Interest in sustainable energy leads to local action
2009-12-07
Energy is a red-hot topic worldwide. The Flower Valley Conservation Trust is linking with others in the area to find ways to meet more of our energy needs through renewable sources in future.
The Agulhas Biodiversity Initiative (ABI), of which the Trust is a member, decided last year to invest time and effort in the green energy theme during the next five years. ABI partners hope to widen the ABI collaborative circle by joining those groups and organisations already committed to renewable energy and to encourage greater interest amongst the municipalities, e.g. to make use of a green energy supply.
The Trust set the ball rolling with a workshop on renewable energy held on 9 October 2008. ABI provided money for the appointment of a consultant, and currently information is being gathered in order to develop a strategy for the Agulhas Plain.
Lesley Richardson, Executive Director of the Trust, points out that the availability and cost of electricity have come into sharp focus in people's minds since last year's power blackouts and the spiraling price of this commodity. Every sector of society is affected. People have been rudely awakened to the fact that there are no guarantees regarding electricity supply.
On the Agulhas Plain there is the added issue of the proposed Eskom nuclear power plant at Bantamsklip near Gansbaai and its kilometers of massive transmission lines across the landscape. This has raised awareness of the need to make greater use of renewable energy sources for their long-term benefits.
"We would be naive to think that we can generate the same amount of power locally as a nuclear station. The site Eskom is investigating is really problematic for many who believe it will adversely affect tourism and agriculture, and therefore the economy, of the area. Local people are conveying this message to government through the public participation process. But we want to demonstrate practically through this initiative by the ABI partners that we are willing and able to use local renewable sources – wind, sun and wave energy – to meet more of our needs in future," says Richardson. "In our region we have plenty of all three but there is a greater chance of the economics working in the area's favour if we pool our efforts and investments and do things at a greater scale."
The Trust, as a partner in ABI, is therefore looking at this project as an environmental issue as well as a way to generate income. As part of the drive a questionnaire was distributed among a wide variety of people and organisations living, farming or doing business in the Overstrand and Cape Agulhas Municipalities to collect data about energy consumption on the Agulhas Plain. Questions were also posed to gauge people's interest in renewable energy. The data will be analysed and used in the development of a cost-effective energy strategy.
The questionnaire is available on the internet at http://www.surveymonkey.com. For further information about the survey, Cape Town consultant David Daitz can be contacted at david.daitz@mweb.co.za. For general enquiries about the initiative, contact Maarten Groos at Farm 215 near Gansbaai on tel. 028 388 0920 or e-mail maarten@farm215.co.za.
Published in: Newsroom