The new 100 MW threshold: The best megawatt remains the megawatt not used by
Barry Bredenkamp, General Manager Energy Efficiency & Corporate Communications for SANEDI
As the country focuses on improved energy generation capacity, energy savings must not be forgotten! The South African energy industry – and indeed the wider business community – is celebrating the recent very positive announcement by President Ramaphosa on the increased threshold for embedded electricity generation for private companies, up from just 1 MW to 100 MW. However, while companies start investigating their self-generation options, it is vital that we do not forget our impact on ‘the other (demand) side of the meter’. The International Energy Agency still regards energy efficiency as the ‘first fuel’, and we should strive to save every possible kWh before adding new generating capacity, whether it be from renewable sources or not.
Companies must prioritise energy savings, not just selfgeneration. While I agree that the new 100 MW threshold is great news for the stability of supply and our economic potential, I would like to see every installation targeting a baseline load of 110 MW. You might wonder why I would suggest this when the new threshold is 100 MW. My take is that there is at least 10% energy savings potential on the demand side of the meter at virtually all proposed installationsthat should be investigated and optimised, before adding additional supply-side capacity.
The more energy (consumption) we can avoid or save, the smaller the size of the load required to operate those end-use technologies. Therefore, we urge project developers not to lose focus on first exploring the energy efficiency potential, by setting an ‘internal’ target to save 10 MW of electricity for every 100 MW of renewable power generation capacity installed in this new and exciting journey in the South African energy landscape.
