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IN RECENT years I’ve been more of a light green when it comes to alternative energy. Cynic may be a better description. Solar and wind power seemed impractical, expensive and more of a plot to line nefarious manufacturers’ pockets.
It didn’t help when some local lads got a handsome contract of close on a billion rand to produce solar geysers which, it seems, were mainly imported from China. Many were badly installed and leaking.
And my feelings about the green revolution were reinforced when a leading light against coal-fired power stations and pollution (who shall remain nameless) insisted on being picked up from OR Tambo in a hybrid saloon to give his well-worn lecture… and returned under the cover of darkness in a helicopter. It was more convenient…
I started seeing the light, or feeling the winds of change, when I headed to Jeffrey’s Bay a mere six months ago. I was surprised by the size of the wind turbines and shocked by the fact that the whole operation was privately funded and expected to turn over a profit. Even if the power was being purchased by Eskom at a premium.
Then came the full conversion… Doing the Off the Grid story for Carte Blanche, I met families who were sitting smugly watching DStv in their LED-lit homes during blackouts. No noisy generator, no UPS. Just solar PV panels, solar geysers and wide smiles.
And they didn’t all say, "Adios Eskom" recently - some families we spoke to had been off the grid for nearly a decade!
Right now it is still not a cheaper option to be entirely off the grid. But with Eskom increases inevitable as the gas turbines work overtime, and green technology becoming more efficient annually, we’re getting very close to the tipping point.
And now the option of sending excess power back to Eskom to reduce the overheads of your installation is on the cards.
Surely the concept of a national grid will be overtaken by a plethora of Independent Power Producers… and we can truly say, “Save Watts, save the Planet!”
Off the Grid:
What happens when Eskom finally runs out of money is anyone’s guess, but some mavericks already generate their own power. What does it take and is it a viable option? As the country faces another three months of constrained power supply, Carte Blanche meets people living completely off the grid.
Click here to watch the episode.
* This story first appeared on carteblanche.dstv.com
* Derek Watts has been a journalist for nearly 30 years, presenting on South African television since 1985 as a sports anchor. Derek has been an anchor and presenter on Carte Blanche since the programme's inception in 1988.
