OVERVIEW Energy North West is researching new energy sources. The mines and smelters around Rustenburg and the industrial plants in Brits use a lot of energy. They are served by Transnet Pipelines, which has recently made a big investment in the New Multi-Product Pipeline. The NMPP is built to pump threemillion litres of product per hour over a distance of 715km, from Durban to the industrial hub of the country. It is the single biggest project in Transnet’s capital expenditure investment portfolioand is one of the biggest of its kind in the world. Most of South Africa’s energy requirements are met by Eskom’s coal-fired power stations but the drive to start producing renewable energy is growing, and researchers and companies in the North West are investigating several options, from solar energy to hydrogen fuel-cells. North West Province has large reserves of platinum and there are exciting possibilities in potential energy applications for the mineral. In May 2012, Anglo Platinum, one of the province’s biggest companies, launched its first underground mining locomotive to be powered by a fuel cell. Platinum coating greatly enhances the hydrogen absorption capacity of fuel cells. Bioethanol, biodiesel and methane gas from waste and renewable resources are among the types of biofuels being investigated. Sunflower seeds and sweet sorghum are suitable for converting into biofuel and bioethanol. The South African Energy Resource Institute (Saneri) chair in biofuel research is held by a professor on the Potchefstroom campus. ONLINE RESOURCES National Department of Energy: www.energy.gov.za South African Energy Resource Institute: www.saneri.org.za Southern African Bioenergy Association: www.saba.za.org South African Renewable Energy Council: www.sarec.org.za Southern African Alternative Energy Association: www.saaea.org SECTOR INSIGHT Transnet Pipelines has invested in a massive new pipeline. Silversands Energy is a North West company that produces ethanol fuel for an ethanol-powered bus made by Scania South Africa for the City of Johannesburg. The North West normally has about 300 days of sunshine per year, so solar power has great potential, and there is a programme aimed at converting bush that is encroaching onto arable land into biomass in the form of biocoal (TOR) or briquettes. The Engineering Department of North West University regularly competes in an international solar car challenge. In 2017 the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge started in Darwin and finished 3 000km away in Adelaide. South Africa’s nuclear-research centre is located at Pelindaba near Hartbeespoort Dam, and is run by the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation. The Nuclear Engineering Department at North-West University (NWU) is the only one of its kind in the country, and the National Department of Science and Technology granted a chair in Nuclear Engineering to NWU. NORTH WEST BUSINESS 2018 38
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