The award-winning Climate Smart Cape Town Pavilion at COP17 in Durban was the venue for the launch of ''Moving Mountains, Cape Town''s Action Plan for Energy and Climate Change''.
The City of Cape Town''s Energy and Climate Action Plan has 11 objectives, with targets and detailed implementation plans involving over 40 programmes and more than 120 projects. The Action Plan is managed and coordinated by the City''s Environmental Resource Management department, across all Directorates and Departments.
"Energy drives our city, our lives and our economy. Renewable energy sources and increased energy efficiency to meet carbon emission reduction targets are urgent priorities to avoid catastrophic climate change and to promote economic competitiveness and job creation. Climate change presents opportunities to build a green economy, create jobs, develop a more compact city which is more resource-efficient, integrated and equitable," said Cllr Bloor.
The Action Plan documents Cape Town''s energy supply, consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and notes that Cape Town''s profile differs significantly from the rest of South Africa. Industry and mining account for 55% of energy consumption nationally, while in Cape Town industry accounts for only 14%. Nationally, residential and commercial demand account for only 13%, while in Cape Town these sectors account for 34%.
1. City-wide: 10% reduction in electricity consumption by 2012, off a ''business-as-usual'' baseline2. City operations: 10% reduction in energy consumption by 20123. 10% renewable and cleaner energy supply by 2020. Meet growth in electricity demand with cleaner/renewable supply4. Build a more compact, resource-efficient city
The City of Cape Town continues to lead the way with energy performance certificates (EPCs) displayed in 69 of our municipal assets, making them compliant with the SANS 1544:2014 regulation. In addition, approximately 50 additional assets have been identified that may require EPCs, after which the majority of our portfolio will be compliant.
''The project started with a pilot of three buildings in 2021 and now, less than 18 months later, we are the leading municipality in South Africa. This is a vital and important first step in understanding energy use (electricity, gas, solar and other) within our facilities and has allowed us to open up conversations about the importance of driving energy efficiency within our own assets and optimising onsite generation to reach net zero carbon municipal buildings by 2030.
''The SmartFacility meters continue to monitor energy use within our assets and this continues to be an important part of managing our assets for optimal performance. Almost 90% of the buildings with an EPC received a D-grade or better indicating that the buildings'' energy use is on par or better than the benchmark. Six buildings had solar photovoltaic (PV) systems installed which provided an alternative source of electricity to the relevant buildings while 12 of the 63 buildings had diesel generators supplying the building with back-up electricity during outages and load-shedding.
''The next step is to drive the journey from EPC to net zero carbon via radical energy efficiency and a roll out of solar PV to our municipal assets while encouraging building and facility managers to improve building performance. The City is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2050 and has committed that all new buildings in Cape Town and as many municipal buildings as possible will be net zero carbon by 2030.
''Thank you to our Sustainable Energy Markets team which was successful in working across departments to achieve these certificates. I look forward to progressing toward our carbon neutral and net zero carbon goals,'' said the City''s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Councillor Beverley van Reenen.
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has announced that the City will design, build, and operate a R1,2 billion solar PV plant with battery storage capable of providing up to a full stage of load-shedding protection. This is one of two projects awarded support from the C40 Cities Finance Facility (CFF), which offers cities technical and financial assistance in support of a green and just transition.
The CFF initiative is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Government of the United Kingdom and the Agence Française de Development (AFD), and is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH together with the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group.
The feasibility study for the Paardevlei plant will be complete by the end of 2023, with full commissioning of the plant estimated by August 2026. The plant is envisaged for the portion of Paardevlei that is not developable for human settlements purposes.
Thomas Schaef, Country Director GIZ South Africa, Lesotho and eSwatini said, ‘The cooperation agreement between the City of Cape Town and the C40 Cities Climate Facility shows the importance of international cooperation to generate actions that benefit the population. The energy and climate projects supported by C40 CFF will not only improve energy security and living conditions, but will also contribute to the South African government’s commitment to become carbon neutral and resilient.
About Cape town energy efficiency
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