Browsing by Author "Sparks, Debbie"

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    Open Access
    Accelerating productive energy access for the just transition among vulnerable communities; a case study of West Nile, Uganda
    (2023) Amanubo, Amos; Sparks, Debbie
    Sustainable enhancement of energy security has been considered crucial for a just transition towards low carbon sustainable socio-economic development including poverty eradication, job creation and decent employment, food security, among others. Nevertheless, multidimensional energy poverty is still a widespread phenomenon, profound in low-income economies such as Uganda, more so in the rural areas. To investigate the key issues underlying productive energy access and energy-livelihood interlinkages in the context of micro and small enterprises, this research carried out a case study survey of 129 enterprises in West Nile, Uganda, where previous studies mainly focused on household energy consumption. Data were analysed based on the Multidimensional Energy Poverty Indices (MEPI) framework, capturing how the 4A's dimensions of accessibility, availability, affordability and acceptability reinforce or constrain energy choices. The study found that most enterprises rely on grid (43%), then solar PV (16%) and lastly fuel generator (10%) to meet their energy needs, while 31% are energy bricoleurs who diversified their energy sources to guarantee energy security. The prevailing source of energy used is closely associated with socioeconomic enabling or disabling factors such as gender, education, business type, and market and finance based factors. Further, the results show that several enterprises experienced severe challenges in all dimensions of the 4A's framework, and strong interlinkages existed between energy access and the livelihoods of the enterprise owners. Policies and programmes that seek to address productive energy access should be multidimensional, and should consider gender, education and capacity building, and the key types of enterprises driving the local economy. The potential of solar PV should be reinforced using innovative financial mechanisms and product design to ensure it is both affordable and suited for the needs of the local businesses. Addressing productive energy access should be considered as one of the key strategies to promote sustainable livelihoods.
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    Analysis of the quantity and cost of modelled nitrate deposition to the Vaal River from power station emissions with insights for cost-benefit analysis and policy recommendations
    (2019) Ras, Anna; Sparks, Debbie; Altieri, Katye
    Anthropogenic processes have led to high levels of reactive nitrogen entering freshwater ecosystems. This increase in reactive nitrogen levels has caused several adverse environmental and health effects and has resulted in higher deposition rates of nitrates to freshwater ecosystems. The costs and benefits associated with nitrate deposition have been analysed by the European Nitrogen Assessment (ENA) for European countries. However, no studies similar to this have been done for the South African context. The aim of the study was to present a cost analysis of nitrate deposition originating from power station NOx emissions. The objectives were: to examine the changes in nitrate deposition for the years 1980, 2005, 2006 and 2014; to determine the costs associated with nitrate deposition to freshwater ecosystems for the South African context; to calculate the costs of power station emissions to the Vaal River; to consider how European costs differ from South African costs; to consider the impact of the NEMAQA of 2004 and finally, to evaluate the likelihood of these costs being incurred. The years that were selected for this study were chosen due to availability of data, which were supplied by EScience Associates. Three scenarios were considered for each of these years: Scenario 1 was a case in which Eskom operated as usual without any retrofits of power stations, Scenario 2 considered the implementation of the Eskom air quality management strategy and Scenario 3 considered full compliance with the minimum emissions standards set out in the NEMAQA of 2004. The costing method followed the ENA approach, whilst considering the South African context by consulting the relevant literature. The monetized annual costs for the South African context were: mitigation options for improving water quality; increased coal consumption due to power station interventions; agricultural costs; water purification and waste treatment; health impacts and loss of biodiversity as a result of acidification and eutrophication. Power station interventions were found to be the only capital expenditure. The nitrate deposition per unit of electricity generated was expected to decrease, due to changes within the electricity mix of Eskom during this period. Furthermore, the least costly option was expected to be a scenario in which no intervention was made by Eskom to reduce emissions, due to the high capital cost associated with retrofitting low NOx burners in the older power stations. The final expected outcome was that the National Environment Management: Air Quality Act (NEMAQA) of 2004 would have led to a significant decrease in the emissions and, therefore, nitrate deposition to the Vaal River. The costs that were calculated for the South African context differed greatly from the costs in the ENA, indicating that the European costs could not be used directly for the South African context. Furthermore, the results showed that the costs of nitrate deposition increased between 1980 and 2005, decreased between 2005 and 2006 and increased again between 2006 and 2014. Between 1980, 2005 and 2006, a clear link is seen between electricity generated and nitrate deposition. Even though electricity generation increased from 2006 to 2014, the 2014 emissions data show that emissions decreased over the same period. The cost of a fine for non-compliance to emission limits is R10 million. The lowest cost calculated for each year and scenario was found to be Scenario 1 for 1980, and was approximately R 70 million of costs arising from nitrate deposition from power station emissions. The R 70 million, therefore, does not include mitigation options for water quality, increased coal consumption and power station interventions. Therefore, the fines associated with non-compliance, which occur in Scenario 1 and Scenario 2, should be increased to force compliance. The total cost associated with Eskom’s air quality strategy, calculated as part of scenario two, was the lowest cost option for 1980, 2006 and 2014. In 2005, the lowest cost option was scenario 1, where no retrofits were done by Eskom. This indicated that there was a trade-off between capital expenditure for low NOx burners and the annual costs, listed previously. This study concluded that when air quality policies, such as the NEMAQA of 2004 are implemented without stringent enforcement, the desired result is not achieved. The findings in this study show that no significant decrease in nitrate deposition occurred between 2005, when the NEMAQA of 2004 was released, and 2014, which was almost 10 years after the policy was implemented. This study makes a valuable contribution to informing policy makers on the impact of reactive nitrogen addition to the environment. Future research should be done on the cost of agricultural nitrate deposition to the Vaal River, considering that these inputs to the Vaal River are several times larger than those of deposition from power station emissions and could, therefore, have costs of a larger scale associated with them.
