South Africa is changing rapidly, and the ANC government of Jacob Zuma has big plans. This blog will examine the changing picture in terms of its energy supply and its plans to become a primary supplier to the growing global fuel cell industry.
The South African economy is closely tied to the
Seeking to secure reliable supplies of rare earths for the country’s growing industrial demand, South Korea is negotiating to open concessions in South African mines.
South Korea’s Ministry of Knowledge Economy said that the nation is seeking a formal agreement to
Chinese companies are making a concerted effort to dominate the emerging solar energy market in Africa, a continent where nearly two-thirds of the population still lives off the grid.
At an energy conference in South Africa last week, more than three-fourths of the exhibits were from Chinese vendors selling
South Africa is listed as the most industrialized country throughout the nation of Africa. For a long time, it has been very dependent upon conventional fuels, making the nation one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases. Currently, fossil fuels provide around 70 percent of demand and accounts for around 90 percent of all the country’s power generation. South Africa
In a couple of past posts I’ve criticized plans made by the South African government and World Bank to build some of the planet’s largest coal plants in South Africa—thereby dramatically increasing the country’s contribution to climate change. But give credit where
South Africa has the space and the sunlight, so what better region to plan a 5-gigawatt solar park that could not only generate massive amounts of solar energy, but also serve as a field test for emerging technologies in PV energy, concentrating photovoltaic PV and concentrating solar power, or CSP.
The goal is ambitious, but the path
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has partnered with the University of Johannesburg and the University of California, Los Angeles to conduct scientific research into the fields of water purification and microalgal biotechnology, according to a press release last month.
“This is an international partnership that will benefit the peoples of South Africa, Israel and other countries around the world,” said BGU’s Vice President for External Affairs Prof. Amos Drory on occasion of the signing. Drory and Prof. Derek van der Merwe, Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Johannesburg, signed the research collaboration agreement in South Africa.
“The two universities will become involved in extremely important, evolutionary research that will mainly benefit third world countries throughout the world,” said Dr. Bertram Lubner, Vice-Chairman of BGU’s Board of Governors and president of the SA Associates of Ben-Gurion University (SAABGU).
Prof. Sammy Boussiba and Prof. Yoram Oren from Ben Gurion University’s Blaustein Institute for Desert Research will head up the projects in Israel working together with Prof. Bhekie Mamba, leading the South African research teams. They will be assisted by Prof. Eric Hoek, an expert in the fields of water purification and microalgal biotechnology at UCLA.
In Cape Town, South Africa, as well as in many U.S. cities, wealthy suburban dwellers choke roads driving into the city, eschewing the public transit that shuttles blue collar workers. The addition of bus and rail lines in the city’s center in anticipation of hosting the 2010 World Cup has city leaders increasing efforts to get people out of their cars and on to public transit.
In Cape Town, most white collar workers drive themselves to work, fearing crime on trains and on the 20-seat shared taxis that shuttle one-third of inner city commuters. Business leaders from the Cape Town Partnership, along with the University of Michigan and Ford, are working with the city’s largest employers to get more of the 400,000 daily commuters moving by alternative modes of transportation by establishing mobility hubs.