Invest in Green Economy
THERE are billions of rands worth of opportunities for green economy investors in South Africa.
These opportunities are highlighted in the annual GreenCape flagship market intelligence reports (MIRs).
This year’s MIRs, which were funded by the province’s Department of Economic Development and Tourism, were released by GreenCape this month. The reports are written for investors and businesses, local and international, who are active or interested in green economy sectors in the Western Cape and South Africa.
The reader-friendly reports can be downloaded for free and are available online.
Economic Opportunities MEC Beverley Schäfer said the province had prioritised the Green Economy by creating the enabling context.
“Through partners like GreenCape, we have proactively reduced red tape, we have worked to unlock new markets for green tech and provided accurate market intelligence to attract investment to the green sector in the Western Cape.
“The Atlantis green tech special economic zone is an extremely attractive option for investors and manufacturers of green tech, and cements the Western Cape as Africa’s green economy home,” Schäfer said.
Notable investment opportunities highlighted in the 2019 MIRs include:
● Utility scale renewable energy: the latest Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2018 allocations indicate 8100 megawatts for wind, 5670MW solar photovoltaic and 2400MW of small-scale embedded generation to be procured by 2030, which has the potential of attracting in excess of R200billion in the next 12 years.
● Energy services: the South African energy services market holds lucrative opportunities for equipment suppliers, project developers, technical advisers and financial investors. By 2035, the South African energy storage (battery) market is expected to reach R15bn-R30bn, and the energy efficiency market R21bn
● Electric vehicles: global sales of electric vehicles (EVs) are projected to reach 5 million this year, up from 1million in 2015. For South Africa, a thriving EV market supported by local manufacturing holds the promise of economic growth and job creation
● Water: the 2019 Water MIR draws on markets observed during the drought to highlight emerging longer-term investment opportunities linked to water scarcity in South Africa.
● Waste: in 2016, the waste economy contributed R24.3bn to the South African gross domestic product and provided 36 000 formal jobs and 80000 informal jobs/livelihoods.
● Sustainable agriculture: when taking into account the whole agricultural value chain, the sector is estimated to contribute about 12% to the national GDP.