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Cape Town - While renewable energy projects in SA, once completed, will have a significant impact on the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, it is vital to minimise the ecological footprint of these projects,” according to Jean du Plessis, managing director of AnyWay Solid Environmental Solutions RSA.
To combat climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the minister of energy has determined that 3 725 megawatts (MW) are to be generated from renewable energy sources.
To this end, a total of 47 projects that, will harness sources such as wind and solar power, are scheduled to be completed between 2014 and 2016 through the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme (IPP).
Just how green are these projects?
“The majority of IPP sites are being constructed in remote areas, access to which is made difficult due to poor quality roads," according to Du Plessis.
"In many cases, roads have had to be rebuilt – a process that brings with it not only financial costs, but environmental ones too.”
He said that traditional road repair and construction methods involve excavating the existing sub-standard soil, transporting these away and importing materials from borrow pits to the road site.
"This is detrimental to the environment given the emissions produced during the high number of truck trips along with the use of heavy machinery, the creation of spoil sites and opening of new borrow-pits," he said.
“To counteract this, IPP project managers should be looking at alternative methods as an environmentally-friendly option for road building and restoration, such as stabilising the existing material to create durable, load-bearing layers.”
He said benefits to the environment would then include less haulage and excavation, minimal use of heavy equipment, a decrease in spoil sites being created, less material being imported from quarries or borrow pits and the recycling of in-situ soil and materials.
Furthermore, some soil stabiliser brands have been tested and found to be non-leaching and non-toxic, thus posing no danger to crops, animals or water sources.
“Mineral soil stabilisers could also be used on the IPP project sites themselves to build site roads and crane pads," said Du Plessis.
"This will provide significant benefits in terms of costs and construction time, while improving the engineering characteristics of the soil sufficiently.”
To combat climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the minister of energy has determined that 3 725 megawatts (MW) are to be generated from renewable energy sources.
To this end, a total of 47 projects that, will harness sources such as wind and solar power, are scheduled to be completed between 2014 and 2016 through the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme (IPP).
Just how green are these projects?
“The majority of IPP sites are being constructed in remote areas, access to which is made difficult due to poor quality roads," according to Du Plessis.
"In many cases, roads have had to be rebuilt – a process that brings with it not only financial costs, but environmental ones too.”
He said that traditional road repair and construction methods involve excavating the existing sub-standard soil, transporting these away and importing materials from borrow pits to the road site.
"This is detrimental to the environment given the emissions produced during the high number of truck trips along with the use of heavy machinery, the creation of spoil sites and opening of new borrow-pits," he said.
“To counteract this, IPP project managers should be looking at alternative methods as an environmentally-friendly option for road building and restoration, such as stabilising the existing material to create durable, load-bearing layers.”
He said benefits to the environment would then include less haulage and excavation, minimal use of heavy equipment, a decrease in spoil sites being created, less material being imported from quarries or borrow pits and the recycling of in-situ soil and materials.
Furthermore, some soil stabiliser brands have been tested and found to be non-leaching and non-toxic, thus posing no danger to crops, animals or water sources.
“Mineral soil stabilisers could also be used on the IPP project sites themselves to build site roads and crane pads," said Du Plessis.
"This will provide significant benefits in terms of costs and construction time, while improving the engineering characteristics of the soil sufficiently.”
