Papers by Mascha Moorlach
Urban Geography
There has been a resurgence in interest in the off-grid city, with a focus on off-grid urban spac... more There has been a resurgence in interest in the off-grid city, with a focus on off-grid urban spaces in the Global South, and on how the off-grid functions as a collection of places, lived spaces, and dynamic infrastructural configurations. As scholars and practitioners working in the off-grid urban context in South Africa, we contend it is necessary to question the assumptions of the "off-grid" concept in urban geography in terms of its implications for conducting research. We thereby identify four areas for further conceptual and empirical elaboration. The first area concerns the importance of continuing to redefine academic and practical understandings of the "grid", ultimately moving to redefine its meaning in the city. The second is a need to decolonise and decentre the relationship between global and technocratic urban development "standards", practices and discourses, and the 2 granular off-grid context. The third area is the imperative of critically engaging with narratives of inadequacy and imperfection as often applied to off-grid, informal urban spaces. The fourth is the priority of moving towards a needs-based approach to off-grid development, with a focus on coproduction of urban knowledge with local communities to ensure their needs and interests are met.
Energy Research Centre, Oct 1, 2013
South Africa is an arid country, where water supply is often obtained from a distant source. Ther... more South Africa is an arid country, where water supply is often obtained from a distant source. There is increasing pressure on the limited water resources due to economic and population growth, with a concomitant increase in the energy requirement for water production. This problem will be exacerbated by the onset of climate change. Recently, there have been concerns about negative impacts arising from the exploitation of energy resources. In particular, the burning of fossil fuels is significantly contributing to climate change through the emission of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas. In addition, fossil fuels are being depleted, and contributing to decreased energy security. As a result of this, the international community has initiated various interventions, including the transformation of policy and regulatory instruments, to promote sustainable energy. With this in mind, South Africa is making policy and regulatory shifts in line with international developments. Renewable energy is being promoted as one way of achieving sustainable energy provision in the country. However, some issues require scrutiny in order to understand the water footprint of renewable energy production. Due to the large gap that exists between water supply and demand, trade-offs in water allocation amongst different users are critical. In this vein, the main objective of this study was to investigate and review renewable energy choices and water requirements in South Africa. Data were acquired through a combination of a desktop study and expert interviews. Water withdrawal and consumption levels at a given stage of energy production were investigated. Most of the data was collected from secondary sources. Results show that there is limited data on all aspects of water usage in the production chain of energy, accounting in part for the significant variations in the values of water intensity that are reported in the literature. It is vital to take into account all aspects of the energy life cycle to enable isolation of stages where significant amounts of water are used. It is found that conventional fuels (nuclear and fossil fuels) withdraw significant quantities of water over the life-cycle of energy production, especially for thermoelectric power plants operated with a wetcooling system. The quality of water is also adversely affected in some stages of energy production from these fuels. On the other hand, solar photovoltaic and wind energy exhibit the lowest demand for water, and could perhaps be considered the most viable renewable options in terms of water withdrawal and consumption.
Energy Research Centre, 2014
Journal of Energy in Southern Africa
South Africa is an arid country, where water supply is often obtained from a distant source. Ther... more South Africa is an arid country, where water supply is often obtained from a distant source. There is increasing pressure on the limited water resources due to economic and population growth, with a concomitant increase in the energy requirement for water production. This problem will be exacerbated by the onset of climate change. Recently, there have been concerns about negative impacts arising from the exploitation of energy resources. In particular, the burning of fossil fuels is significantly contributing to climate change through the emission of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas. In addition, fossil fuels are being depleted, and contributing to decreased energy security. As a result of this, the international community has initiated various interventions, including the transformation of policy and regulatory instruments, to promote sustainable energy. With this in mind, South Africa is making policy and regulatory shifts in line with international developments. Renewable e...
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2015
Water plays a vital role in various economic sectors, including energy production. It is required... more Water plays a vital role in various economic sectors, including energy production. It is required in various stages of the energy production chain including fuel acquisition, processing and transportation. However, there are growing concerns about the mounting demand for water arising from population and industrial growth, especially in water-stressed regions. Climate change and environmental pollution are exacerbating the situation, and the exploitation of renewable energy resources is perceived as one pillar of mitigating the negative effects of climate change. In this regard, solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind power plants are promising renewable energy technologies, and previous studies have demonstrated that these two energy technologies are less water-intensive. However, the effect of available water on the optimization of a hybrid PV–wind system has not been extensively explored. In this study, a model for investigating water-efficient optimization of PV–wind hybrid systems has been proposed. The demand for water, in the production of energy from PV and wind power plants was expressed as a linear function of the numbers of PV panels and wind turbines. The proposed model was applied to the design of a grid-connected PV–wind hybrid system, using meteorological data from Bonfoi Stellenbosch weather station (33.935°S, 18.782°E) in South Africa. The hybrid system was designed to generate about 100,000MWh/year under the prevailing meteorological conditions. In addition, the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) was optimized with (60,000m3) and without a water constraint. It was found that the water-constrained scenario reduced water demand by 24%. The optimal LCOE of the system declined by 23% when available water was increased from 60,000m3 to 75,000m3. It is therefore concluded that water availability is an important factor in the economic optimization of a hybrid PV–wind system.
Urban Geography, 2022
There has been a resurgence in interest in the off-grid city, with a focus on off-grid urban spac... more There has been a resurgence in interest in the off-grid city, with a focus on off-grid urban spaces in the Global South, and on how the off-grid functions as a collection of places, lived spaces, and dynamic infrastructural configurations. As scholars and practitioners working in the off-grid urban context in South Africa, we contend it is necessary to question the assumptions of the "off-grid" concept in urban geography in terms of its implications for conducting research. We thereby identify four areas for further conceptual and empirical elaboration. The first area concerns the importance of continuing to redefine academic and practical understandings of the "grid", ultimately moving to redefine its meaning in the city. The second is a need to decolonise and decentre the relationship between global and technocratic urban development "standards", practices and discourses, and the 2 granular off-grid context. The third area is the imperative of critically engaging with narratives of inadequacy and imperfection as often applied to off-grid, informal urban spaces. The fourth is the priority of moving towards a needs-based approach to off-grid development, with a focus on coproduction of urban knowledge with local communities to ensure their needs and interests are met.
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Papers by Mascha Moorlach