Promethium director Harmke Immink said that since 2000 the CDP has, on behalf of its signatory investors, encouraged the world’s largest companies to measure and report their carbon emissions. ...]]> Group Five has achieved the highest rating of a JSE Top 100 listed construction company in the 2011 Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). Local carbon advisory firm, Promethium Carbon, achieved a first when three of its clients including Group Five were placed in the top ten of the JSE Top 100 CDP report.

Promethium director Harmke Immink said that since 2000 the CDP has, on behalf of its signatory investors, encouraged the world’s largest companies to measure and report their carbon emissions. “This year, CDP was backed by 551 institutional investors holding US$71-trillion in assets under management with questionnaires to the world’s largest companies asking them to report on their carbon emission,” said Immink.

“To address carbon reduction, Group Five implemented a total quality management culture that underpins every aspect of its operations and reinforces the centrality of sustainability,” said Celia Becker, country risk director at Group Five. A ‘green team’ was established covering all operating divisions and is responsible for the identification of opportunities and risks resulting from climate change. In addition Group Five has commented on the Green Paper on Carbon Tax directly and was also invited to participate in the carbon tax impact study to be performed by Treasury.

Demand for green buildings are increasing

She said the demand for green buildings is on the increase, and internal procedures are continuously evolving to accommodate this. “Becoming a leader in green buildings and acquiring a stake in the associated products for green buildings will aid in Group Five’s reputation of becoming a greener construction company, and result in actual emission reductions when implemented in construction projects.”

Another strategic business decision was the creation of the project development team in the energy division, dedicated to renewable energy. The role of this team is to play a bigger role in the early stage development of potential projects.

Group Five is also a founding member of the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA). This council aims to lead the transformation of the South African property industry to ensure that all buildings are designed, built and operated in an environmentally sustainable way.

Today it was announced that Kayema’s project completed for Standard Bank at their head quarter building in the CBD of Johannesburg was nominated for the SANEA ENERGY PROJECT AWARD 2011

Kayema Energy Solutions designed, installed and commissioned a solar-heat pump hybrid system at Standard Bank’s head office complex in ...]]> Kayema’s Standard Bank Hybrid Solar and Heat Pumps Project nominated for a SANEA ENERGY AWARDS 2011 Awards to be announced at a Ceremony & Gala Dinner taking place on 25 August 2011

Today it was announced that Kayema’s project completed for Standard Bank at their head quarter building in the CBD of Johannesburg was nominated for the SANEA ENERGY PROJECT AWARD 2011

Kayema Energy Solutions designed, installed and commissioned a solar-heat pump hybrid system at Standard Bank’s head office complex in Johannesburg. The system, commissioned in November 2010, is expected to reduce electricity demand by around 500 000kWh per year.According to James Shirley, General Manager of Kayema, Standard Bank took the initiative to fund the project themselves, as part of their drive to take a strong leadership role in SA and reduce the electricity demand of their buildings. The results of this project will have far reaching effects, both in terms of energy savings, and as proof to other organizations that the technologies work well pay for themselves. Having set the example on a corporate level, the Bank have subsequently rolled out a scheme allowing special rates for staff members wishing to install solar water heaters at their own homes.

Why? James Shirley, General Manager at Kayema explains, “Previously, The Eskom Solar Water Heater Rebate was all about how much heat goes into the geyser resulting in a higher rebate for those who over specified their system (which often resulted in overheating with water reaching temperatures upward of 85º Celsius).

According to Shirley, “Many of ...]]> With the recent announcement from Eskom regarding a change in it’s Solar Water Heater Rebate policy, Kayema’s Solar Water Heating Systems are about to become even more competitive.

Why?
James Shirley, General Manager at Kayema explains, “Previously, The Eskom Solar Water Heater Rebate was all about how much heat goes into the geyser resulting in a higher rebate for those who over specified their system (which often resulted in overheating with water reaching temperatures upward of 85º Celsius).

According to Shirley, “Many of the imported systems have to date benefited greatly from over inflated rebate amounts. This rebate allowed them to mitigate their costs to a large extent and remain competitive in the market place by giving the impression that a higher rebate meant a better system.