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    Assessing the energy implications of exploiting stormwater, through artificial aquifer recharge, as an alternative water source in the Cape Flats, South Africa
    (2018) Gobin, Aumashvini; Sparks, Debbie; Ahjum, Fadiel; Armitage, Neil P
    South Africa has been facing challenges in both its energy and water sectors over the past few years. They are heavily dependent on each other and a better understanding of the linkages between the two sectors is crucial for sustainable development and planning in both sectors. While the water-energy nexus has been widely explored in developed countries, there is a limited amount of literature found on the significance of the nexus in South Africa. With the current critical drought in the region, alternative water sources are being considered by the City of Cape Town including seawater desalination, water re-use and abstraction of groundwater, to increase potable water supplies. The Cape Flats Aquifer represents a significant water resource for Cape Town and its yield can be further augmented by using artificial recharge with stormwater. Due to the location and water quality of the resource, several possible approaches have been identified for its exploitation. This study investigates quantitatively the energy implications of the three selected approaches in order to exploit the Cape Flats Aquifer as an alternative water source for Cape Town and further provides the potential carbon emissions from their respective energy usages. The three approaches consist of a Centralised Approach to treat the abstracted water for potable uses at two existing Water Treatment Plants (Blackheath and Faure); a Decentralised Approach to supply neighbouring suburbs with minimally treated water for non-potable uses through four proposed treatment plants and a Desalination Approach to treat brackish groundwater to potable quality at a proposed desalination plant. The energy implications of the approaches were evaluated using both direct energy usage during the abstraction, conveyance and treatment stages and the embodied energy of the consumables used during the treatment processes. These were then used to compare the shares of direct electricity intensities and embodied energy intensities of the alternatives at each stage to determine their viability. The individual stages' and overall energy intensities were quantified in form of the total energy required to produce a kl of treated water. The minimum energy required to abstract and convey the water was estimated using basic hydraulic principles. The energy usage at treatment plant levels was computed using the installed electrical capacities at the two existing water treatments for the Centralised Approach while the Decentralised Approach's demand was estimated by determining the treatment processes required to produce non-potable water, which is fit for usage. Energy requirements at the desalination plant were estimated using the salinity levels of the brackish groundwater and target salinity concentration of the treated water. The energy intensities of the approaches were then used as a basis to calculate the current and future electricity costs and their associated carbon footprints using the CSIR (2016) least cost scenario and the IRP (2016) base case future electricity mixes, as the higher and lower threshold for electricity generation costs and carbon emissions. The study found that the electricity intensities of all three alternatives depended significantly on the spatial layout of their respective systems, that is, the topography, distance and extent of their transmission networks. However, the embodied energy intensity of the Centralised alternative was found to be comparable to its electricity intensity, since more chemicals were to purify the water to potable levels. The Decentralised Approach's extensive pumped transmission networks contributed the most to its electricity intensity during the treatment process. The Desalination option was found to be the most energy intensive alternative, with energy intensities ranging from 7.41 to 9.62 MJ/kl, of all three options (1.16 to 1.57 MJ/kl for the Centralised Approach and 3.57 to 7.31 MJ/kl for the Decentralised Approach) and had the highest costs and emissions intensities, mostly caused by the country's coal intensive electricity mix. The Centralised option was found to be the least energy and carbon intensive of the three options and the most viable approach investigated. Desalination, nonetheless, can still considered as an alternative, given the issue of water scarcity, to increase water supplies. Despite its high energy demands, its carbon footprint could potentially decrease with a larger uptake of renewable energy technologies as sources of electricity. The importance of holistic planning across sectors was brought out quantitatively by using current and future water and energy mixes, providing valuable insights on the water-energy nexus, in this study.
