of their own home.   But wait - there’s more! Read the rest of this entry »

One of the world’s most famous gorillas died recently in Rwanda at the age of 35.  Titus, also known as the Gorilla King, starred in the popular Dr. Dian Fossey 1988 film “Gorillas in the Mist.” The silverback gorilla was also featured in a BBC documentary “Titus - The Gorilla King.”

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A 28-year-old man was arrested for allegedly smuggling 70 live animals in his luggage.   Custom officials at the O.R. Tambo International Airport (ORTIA) near Johannesburg, discovered the animals hidden inside plastic tubs and bags.  Read the rest of this entry »

Dairy farm anaerobic lagoons without covers

The first large scale biogas plant linked to a beef feedlot, could make a more significant contribution to renewable energy in South Africa than the planned 3.8 MW of electricity, by advancing the technology in South Africa.

The Business

Independent power producer (IPP) Lesedi Biogas Project (LBP) is planning to build one of the world’s largest open-air feedlot manure-to-power plants, in Heidelberg, near Johannesburg, South Africa. Such plants use the anaerobic fermentation (bacterial fermentation of organic waste, with little or no oxygen present) to produce a methane rich gas which can be used to produce electricity or burn for heat.

The plant will be situated at the Karan Beef feedlot, which will supply the manure from its feedlot to the LBP. This would initially amount to 110,000 tons per year of manure, which would allow the production of 3,8 MW of base-load power reaching 6,2 MW of peak power. Read the rest of this entry »

A team of “experienced professionals” have been hired to shoot the feral population of rabbits, fallow deer, guinea fowl and cats on Robben Island.    According to officials, thousands of rabbits and hundreds of deer are destroying the island’s vegetation and are burrowing under historic buildings.   Read the rest of this entry »

Nine black rhino from Zululand game reserves are being airlifted to a new home as part of a range expansion project for the critically endangered species.

In an effort to ensure the survival of critically endangered black rhino, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (EKZNW) are partnering on a project designed to establish founder populations of black rhino throughout KwaZulu Natal and other parts of Africa.

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Massive untapped solar radiation advantage of Africa - click for numbers

This positive report on the opportunities for Renewable Energy in South Africa is a starting point for a series of posts that will report on developments in and linked to the use of Renewable Energy in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Where is Renewable Energy Going in South Africa?

An almost ten fold growth in revenue from renewable energy is predicted by business research and consulting firm Frost and Sullivan’s. This emerges from their Southern African Renewable Energy Equipment Market analysis, which sees the current renewable industry in South Africa having revenues of only $28.4 million in 2008 but projects a growth to over $250 million by 2015. Read the rest of this entry »