Electricity + Control March 2015

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ROUND UP
Coega - working towards clean, safe air
Earlier last year, the Coega Development
Corporation (CDC) identified the need to
ensure that the effect of emissions from
tenants’ activities within the IDZ does not
exceed the official ambient air quality stand-
ards, or pose a health and/or environmental
risk to the region.
Even though the CDC has established air
quality monitoring stations on its 11 500 ha
land – which encompasses 14 sector-orien-
tated sub-zones – it is making use of the air
dispersion model to manage air quality and
ensure compliance with National Environ-
mental Management: Air Quality Act (AQA)
No 39 of 2004.
A national framework for the AQA is
required to achieve objectives and all state
organs must give effect to it when acting in
terms of theAQA.The norms and standards
of the framework are for: Ambient air qual-
ity; the control of emissions from source;
air quality monitoring; air quality manage-
ment planning; and air quality information
management.
Andrea Shirley, environmental man-
ager at the CDC, said, “A suitable model-
ling process will give the CDC the ability to
determine the effect of proposed activities
to assist decision making on the desirabil-
ity of proposed investors. This will allow
the screening of prospective investors to
determine the effects of their air emissions
on the ambient air quality in the IDZ and
surrounding areas.”
Shirley adds: “As Coega IDZ landlords we
have to ensure that the developers do not
exceed pollution levels set nationally. If our
tenants are not compliant, we are not com-
pliant with the environmental legislation.”
Enquiries: Dr AyandaVilakazi.Tel. 041 403
0464 or email
Solar power from energy-harvesting trees
Scientists at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland have de-
veloped a prototype of a tree that harvests solar energy from its
surroundings - whether indoors or outdoors - stores it and turns
it into electricity to power small devices such as mobile phones,
humidifiers, thermometers and LED light bulbs.The technology can
also be used to harvest kinetic energy from the environment. The
‘leaves’ of the tree are flexible, patterned solar panels made using a
technique developed byVTT on a printing process.The leaves form
an electronic system complete with wiring that conduct energy into
a converter that feeds electricity to devices such as mobile phones
or sensors analysing the environment.The tree trunk is made with
3D technology by exploiting wood-based biomaterials VTT has
developed. VTT’s technologies create endless opportunities for ap-
plications involving different kinds of electronics regarding lighting
and energy harvesting, for example. The more solar panels there
are in a tree, the more energy it can harvest.
Enquiries: MattiTähtinen. Email
Watch the ://youtu.be/_QswunfBC8U
First flight into the wild for CapeVultures
Conservation history was made on 15 Feb-
ruary 2015 with the release of ten captive
bred parent-raised CapeVultures at VulPro.
These chicks took their first flight into the
wild to join the Magaliesberg’s Cape Vul-
tures, marking the initiation of a population
recovery plan which has taken years of
preparation.
Seven captive bred Cape Vultures from
VulPro and three from the National Zoo-
logical Gardens were released intoVulPro’s
open-top enclosure, located adjacent to
the rehabilitation enclosure in which they
are currently housed. Moving birds to the
open-top enclosure allows them to ‘release’
themselves when they feel ready to leave.
The birds can either remain inside the safety
of this enclosure or join the wild vultures
feeding at the vulture
restaurant adjacent
to the captive breed-
ing enclosure where
the VulPro vultures
were raised. Each
vulture is fitted with
a tracking device on
to its back to monitor their movements
with locality readings, altitude, speed, tem-
perature and direction every 15 minutes. In
addition, each bird is fitted with wing tags
on both wings for visual re-sightings.These
tags have been especially designed in Spain
and are far superior to the current tags used
in South Africa.They can be read from both
the top and underneath surfaces of the
birds’ wings and do not fade as the writing
has been cut out instead of laser printed.
Vulpro is appealing to all members of the
public to please report tagged re-sightings
as this data is extremely important to the
success of this release project.
Enquiries: KerriWolter.
Email
ENERGY + ENVIROFICIENCY
Andrea Shirley, Coega Development
Corporation’s environmental manager.
VulPro, a vulture conservation programme in South Africa’s North-
West Province’s Magaliesberg Mountains, is located within 100 km
of two active and one extinct Cape Vulture breeding colonies.
49 March ‘15 Electricity+Control