The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has partnered with the City of Cape Town, and Stellenbosch, to create energy master plans to inform optimal procurement and market design for their municipalities’ specific renewable-energy needs.

Energy master plans have been completed for the Garden Route district municipality, in the Western Cape, to inform the future procurement of energy.

The CSIR has partnered with State-owned power utility Eskom to provide research for grid integration and future power system analysis to determine how the penetration levels of nonsynchronous generation sources can be increased without compromising energy security or grid stability, explains CSIR senior researcher Aradhna Pandarum.

The council has also established programmes in renewable-energy integration for its energy use and is accelerating the provision of technology derisking services and solutions for the local renewable industry.

Pandarum says the CSIR’s solar photovoltaic (PV) reliability laboratory is now ISO-certified and is successfully providing commercial services, while equipment has been procured for the new energy storage test bed for the testing of battery cells and modules.

Further, the CSIR has expanded its research and development to thermal energy and has partnered with the National Cleaner Production Centre of South Africa to undergo energy audits to identify energy efficiency improvement opportunities for industrial energy users in South Africa.

The council has uncovered opportunities for and is focussing on thermal energy and waste heat recovery systems, she adds.

Pandarum says the council is jointly developing the thermal energy laboratory with the South African National Energy Development Institute.

Project Updates

The CSIR’s CoBenefits project, launched in 2014, was completed in January 2022,  with a final report published in the same month.

The project included a briefing note, published at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, held in October and November last year. The work was also presented at the Presidential Climate Commission during the just energy transition (JET) dialogues, held in July last year.

Pandarum says a policy report for the CoBenefits project will be published to elaborate on policy recommendations made in the report, accounting for suggestions from attendees during the webinar launch for the project earlier this year.

The CSIR has partnered with the European Commission to assess repurposing options, whereby the just transition research mapping project has been completed.

“This project has enabled us to determine possible research gaps, primarily in the social and technical research dimension linked to repurposing of naturally retiring coal-fired power stations,” adds Pandarum.

Further, the CSIR is finalising a multicriteria decision analysis, which will rank coal-power station and coal mine repurposing options for South Africa.

Pandarum says the council is also conducting a vulnerability assessment in terms of the skills baseline, in Mpumalanga, and establishing coal sector linkages.

The progress on this project was presented to stakeholders and interested parties in February 2022, with the targeted completion date set for the end of April 2022, she adds.

JET Framework

The CSIR has also contributed to the JET Framework to increase awareness of the economic implications of South Africa’s energy transition.

Pandarum says the council’s study on the co-benefits of decarbonising the local power sector is complete. The study indicates which job opportunities the transition affords and which opportunities exist for local value creation.

The co-benefits study also highlights which skills are necessary and how gender inclusiveness is relevant for the transition.

She adds that the CSIR is developing an Energy Industry Support Programme and is seeking funding and partners to provide support for South Africa’s energy industry.

“Our mission will be to provide mentorship and technical guidance, and be an incubator that upskills and empowers the industry so that members can become successful enterprises.”

The CSIR is researching repurposing options for local coal mines and power stations, as well as possible economic diversification options, to shift from the single-source-based energy economy of a coal-based economy to multiple sources, says Pandarum.

Further, the council is working on a project to develop a financially sustainable just transition social protection plan which includes research towards a possible just transition fund.

Meanwhile, Pandarum says the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme Bid Window 5 indicates the cost trajectory of renewable-energy resources in South Africa continues to decrease, supporting the fact that the country’s least costly power system will mainly be renewable energy based.

The CSIR aims to support South Africa’s long-term transition to a carbon-neutral energy system and economy.

“Our research and development is centred around how we fulfil this objective from a technical, economic and social perspective to ensure that South Africa’s transition is first and foremost just, thereby creating opportunities for the country’s renewable-energy sector,” concludes Pandarum.