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Current
projects
 Open
energy database
Client:
SANERI
Period: September 2009–September
2011
Project leader:
Brett Cohen
Others in project
team:
Bruno Merven,
Ajay
Trikam,
Alison Hughes
The project aims to provide a current, consistent and comprehensive data
set to help streamline energy research projects, particularly those
involving energy modelling. Data will be collated from a wide range of
websites, publications and research reports. The resulting database will be publicly accessible.
The
transport sector demand for liquid fuels
Client: SANERI
Period: July 2009–July 2011
Project leader:
Brett Cohen
Others in project
team:
Bruno Merven
The majority of liquid fuels projection focus on the supply side
and assume a growth in demand based on historical figures and
projections of GDP and population. The study aims to explore likely
growth based on disaggregation of demand for transport services,
including both passenger and freight services.
Awareness and
behavioural energy tools
Client: Eskom
Period: October 2010-December
2011 (and continuing)
Project leader:
Stephen Davis
Others in project
team:
Brett Cohen and others
This project will
develop tools to enhance understanding of energy-use behaviour and to
build awareness
of energy and energy efficiency in the residential sector. This is an
interdisciplinary study, involving collaboration with specialist skills
and knowledge.both within ERC and outside the organisation. Phase 1,
which reviewed existing tools and the literature in the field and also
included a stakeholder workshop, is now completed; a report has been
delivered to Eskom and is under review. Phase 2, now underway, will
involve the investigation, development and testing of tools which can
help effect behavioural change amongst consumers.
Long-term mitigation
scenarios update
Client: Department of
Environmental Affairs
Period: Phase 1: November
2010–March 2011. Phase 2 expected to begin in February 2011.
Project leaders:
Alison Hughes,
Andrew Marquard
This project (a
joint one with the Climate Change group) aims at
improving and updating the SA government supported Long Term Mitigation
Scenarios Project. Phase 1 involves updating the data of the
already-existing model to base year 2006, and improving model definition
for some sectors.
Techno-economic
analysis of carbon capture and storage in Southern Africa
Client: World Bank
Period: December 2010–April 2011
Project leader:
Alison Hughes
Others in project
team:
Catherine Fedorsky,
Brett Cohen,
Bruno Merven
The project aims to
assess the costs of various opportunities for carbon capture and storage
(for emissions from electricity generation) in South Africa, Botswana,
Namibia and Mozambique. It is being
done in collaboration with two other organisations - Energy Institute
Hrvoje Poza (EIHP) in Croatia,which is looking at similar issue in the
Balkan countries, and the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO)
in Belgium, which is doing the costing. A local stakeholder workshop
will be held to present the findings related to South Africa, and a
final report delivered to the World Bank.
Mitigation action
plans and scenarios
Although the Energy
systems analysis and planning group is substantially involved, this
project is based with the Climate change Group, and details can be found
there.
Completed projects
[in process of being updated]
Modelling
a domestic energy system based on biomass energy in rural areas in
southern Africa (Biomodels)
Client: VW Foundation
Period:
Project leader:
Alison Hughes
This project is
aimed at modelling a domestic energy system based on biomass, with a
rural area in South Africa as a case study.
Cape Town long-term
mitigation scenarios
Client: City of Cape Town
Period:
Project leader:
Alison Hughes
This project
involves translating the national long-term mitigation scenarios to the
city level.
Distribution
systems and distribution planning related research: Holistic energy
model for low income communities (HEMLIC)
• Client: Eskom
• Period: July
2005 - July 2008
• Project leader:
Trevor Gaunt (Electrical Engineering – UCT)
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The scope of work
involves research on the following topics:
-
Non domestic
electrification load models,
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Demand side
management (DSM) load models for distribution planning,
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Modular data loggers,
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Participation in the
Cigré SC-C6 working groups,
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Network reliability
and the costs of customer interruptions,
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Multi-source energy
models,
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Other techniques in
electricity delivery network analysis, planning and systems
Project team:
Trevor Gaunt (Project leader),
Mark Howells,
Bill Cowan, Markus Dekena Consulting
Measuring
the rebound effect of energy efficiency initiatives
for the future
Client: SANERI
Period: April
2007- March 2010
The project intends to
develop a model to predict the levels of rebound that occur when energy
efficiency measures are introduced into the residential sector, which
will enable better targeting of energy efficiency interventions within
this sector. This is due, largely, to the impact that residential demand
has on the grid during 'peak' times.
As there has been little
research of this nature both in a developing country context, and within
South Africa, an in-depth study solely of the residential sector has
been proposed. Given previous experience and knowledge, it is expected
that the rebound effect will be at a moderate level (Berkhout et al,
2000; Roy, 2000). However, it is hypothesised that this can be
mitigated and mitigated and maintained are contradictory you need to add
some words here before maintained thereafter maintained through
education and technology training programmes. Data obtained during the
study will be incorporated into the model to give, an indication of what
DSM programmes in the residential sector may be expected to achieve.
This will help with integrated resource planning in South Africa as it
will enable a more accurate DSM target to be included. As we are
currently facing electricity shortages DSM is becoming increasingly
important in ensuring reliable electricity supply.
The key research
questions to be answered by the study are:
Anecdotal evidence also
suggests that whilst there is willingness for consumers to utilise
energy efficient technology certain inhibiting factors such as initial
cost of purchasing the technology and inherent characteristics of the
technology such as power produced (in the case of solar home systems)
and quality of light produced (for CFLs) prevent larger uptake or
continued use of these technologies.
Due to the nature of the
study (i.e. a panel study conducted over the period of 3 years) one will
also be able to answer questions as to the extent that households
continue to use these technologies and determine exactly which factors
inhibit the continued use of these technologies.
Project team: Alison Hughes, Kate Louw
Securing
the energy future of South Africa through modelling
Client: CSIR
Duration: June
2007- December 2007
Project leader:
Ajay Trikam
This project explores,
through a scenario-based approach, future energy demand and the
resultant environmental implications
Biomass
energy in rural areas in southern Africa
Client: VW
Duration: Ongoing
Project leader:
Alison Hughes
This is a collaborative
project in which the ERC is one of five project partners. The project
aims to develop existing rural energy-economic system models in order to
capture user preferences and changing biomass resources.
Gauteng:
Integrated energy plan
Client: SANERI
Duration: 1
April 2008 – 31 July 2009
Project leader: Ajay
Trikam
A study into pathways of
sustainable transformation of the Gauteng megacity.
Free
electricity grants and household consumption
Client:
Duration:
Project leaders:
Stephen Davis & Alison Hughes
The project
uses combined data from the national load research database in two
sites, in combination with a socio-economic survey, to determine the
impact of Free basic electricity grants on the household energy
consumption patterns.
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