Mr Bernd Oellerman, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

Energy in Industrial spaces in South Africa
Mr Bernd Oellermann is senior programme manager at the NCPC-SA, heading up the ecoindustrial parks programme for South Africa, which he started in the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) to support the Just Transition for industry to a circular economy.
His areas of expertise cover management consulting, project and programme management, stakeholder management, policy, strategy, planning and sustainability. He has worked in diverse fields covering sustainable development, renewable energy, water, health, agriculture,engineering, R&D, education and training, ICT, mining and the financial sector.
He is passionate about people and sustainable development, driven by the belief in the restoration of Creation and every person to their original purpose and identity. His approach is systemic and integrated towards working with others to find solutions to the multidimensional challenges faced by the world.
Background:
The South African state has a legal obligation to provide energy on a national scale to its citizens, but it has become increasingly clear that the state is unable to do so, universally and consistently. Sources of electricity remain constrained to such an extent that it would take many years to restore and expand the system sufficiently. Yet the government has been addressing the crisis in various ways, and a new Integrated Resource Plan: IRP Government Gazette 2023.pdf (energy.gov.za) has been published. While the government focuses on national power supply, transmission and distribution, various initiatives address the energy crisis at a more local level.
The country continues to battle a severe energy crisis marked by frequent and extended blackouts that can last for hours, days or weeks. The government is facing enormous pressure to address this crisis and mitigate its impacts on the country’s economy, social well-being and overall development of the state. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has published the updated and revised Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) in 2023. The plan focuses on providing secure energy/electricity supply to all SA citizens as well as balancing the supply and demand of energy resources. Energy sources include coal, hydro power, gas, nuclear power, renewables, hydrogen and storage. There has been some development since the last IRP was issued in 2019, which includes the establishment of the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) and the Energy Action Plan. There are many issues that remain to be addressed, including the lack of skills in the economy and upskilling of retrenched workers.
The energy industry is evolving at a very rapid pace, hence the NSTF’s focus in 2023 on Transitions in energy provision. There is a need for skilled engineers and other professionals who can implement, develop and maintain advanced energy technologies. The government has enforced strict rules on reducing carbon emissions and the intention is to include nuclear power and renewable sources of energy such as wind farms and PV solar panel arrays in the energy mix, as well as constructing advanced power grids. These projects demand a specialised workforce with expertise in different fields such as various scientific disciplines, branches of engineering, and environmental sciences. A shortage of proper expertise can lead to an even more restrained economy, increased costs in maintaining the supply and distribution of energy and challenges in reaching all the sustainable development goals (SDGs). This means that we need to focus on education, training and research. Young minds should be provided with a variety of opportunities to learn and be employed in order to improve our energy systems, and that includes innovation.
The strain on the electricity system and the lack of reliable service delivery have led to people resorting to taking alternative measures. Because energy supply is not stable, many individuals in local communities are now actively reducing their dependence on municipal electricity provision by integrating solar energy into their supply and using battery power for energy storage. These developments hinder the revenue generation of municipalities as they largely depend on revenue from municipal bills which include the provision of electricity. Even with the shift to solar energy supply, energy poverty is still very prevalent in SA because of the high costs of roof-top solar and the inability of most consumers to afford it.