Programmes

Programmes

There are a wide range of energy efficiency programmes that are currently being implemented by the Department of Energy and other partners in South Africa. These programmes are outlined below:

Industrial Energy Efficiency

The industry and mining sector was responsible for approximately 34% of the country’s energy consumption in 2012. The main goal of the post-2015 National Energy Efficiency Strategy for the commercial sector is to create an enabling environment for the full exploitation of energy efficiency opportunities across the manufacturing and mining sectors. 

It should be noted that energy efficiency in the industry sector contributes to decoupling economic growth and environmental impact while reducing industrial energy intensity and improving competitiveness. According to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), industry is responsible for more than one-third of global primary energy consumption and energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. Industrial energy use is estimated to grow at an annual rate of between 1.8% and 3.1%  over a period of 25 years. The Industrial Energy Efficiency Programme focuses on the:

  • Promotion of energy management systems and standards to provide companies with a platform to sustain energy-efficient practices.
  • Promotion of energy systems optimisation in order to unlock the industry’s energy savings potential.
  • Training of energy experts and practitioners to transfer skills to the broader industrial sector.
  • Provision of pilot projects to demonstrate the impact of energy efficiency practices on industries.

For additional information, please visit the Private Sector Energy Efficiency and National Cleaner Production Centre of South Africa websites.

Industrial Energy Efficiency Targets

The National Energy Efficiency Strategy has set two targets for Industrial Energy Efficiency:

  • Manufacturing Target: a 16% reduction in weighted mean specific energy consumption in manufacturing by 2030, relative to a baseline projected from 2015;
  • Mining Target: a cumulative total annual energy saving of 40 petajoules arising from specific energy saving interventions undertaken by mining companies.

The manufacturing target is based on the assumption of an average 5% energy saving in the energy-intensive process-specific activities (e.g. blast-furnaces, smelters, cement kilns etc.) along with an average 35% saving in generic energy-using activities (HVAC, lighting, pumps, conveyors etc.) including the effects of behavioural change that need to accompany such interventions.

The target for the mining sector is based on an estimate of the typical savings achieved by the major mining companies over recent years combined with a synthesis of their stated energy saving targets expressed for the near future.

 

Commercial Buildings

 

The commercial sector accounts about 4-5% of total final electricity consumption in the country. The main goal of the post-2015 National Energy Efficiency Strategy for the commercial sector is to accelerate the current rate of improvement in the energy consumption per square metre of lettable/inhabited floor space in the commercial sector.

The commercial buildings target is based on the assumption that successive tightening of building standards will yield an average improvement in specific energy consumption of 54% across all new buildings by 2030. The Department is also rolling out the mandatory display of energy performance certificates in all properties rented and owned by the commercial sector.

Commercial Buildings Targets

The National Energy Efficiency Strategy has set the following target for commercial buildings:

  • Commercial Buildings Target: a 37% reduction in energy consumption by 2030 relative to a baseline projected from 2015.

Public Buildings

The main goal of the post-2015 National Energy Efficiency Strategy for public buildings is to accelerate the current rate of improvement in energy consumption per square metre in buildings occupied by the public sector at the national, provincial and municipal levels.

The Department of Energy, in collaboration with the Department of Public Works and Eskom, is retrofitting government buildings to make them more energy efficient, which will contribute to a saving of about R600,000 in electricity bills annually. The Department of Energy is also rolling out the mandatory display of energy performance certificates in all government-owned buildings. The Roadmap to Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings can be downloaded here.

Public Buildings Targets

The National Energy Efficiency Strategy has set the following target for commercial buildings:

  • Public Buildings Target: a 50% reduction in the specific energy consumption by 2030 relative to a baseline projected from 2015.

This target is based on the assumption that successive tightenings of building standards will result in reductions in energy consumption of 49% for half of the new buildings added between now and 2030, and 67% for the other half.

Income Tax Allowance

Monitoring, evaluation & enforcement

Income Tax (12L) Allowance for Energy Efficiency Savings

It has become necessary to promote the efficient utilisation of energy to safeguard the continued supply of energy and to combat the adverse effects of greenhouse gas emissions related to fossil fuel-based energy use on climate change. The intended purpose of a carbon tax is to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and also to utilise (recycle) some of the revenue generated from such a tax to finance incentives to advance the further efficient utilisation of energy. Therefore a tax incentive as contained in section 12L of the Income Tax Act, 1962, and these Regulations is devised to encourage the efficient utilisation of energy.

More details on the 12L Tax Incentive can be found on the SANEDI 12L Webpage.

Monitoring, evaluation & enforcement

Since 2012, the Energy Efficiency Target Monitoring System (EETMS) has been under development to allow the monitoring of progress towards achieving these targets. EETMS comprises not only the processes and algorithms for analysing data but also the underlying set of procedures, roles and responsibilities involved in data collection. The main results obtained from this system are for the period 2000-2011 – the latest date for which comprehensive data is available.

The method used for the EETMS is the decomposition analysis, which breaks down observed changes in total energy consumption into component parts that are attributable to different effects. In its most common form, three component parts are identified, corresponding to the portion of the total change in energy consumption that is due to:

  • changes in the overall level of activity;
  • structural changes i.e. changes in the relative size of the different sectors; and
  • changes in energy efficiency.

Conducting the decomposition analysis at the economy-wide level is a relatively simple process, using aggregated data on the energy consumption and Gross Value Added of the main sectors of the economy. However, such an analysis can only reveal the effects of structural changes between the main sectors – it cannot ‘see’ the effects of structural changes within the main sectors since the analysis does not extend to that depth. In order to provide a complete picture of economy-wide trends in energy efficiency, the structural effects identified in a series of sector-level analyses have been aggregated together and incorporated into the economy-wide analysis.

Since 2012, the Energy Efficiency Target Monitoring System (EETMS) has been under development to allow the monitoring of progress towards achieving these targets. EETMS comprises not only the processes and algorithms for analysing data but also the underlying set of procedures, roles and responsibilities involved in data collection. The main results obtained from this system are for the period 2000-2011 – the latest date for which comprehensive data is available.

The method used for the EETMS is the decomposition analysis, which breaks down observed changes in total energy consumption into component parts that are attributable to different effects. In its most common form, three component parts are identified, corresponding to the portion of the total change in energy consumption that is due to:

  • changes in the overall level of activity;
  • structural changes i.e. changes in the relative size of the different sectors; and
  • changes in energy efficiency.

Conducting the decomposition analysis at the economy-wide level is a relatively simple process, using aggregated data on the energy consumption and Gross Value Added of the main sectors of the economy. However, such an analysis can only reveal the effects of structural changes between the main sectors – it cannot ‘see’ the effects of structural changes within the main sectors since the analysis does not extend to that depth. In order to provide a complete picture of economy-wide trends in energy efficiency, the structural effects identified in a series of sector-level analyses have been aggregated together and incorporated into the economy-wide analysis.