Track the 2016 Solar Challenge

The Sasol Solar Challenge is a competition for teams to design, manage, build and drive solar-powered vehicles across South Africa.

Local and international solar-powered cars travel as far as they can on various roads and loops between Pretoria and Cape Town, with some teams travelling distances of over 4000km. 

The 2016 event from 24 September to 1 October 2016 traverses some of the world’s most beautiful and diverse landscapes, from desert and savannah to mountains and coastal forest.

Track the competitors live on a map here.

Local Content of Building Materials and Products

The buildings below have just been completed and assessed using the Sustainable Building Assessment Tool (SBAT). On the surface, they may appear similar, and could even be the same building. There may also not be much difference in the functionality of the buildings, but there are very large differences in the sustainability impacts of the buildings.

One building has been constructed using imported components, while the other, has been constructed using locally manufactured materials and components. Local content, or the use of local materials and products and materials, can make a big difference in sustainability performance.

Buildings constructed of local materials and components create local jobs, small enterprises and manufacturing capacity. Local jobs pay for local schools, local health facilities and local production of food, improving health and education.

Less transportation means less pollution and environmental damage. Locally available skills and materials support effective maintenance and repairs, increasing service life and reducing waste. Procurement of local materials and components create a diversified local economy that is more resilient to global economic shocks and exchange rate changes.

Local content, or localisation, in built environments, can be supported through the use of the Sustainable Building Assessment Tool (SBAT) 'Local Economy' criteria. The Sustainable Building Materials Index (SBMI) can be used to support more sustainable and efficient local building material and component manufacturing processes.

DEA Building, One Year On

A review of the Department of Environmental Affairs building in Pretoria, South Africa, one year after completion suggests that performance of the building is in line, or better than the sustainability targets set for the building in the PPP agreement. The review indicates current performance includes:

• Energy consumption of 89kW/m2/annum, including parking and tenant lighting
• Renewable energy generation of  21,8% of the building’s energy needs
• Water efficiency measures and the rainwater harvesting system resulting in 41% less water than conventional buildings

Further information on the DEA building can be found at:

Earthworks article
Sustainablebuiltenvironments article

Enhancing Skills for Sustainable Buildings

Jeremy Gibberd presented on 'Enhancing Skills for Sustainable Buildings' as an input to a stakeholder forum on built environment education. The presentation aimed to stimulate discussion on actions that could be taken to enhance skills for sustainable buildings and addressed the following questions: 

What skills are required for sustainable building? 

What skills are being provided for? 

How can skills for sustainable buildings be enhanced? 

 The presentation is available below.

 

South Africa's 2050 Pathway Calculator

South Africa has developed a 2050 Pathways calculator. This is an interactive online tool that enables users to input levels of technological change in relation to energy demand and supply. The calculator plots demand and supply trajectories to 2050, as indicated in the graphs below. Projected carbon emissions are also show in MtCO2 eq/year.

Sankey diagrams are used to indicator energy flows. This is particularly effective at demonstrating how wasteful electricity generation is currently, with about 50% of electricity generated being lost, as indicated below.

The site works well and different scenarios can be easily and quickly tried. The criteria selected and level messages indicated by the tool however generate a number of questions.

For instance, it is sometimes not clear whether criteria refer to transport or to built environment changes. Setting out criteria under the conventional headings of ‘transport’, ‘built environment’ etc could help clarify this. The wording for levels could also be clearer and it would be useful to have an explanation on the basis and assumptions included in the calculator. For instance, it would be useful to have further clarity / detail on the following:

• Efficiency Improvement; 'Lever level 1'
•  Public Services; '25% energy reduction owing to reduced  leaks in water system'. 
• New Building Code Strength; 'Buildings built after 2030 are 55% more efficient than today'
• Accronyms; such as CHP, GTL,CCGT and CTL . 

The site also links to a UK version of the calculator where detailed assumptions are provided. It would have been useful to provide this information for the South African calculator and it will be important to include this if the calculator is to stimulate debate and is used as an input into policy. The calculator could also provide a valuable educational tool and as in the UK version, it would useful to link this to an ‘educational pack’ for schools.

South Africa’s 205 pathway calculator can be found at:

http://2050.lateral.co.za/pathways/113411113111111111111111121111111114113/electricity

UK’s full Excel version of the tool can be downloaded from:

https://www.gov.uk/2050-pathways-analysis