A Renewable Electricity future is feasible with currently available technologies, including wind turbines, solar photovoltaics (PV Solar), concentrating solar power (CSP), biopower / biogas, geothermal, and hydropower.
Typically, solutions for commercial & Industrial (C&I) applications would be primarily PV Solar, but include hybrid solutions which may include biofuel generators, wind, mini hydro and even biogas solutions.
TouchPoint Energy can provide these hybrid solutions, designed in an integrated and smart way, and managed to ensure the optimal outcome for the particular application.
Whether you’re in property development, corporate, commercial or industrial business, or agri-processing, TouchPoint Energy can assist you to find the best balance of renewable energy options to optimise your energy supply.
RENEWABLE ENERGIES
There are various kinds of renewable energies, most being related to sunlight. Wind and hydroelectric power are the direct result of differential heating of the Earth’s surface which leads to air moving about (wind) and precipitation forming as the air is lifted. Solar energy is the direct conversion of sunlight using panels or collectors. Biomass energy is stored sunlight contained in plants. Other renewable energies that do not depend on sunlight are geothermal and tidal energy.
SOLAR can be collected and converted in a range of ways, from solar water heating to the direct conversion of sunlight to electrical energy using mirrors and boilers or photovoltaic cells.
WIND POWER can be used to pump water or generate electricity.
HYDROELECTRIC ENERGY uses the gravitational potential of elevated water that was lifted from the oceans by sunlight. Most of the available locations for hydroelectric dams are already used in the developed world.
BIOMASS is the term for energy from plants and other organic material. Energy in this form is very commonly used throughout the world. Some of the more modern forms of biomass energy are methane (biogas) generation.
HYDROGEN AND FUEL CELLS, while not strictly renewable, are abundant in availability and low in pollution. Hydrogen is burned as a fuel, typically in a vehicle, with only water as the combustion product. Or the hydrogen is used in fuel cells, which are similar to batteries, to power an electric motor. This clean burning fuel can mean a significant reduction of pollution in cities.
GEOTHERMAL Energy from radioactive decay and from the original accretion of the planet is found in the earth’s crust. In certain limited areas, the geothermal gradient (increase in temperature with depth) is high enough to exploit to generate electricity
Earth energy, a result of the heat storage in the Earth’s surface. Soil everywhere tends to stay at a relatively constant temperature, the yearly average, and can be used with heat pumps to heat a building in winter and cool a building in summer. This form of energy can lessen the need for other power to maintain comfortable temperatures in buildings, but cannot be used to produce electricity.
OTHER FORMS OF ENERGY – Energy from tides, the oceans (waves), ocean thermal and hot hydrogen fusion are other forms that can be used to generate electricity, but each suffers from one or another significant drawback and cannot be relied upon at this time to solve the upcoming energy crunch.
Genesis Group's SSEG division, Touchpoint Energy, were contracted to help the developers of the Darling Green Estate to conceptualize and develop a unique energy solution for the estate. Touchpoint Energy assisted with a range of services from architectural input to the housing design, through to the establishment of the Darling Green Utility which provides a range of utility services to the Estate including a decentralised utility concept for the estate.
Touchpoint is developing the 6MW Darling Solar project. Genesis Eco-Energy Developments provided technical support to Touchpoint through-out the development process. The solar project will see the supply of electricity to the estate and has also secured a Power Purchase Agreement with the Swartland Municipality. In addition, the project aims to supply electricity to the City of Cape Town via the City’s new power procurement process that comes on stream in 2023.