Article
Agbiz Rural Rejuvenation Workshop Focuses On Energy Security
Published: 31/05/2022
Our producers harvest the sun by utilizing this energy to convert
rainfall, inputs, and labor with precision and without interruption into
valuable starch and oils. Storage operators store the harvest safely by
utilizing electricity generated from coal-fired plants distributed directly by
Eskom or municipalities. However, the
cost of storage is becoming exorbitant as the reliable supply of affordable
electricity dwindles year after year. On the 31st of May, Agbiz
hosted a workshop that brought together experts, agribusinesses, and the mining
sector to investigate how companies can secure their energy needs.
The energy supply needs not only to be affordable but the supply
needs to be sustainable. In addition,
there is a global energy transition from fossil fuels (coal) to renewable energy
sources that coincides with digital transformation. The latter needs a sustainable supply of
sufficient electricity and the demand for sufficient and reliable electricity
supply will therefore increase at storage complexes. The storage sector’s basket costs are exposed
to unique challenges and specific cost increases that are yet not fully
reflected in storage rates. The availability and cost of electricity play an
extremely important role in the storage sector and the weight of this cost item
(Excluding diesel cost for diesel generators) compared to the total storage
cost is 13,1%. This cost item is expected to increase annually by an average of
5,4% which is considerably higher than the inflation target of the Reserve Bank
of 4,5%.
Storage operators keep a watchful eye on electricity as a cost item
and will ensure that they recover the energy costs in their rates for storage
sufficiently. In the future, the
countryside may witness the development of solar energy plants that co-generate
energy for a hub of say twenty storage complexes with their micro electricity
grid completely off the grid. It may not only be the producer that will be
harvesting the sun to turn the energy of the sun into starch and oils. Storage
operators may have to follow suit to store the commodities safely and green.