NOTABLE
FOOD SECURITY THROUGH SMART CROPS Professor Jill Farrant, a plant molecular physiologist at the University of Cape Town (UCT) is piloting a study of smart crops in response to increasing drought across South Africa and the globe, due to climate change. Farrant and her students are studying resurrection plants, which can withstand severe drought and “return to life” within 12 to 72 hours after rain. She hopes to identify the genetic survival mechanisms in those plants and use them to induce the same process in crop plants, helping them to become more tolerant of drought. The ideal outcome would be to produce plants that are far more drought-resistant than current crops, and thus secure food sources for the future. www.uct.ac.za
DURBAN’S DESALINATION-WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT A FIRST At the 2017 African Utility Week conference in Cape Town, Titus Kasie, mechanical engineer at eThekwini municipality, unveiled a desalinationwastewater plant to be built in Durban in collaboration with the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation. The demonstration plant significantly reduces energy costs by only producing 50% of its water from the ocean (a power-intensive and expensive process), with the other 50% coming from treated wastewater effluent. By mixing the water sources, power needs are nearly halved, with the added benefit of the public being less hesitant to drink the water when it isn’t considered entirely recycled. Other nations and cities have hailed the plant for its innovation. bit.ly/ew39Durbanwaste
RENEWABLE ENERGY IS AN INVESTMENT! With the ever increasing cost of electricity, it has become more and more attractive to install a solar photo-voltaic system on one’s residence or commercial building. While these systems do not provide for standby power, they supplement the amount of power required to be drawn from the grid. This, coupled with the fact that there is acceptance from the local municipalities to purchase excess power generated by solar systems, means a payback period of 4 years is perfectly feasible.
At an internal rate of return approaching 15-18%, these systems make investment sense when installed on residential houses and commercial buildings. Stationary and Portable Power Units has been responsible for over 3 500 alternative energy installations throughout Sub-Saharan and Eastern Africa. We exclusively represent high-end German and European component manufacturers, which also grants us access to their mature system design and technical back-up, thus ensuring the performance and sustainability of our installations.
1121 Steve Biko Road Wonderboom South, Pretoria, 0084 TEL: (012) 335-5734. FAX: (012) 335-6438 E-MAIL: info@sppowerunits.co.za
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