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    Capacity building in analytical tools for estimating and comparing costs and benefits of adaptation projects
    (2005) Nkomo, Jabavu C; Sparks, Debbie; Callaway, John M; Hellmuth, Molly; Louw, Daniel; Gomez, Bernard E; Jallow, Bubu P; Njie, Momodou; Droogers, Peter
    The broad objective of AIACC project 47 was to develop the capacity to estimate and compare the benefits and costs of projects in natural resource sectors that reduce the expected damages from climate change in Southern and West Africa. There are two parts to this project. The first consists of using well-established principles from economic benefit-cost analysis to develop a framework to estimate the economic benefits and costs associated with the expected climate change damages avoided by a development project that does not take climate change into account. Then, these benefits and costs can be compared to the case where planners incorporate expected climate change into the project assessment. The second part consists of demonstrating this methodology in two project case studies, one in The Gambia and the other in South Africa. The South African case study examines the benefits and costs of avoiding climate change damages through structural and institutional options for increasing water supply in the Berg River Basin in the Western Cape Province. The Gambian study, on the other hand, focuses on the agricultural sector, particularly on millet, the predominant crop in the country. To facilitate analysis, the Gambian study uses a detailed water–crop model, defines and explores adaptation strategies with the model and uses the results to carry out an economic analysis. The South African project develops and applies a Berg River Dynamic Spatial Equilibrium Model as a water planning and policy evaluation tool to compare benefits and costs and economic impacts of alternatives for coping with longterm water shortages due to climatic change. Results from the study will contribute to the development of international climate change policies and programs, particularly in regard to adaptation activities in developing countries under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
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    Draft policy framework for efficient water use in energy production.
    (Energy Research Centre, University of Cape Town., 2014) Madhlopa, Amos; Keen, Samantha; Sparks, Debbie; Moorlach, Mascha
    South Africa faces imperatives to secure a supply of clean water and to protect water resources, as well as to provide a secure supply of energy. Over and above the mandates of ensuring clean water provision and of improving the coverage and security of a reliable energy supply, the government faces challenges of reducing poverty and unemployment, and of ensuring sustainable development. In order to meet these challenges, the national government has developed a set of progressive policies. Harmonisation of these policies is itself a considerable challenge.
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    Energy policies for sustainable development in South Africa: options for the future
    (Energy Research Centre, University of Cape Town., 2006) Davidson, Ogunlade; Kenny, Andrew; Prasad, Gisela; Nkomo, Jabavu; Sparks, Debbie; Howells, Mark; Alfstad, Thomas; Winkler, Harald
    The purpose of this publication is to present a profile of energy in South Africa, assess trends and analyse some options for the future. It is divided into two parts – Part I presents a profile of energy and sustainable development in South Africa, while Part II uses modelling tools and indicators to assess future policy options for the country.
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    Renewable energy choices and water requirements in South Africa
    (University of Cape Town., 2013) Madhlopa, Amos; Keen, Samantha; Sparks, Debbie; Moorlach, Mascha; Dane, Anthony
    South Africa (SA) is an arid country, where water supply is often obtained from distant sources. There is also increasing pressure on the limited water resources due to economic and population growth, with a concomitant increase in the energy requirement for water production. This problem will be exacerbated by the onset of climate change. Recently, there have been concerns about negative impacts arising from the exploitation of energy resources. In particular, the burning of fossil fuels is significantly contributing to climate change through the emission of carbon dioxide (major greenhouse gas). In addition, fossil fuels are getting depleted, thereby decreasing energy security. Consequently, the international community has initiated various interventions, including the transformation of policy and regulatory instruments, to promote sustainable energy. In view of this, SA is making policy and regulatory shifts in line with the international developments. Renewable energy is being promoted as one way of achieving sustainable energy provision in the country. However, some issues require scrutiny in order to understand the water footprint of renewable energy production. Due to the large gap that exists between water supply and demand, trade-offs in water allocation amongst different users are critical. In this vein, the main objective of this study was to investigate renewable energy choices and water requirements in SA. Data was acquired through a combination of a desktop study and expert interviews. Water withdrawal and consumption levels at a given stage of energy production were investigated at international and national levels. Most of the data was collected from secondary sources (literature) and therefore the assessment boundaries are not fully comparable. Results show that there are limited data on all aspects of water usage in the production of energy, accounting in part for the significant variations in the values of water intensity reported in the global literature. It is vital to take into account all aspects of the energy life cycle to enable isolation of stages where substantial amounts of water are used. Conventional fuels (nuclear and fossil fuels) withdraw significant quantities of water over the life-cycle of energy production, especially for thermoelectric power plants operated with a wetcooling system. The quality of water is also adversely affected in some stages of energy production from these fuels. On the other hand, solar photovoltaic and wind energy exhibit the lowest demand for water, and could perhaps be considered the most viable renewable energy options in terms of water withdrawal and consumption.
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    Water considerations in selecting energy technologies
    (Energy Research Centre, University of Cape Town., 2014) Madhlopa, Amos; Keen, Samantha; Sparks, Debbie; Moorlach, Mascha
    Water plays a vital role in the socio-economic development of any nation. It is exploited in different economic sectors, including the energy sector. Water and energy are inextricably related, and this relationship is usually referred to as the water-energy nexus. Water is used for energy production in the abstraction, growth and preparation of some fuels as well as in some power plants. It is also used in the raw materials for plant infrastructure, manufacturing of plant components, and the construction of power generating infrastructure. The volume of water used in the raw materials will vary widely, not only with the technology, but also the material type and plant design. Furthermore, these materials can be imported from any location and the associated water use is not limited to any water catchment, water management area or local authority.