The recent announcement from Eskom means that the Eskom Solar Water Heater Rebate structure is now based on the amount of energy actually required by the system to heat the water to the correct temperatures, improving system lifespan and reliability.

Since Kayema‘s Solar Water Heating System was designed with the correct specifications from the outset, we are largely unaffected by this new announcement, so we sit at just below the new maximum rebate values. The result is that our systems are now less expensive than competing systems of equal quality after the rebate, without compromising any of our performance.”

“The superiority of a Kayema Solar Water Heating System has already been recognized early on by major corporates such as Investec Bank, Standard Bank and Group Five with several other blue chip corporate clients entrusting Kayema to roll out employee Solar Water Heating programs nationwide.

Daniel Schwab, Managing Director of Kayema concluded saying “We look forward to continuing our leadership position within the Solar Thermal Heating and Cooling market in South Africa through superior technology based on world class engineered systems and local installation and project management capabilities”.

Radio 702 Interview Part2

Radio 702 Interview January 24 2011 Part1

Lot’s of fun and interesting comments made by listeners.

Follow this link to view the article

Other award winners on the night were Electrawinds who received the Energy Newcomer Of The Year Award for their wind turbine installations in Coega, Port Elizibeth, and Anglo Gold Ashanti who were given The Excellence Award  for distinguishing themselves as a proactive and visionary ...]]> Solar water heating solution provider Kayema Energy Solutions was awarded the “Energy Company of The Year” award, at the South African Association for Energy Efficiency (SAEE) yearly banquet, held at Emperor’s Palace on Wednesday 10^th November 2010.

Other award winners on the night were Electrawinds who received the Energy Newcomer Of The Year Award for their wind turbine installations in Coega, Port Elizibeth, and Anglo Gold Ashanti who were given The Excellence Award  for distinguishing themselves as a proactive and visionary company in implementing energy efficiency throughout their various operations in South Africa.

Kayema Energy Solutions is a leading integrator of solar and wind energy solutions in Africa. It was founded by Craig Lyons (Chairman) and Daniel Schwab (CEO) in 2008 to provide alternative energy solutions to Southern Africa. The company has a dedicated team of internationally renowned solar and wind energy engineers and offers several renewable energy solutions for utility, domestic and commercial clients.

Kayema was nominated by Energy Cybernetics as a candidate for the award, and selected by SAEE as a finalist for the “2010 Energy Company of the Year” for the company’s work and commitment on a number of energy saving projects most notably the Legacy Da Vinci hotel in the Sandton central business district, and the Standard Bank project in the Johannesburg city centre.

Combined these projects are capable of saving 850 000 kW hours of energy, and contribute significantly to the energy efficiency of both companies and properties.

Markus Storm, Project Engineer at Energy Cybernetics, had this to say about why the Kayema team were so deserving of this award.

“The personnel of Kayema Energy Solutions are hard working and professional visionaries engaged in projects making significant energy reduction impacts on the overstrained energy sector. Through what they doing they are making a difference.  We have been working close with Kayema on a project the past few months and I was very impressed to see such experts at work.”

The solar water heating system at the Legacy hotel consists of 117 2-kWh flat panel collectors, and is capable of preheating 30 000 liters of water before it enters the hotel’s electrical heating system, which is expected to reduce the electricity usage by about 60%.

The system was commissioned and started operating in March 2010.

The system at the Standard Bank head office on Simmonds street is a 200-kW hybrid system consisting of 100 solar water heater collectors, which will heat about 20 000 liters of water, while another 28 000 liters of water is heated using energy efficient heat pumps.

Craig Lyons said on receiving the award, “It is with much delight that the Kayema team is rewarded and recognized for the tremendous effort and commitment shown for providing innovative renewable energy solutions to our clients. It is pleasing to see that we as a renewable energy company have been awarded this accolade and thus all bodes well for the future for renewables in South Africa”

Daniel Schwab, the CEO commented, “Through projects of this nature, Kayema has positioned itself as the renewable energy provider of choice for large-scale commercial and industrial projects within the private and public sector, and will continue to lead from the front with technological innovation and installation proficiency.”