THE GREEN CO
HOLISTIC
ENERGY SOLUTIONS
Achieve net zero fast
As extreme weather conditions wreak havoc around the world, we must act fast to combat climate change. We need to target the two most carbon emitting industries: Transport and Energy Production. Combined, these two sectors are responsible for over half of the global emissions.
“South Africa is the world’s 14th-largest emitter of greenhouse gases. The emissions level from all sources in South Africa as a whole is currently estimated at 500 000 000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per annum.”
Solar Photo Voltaic
Power demand increase globally is massive with many industries looking for renewable and sustainable electrification solutions. For reliability of supply and cost savings, Solar PV is the point of departure for most companies.
Solar PV provides a degree of reliability during daylight hours and is a great first step in the journey to energy independence and cost savings.
South Africa provides tax incentives that make an investment into Solar PV even more appealing.
Every site is unique but on average grid tied onsite Solar PV provides approximately 30% penetration and 30-50% savings on your current utility costs for power.
The design and deployment of a holistic renewable energy solutions is key to a successful and future proofed transition to cleaner energy and to ensure that your return on investment is achieved.
BES and Battery Arbitrage
Battery arbitrage stores last nights off-peak, cheap energy for use during the days expensive peak energy period.
Adding battery storage is a small trade off, as it reduces savings but enables reliability of supply as well as serves to lower demand costs which in turn mitigates high demand charges.
Gas to Power
Understanding your options and the potential cost savings is key to the successful rollout of a holistic and sustainable solution.
Gas to power, albeit less carbon friendly than the Solar, Wind and Hydro counterparts has a place in the renewable energy production market – especially where heating and cooling form part of the manufacturing or production process.
Heating and cooling can constitute 50% of your energy costs.
A combined heat and power (CHP) or cogeneration unit is designed to generate power and creates heat as a bi-product. Where the heat is utilised in a heating process at the production or manufacturing facility, a (CHP) or cogeneration unit increases overall power production and utilisation efficiency up to 90%. This means that 90% of the energy contained in a fuel is utilised compared to coal generation, where 100% percent of the coal is burnt to product 32% usable energy.
Costs of heating and cooling can be reduced to negligible amounts through the correct design, incorporation and use of natural gas to power units.
Manufacturing plants are able to benefit greatly by adding gas to power energy generation. These benefits include reliability of supply, lowered demand costs, reduced heating costs and integration into mini grids for stability during demand fluctuations.
Gas to power is not dependant on the grid, fluctuations in fuel costs or load shedding schedules and delivers a much lower carbon footprint as apposed to diesel generators. A combined heat and power, peak shave or supplementary supply unit offers a great return on investment and serves as a reliable solution for independent energy production. The Green Co provides a feasibility study in these cases to ensure that a positive ROI is ensured.
All installations are customised to the clients exact needs. We offer containerised or purpose built rooms with noise attenuation and solutions with or without waste heat recovery for supply voltages (400V, 6.6 kV & 11kV) and in grid parallel or island mode.
Wheeling
Wheeling removes geographical constraints and enables customers commitments towards renewable energy consumption and essentially allows privately generated renewables-based energy from sites with good wind and solar to be transmitted across the national grid to to corporate and industrial customers whose locations may be less conducive to renewable energy production.
Wheeling is a financial transaction. Through a willing buyer | willing seller model, wheeled energy can contribute to your carbon sustainability goals. The buyer does not need to spend Capex to enable Wheeling and sees financial savings effectively cutting their energy usage costs in half. Third party wheeling of energy is currently subject to the buyer being connected on a medium voltage or higher voltage network and being on a (TOU) time of use tariff.
“Overcoming the present 6,000 MW power shortages requires 15,000 MW of new solar and wind plants. The continuing deterioration in the efficiency of the large coal power plants means that the actual need for new renewable generating capacity in the next five years is closer to 20,000 MW.”
Solar Parks & Minigrids
Rapid enablement of Solar Parks and alternate sustainable energy projects results in energy security, climate change mitigation and economic benefits.
The construction of a mini grid or solar park is a complex process with long term lease agreements, environmental impact assessments and many other hurdles to jump through.
The Green Co specialises in the negotiation, co-ordination, enablement, feasibility and management of large scale renewable energy projects. We provide a wide range of services to ensure the successful delivery of projects through the efficient and effective management of the process from inception to completion and the operational management of these alternate energy plants once they are in operation. We negotiate off-take agreements with potential customers to ensure that there’s sufficient off-take to make projects financially viable and profitable.
The Green Co are experienced and well versed with the landscape and processes in South Africa and encourage engagements with investors and potential IPP’s who wish to invest in the production of renewable and sustainable energy in South Africa.
Hydro Power
Through the combined nature of our offerings and access to various sources of renewable energy, we are able to utilise this type of energy via the current distribution network from its point of generation to your doorstep.
The Green Co have access to a network of IPP’s producing various forms of sustainable energy, inclusive of Hydro Power. Hydro Power is one of the most powerful, large scale energy production mechanisms, with one of the lowest carbon footprints.
Bio Gas
Our country and our planet at large are facing what seems to be overwhelming challenges. Growing energy demand, waste management problems and the effects of climate change may seem insurmountable.
But what if our challenges were indeed opportunities. The opportunity is Biogas. Biogas is an energy-rich gas produced by anaerobic decomposition or thermochemical conversion of biomass (plant and animal waste) and can help South Africa turn its waste into a vibrant new economic sector.
There is huge potential across South Africa to develop biogas plants, create jobs and bolster the economy. The additional benefit is that the remaining matter, after the gas has been removed, contains valuable chemical nutrients such as nitrogen and potassium and can be used as high quality organic fertiliser.
