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dam-l Solar in South Africa/LS



>From the Sept. 12 Environment News Service web site:

Solar Power to Serve Rural South Africa

                          By Arend Hoogervorst

                          JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, October 8, 1998 (ENS)
- The South African
                          national electricity utility, Eskom, and Shell
International Renewables, the renewable
                          energy subsidiary of Shell, Tuesday launched a
R130 million solar power project to
                          provide electricity to 50,000 rural households in
South Africa over the next two years.

                          The system consists of a solar panel, a
charge-controlled battery and a security and
                          metering unit. The system is able to power four
lights and a black and white TV for six
                          hours. It could power two lights for four hours
or a portable radio for twelve hours.

                          Customers will pay about R180 (about US$30) for
the installation of the home solar
                          system (worth R5,100 (US$864) and R48 (US$8) for
a monthly fee which will
                          provide a magnetic card storing power credit for
30 days and cover maintenance and
                          other costs.

                          The initiative forms a part of Shell's $500
million investment in renewable energy
                          resources. Willem-Jan van Wijk, director of
Shell's solar power division, said that the
                          company aims to capture around 20 percent of the
international commercial market for
                          rural solar electricity systems, worth an
estimated $1.1 billion, over the next five years.

                          He said that although solar costs are higher than
grid-supplied electricity, they compare
                          favourably with the costs of alternative non-grid
power supplies such as candles,
                          paraffin or petrol-powered generators.

                          "This is the largest commercial, solar rural
electrification project ever. At a local level,
                          it will provide considerable opportunities for
local communities through job creation,
                          education, entertainment and brings with it power
supply that is superior in terms of
                          quality, health and safety." Wijk said.

                          Of the 8.6 million homes in South Africa, only an
estimated 2.75 million, roughly 32
                          percent, had access to electricity in 1990. Eskom
is currently involved in a major
                          electrification programme as a part of the
Government's GEAR (Growth, Employment
                          and Redistribution) policy and will have
increased the number to 67 percent by the end
                          of this year.

                          The new solar power system augments the difficult
problem of supplying electricity in
                          rural areas. Since 1991, Eskom has assisted in
the electrification of 1,340 schools, and
                          100 rural clinics using solar, wind and
micro-hydro power alternatives to the grid
                          supply.

                          Jan de Beer, Eskom executive director technology,
said, "Bringing affordable electrical
                          energy to people living in remote areas is an
important factor in the economic revival of
                          Africa."

                          South Africa's Minister of Minerals and Energy,
Penuell Maduna, who was present at
                          the launch said the project will have many
additional benefits including the provision of
                          technology based jobs and the facilitation of
skills development.

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      Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
        and Editor, World Rivers Review
           International Rivers Network
              1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
                  Tel. (510) 848 1155   Fax (510) 848 1008
                        http://www.irn.org
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