Reacting to news that Eskom will be spending some hundreds of millions of Rands in the next two years to import coal to replenish supplies, Gopal asks what SA is doing to fast-track green source of energy.

Reports state that Eskom could spend as much as R1 trillion on coal to the year 2025.

“Coal is known to be one of the largest contributors of carbon dioxide, or greenhouse gas, emissions worldwide,” says Gopal.

“Have we carefully considered the implications that this decision will have on our environment in the long-term?”

Eskom spokesperson Andrew Etzinger confirms that Eskom produced roughly half of all the CO2 emission in South Africa, and South Africa produces roughly half the CO2 emission in Africa. “Eskom has embarked on renewable energy and nuclear programmes to diversify our plant mix away from coal in the long term. Also, it is far less costly to save power than to build power stations and SAPOA members could help the situation greatly by conserving electricity,” says Etzinger. Casual observations driving around Johannesburg suggest that with many buildings' lights blazing at night, more can certainly be done.

As South Africans are all too aware, energy management has become an increasingly urgent topic in SA as rolling power outages have plagued major cities for most of 2008.

The commercial and industrial property sector is reacting by trying to seek out opportunities for new, cleaner energy sources. After all, as Gopal points out, buildings are one of the major users of energy in any economy.

“Have we carefully scrutinized alternatives such as nuclear, solar and wind energy, or are we being short-sighted and creating another potential disaster in years to come?”

Gopal cites the SA Department of Minerals & Energy’s White Paper on Energy Policy and Energy Efficiency Strategy of SA as a good starting point for the commercial and industrial property industry to learn more about available renewable energy sources.
 
A major step forward in the movement towards creating greener buildings is SAPOA’s decision in 2007 to initiate the establishment of the Green Council of SA, an organization that will advocate for green building design, construction and management. The GBCSA is already established and functioning, the Board members have all been appointed and a rating tool system is being developed for all buildings.

Gopal urges all comercial, retail and industrial property owners to establish energy conservation programmes as a matter of urgency. SAPOA has established an enegry efficiency task team and which will coodinate the commercial property industries reponse to saving energy.