Biogas is a proven technology has been around for ages and is easy to design and operate. Some Wastewater treatment plants in South Africa who have digesters are sitting with an inactive asset. The Green Co and partners have extensive knowledge in biogas technology and offer operations and maintenance contracts that can convert these dormant assets into feasible already sunken investments.
Journey to Sustainability
On your journey to sustainability, The Green Co offers our clients the flexibility to purchase sustainable and environmentally friendly energy on flexible commercial terms and varying contract periods.
This energy may take the form of a Capex grid-tied or off-grid Solar PV purchase, a risk free PPA or zero capital outlay wheeling contract for users of 1 MWh and with an 11kva connection.
There are many EPC's and finance houses offering solutions. We differ in that we offer holistic designs that factor in all conditions and requirements critical to the successful implementation of a true energy production and management system. We deliver on what was promised.
The Green Co specialise in translating customer requirements into a holistic energy production program designed to target customer priorities - be that reliability of supply for business continuity, cost savings or simply for those wanting to make a difference to our stressed planet through carbon savings.
The Green Co Trusted Advisory
The Green Co Trusted Advisory have been in operation since 2012 and are passionate about sustainability. We have assisted clients formulate robust and reliable strategies to take their power back. We understand client pain points, their roadmap and ESG requirements and formulate a solution that is holistic in nature, fit for purpose and specific to needs.
We have carefully selected products, services and a technical implementation partner network for their engineering expertise, attention to detail and unparalleled customer service.
Our consultants hold the clients objectives close to heart and facilitate the best technical & financial solutions on their behalf.
In our unique and holistic approach, we simulate the combination of energy production mechanisms for optimal use of lowest cost energy at any time. Energy production is only half of the equation however. The effective use of energy is also crucial.
The Green Co and partners in-house developed Energy Management System allows for the integration of diesel generators, gas to power generators, solar systems and more for automated digital energy management that provides detailed insights into energy production and consumption.
The Green Co and partners are one of the few organisations that fully understand how to successfully integrate various energy production mechanisms into an electrical ring.
Energy Management
We believe that data collection and analysis are important in the formulation of strategies and measures for continued optimisation of energy usage and reduction of waste.
Our in house energy management system allows for effective monitoring and management, performance tracking and usage statistics. The system provides easy to understand graphical data views.
Automated integration of a combination of energy production mechanisms and automated switch over to least cost energy at any specified time of day is the magic ingredient in a true holistic energy production and utilisation strategy.
Carbon Emissions and Reporting
Renewable Energy Certificates (RECS) are a market based instrument that certifies that a bearer owns one megawatt-hour of electricity from a renewable resource. Once the power provider has fed the energy into the grid, the REC that has been sold to a client can be used on the open market as an energy commodity.
The Green Co and partners provide RECs as part of their holistic solution stack.
Achieve your environmental goals with a certificate that legally accounts for your renewable electricity generation and its attributes whether installed on your premises or purchased elsewhere.
RECs can only be used to make carbon claims once in a lifetime. It cannot be resold, donated or transferred and is used solely for the purpose of reporting on carbon emission reductions.
Benefits Summary
Solar:
Cost savings tool
Energy at approx 2/3 of grid costs
30% penetration, approx 30% savings
Savings from year 1
Lowest carbon footprint
Tax deductible investment
PPA requires no capital investment
BES:
Reliability of supply during load shedding
Effective peak demand management lowering energy demand costs
Gas to Power:
Peak shaving for demand costs savings
CHP for heating and cooling cost savings
Independently produces power and is not grid reliant
Natural gas considerably less costly than diesel
More carbon friendly than diesel power generation
Wheeling:
Quickest route to carbon footprint reduction as 50% of the TOU power is substituted by sustainably produced energy
Energy costs are cut by approx 50%
Alternative energy in all sustainable forms can be distributed via the distribution network, which creates opportunities for economic growth in Hydro, Biogas and other new technologies which further bolsters the economy and ensures job creation.
Expedites the enablement of IPP's producing sustainable and clean energy which is the biggest contribution in the country to climate change.
Solar Parks:
Enables sustainable and environmentally friendly energy resulting in energy security, job creation, climate change mitigation and economic benefit.
Biogas:
Utilizes waste in the creation of energy and provides a solution to the growing waste problem in South Africa and worldwide.
Produces fertiliser as a bi-product
Creates a new economy for South Africa.
“In Dec 2020, The Pretoria high court overturned the approval of a 1.2GW Thabametsi Coal-fired power plant after successful appeals from environmental groups. This plant would have been one of the worlds most polluting power stations in the world.”
How South Africa is doing on the renewables front......
South Africa’s still relies on coal for 85-90% of its energy production. Renewable power sources account for 3 percent of South Africa’s national electricity supply, a baseline from zero in 2010.
Phasing out coal in South Africa will benefit South Africa in so many ways:
- Alleviating the energy crisis
- Reducing the impact on climate change
- Enabling Job Creation
As part of its Just Energy Transition programme, Eskom supports the country’s decarbonisation efforts through the strengthening of its international grid as a key enabler for the roll-out of renewable capacity through wheeling frameworks and attractive tariffs that in turn unlock the potential for significant private sector investment in renewable generation by removing some of the geographical location based limitations and addressing the customers commitments towards renewable energy consumption by 2030.
After numerous rounds under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Program, we have seen a significant decline in costs of renewable energy by 55% for wind & 76% for solar PV, which make the renewables extremely cost competitive compared to dirty coal.
About The Green Co
The Green Co Pty Ltd is a South African Registered Company specialising in sustainable Energy, Water, Waste and IT solutions. Let’s see how we can help you reduce your utility consumption, enable cost savings, whilst lowering your Carbon Footprint.