Press Release "Sustainably designing South African residential areas "
In the rural, structurally-weak regions of developing and emerging countries, most settlements are not sustainably managed – neither in terms of water nor energy. In order to change this, a team of scientists and companies are conducting research on new technologies and concepts in South Africa.
In order to supply the population with water and energy, the joint project “Decentralised water and energy management for rural, structurally-weak regions based on the example of South African municipalities (EcoSUN)” is developing an innovative concept and is implementing this together as a pilot project with their South African partners. The objective is to make settlements in the rural, structurally-weak regions of developing and emerging countries more sustainable.
As a result, the consortium of two research institutes and five companies will pursue a long-term cooperation with South Africa: On the one hand, it will comprehensively evaluate the results of the former sanitation projects and record the wishes and requirements of the local population. A key element is the direct involvement of the local population in the planning and the construction of new sanitation projects, as only in this way can the ownership structure be developed.
On the other hand, the EcoSUN project is developing an infrastructure package which combines the modules “sanitary or water provision and disposal”, “solar energy” and “adapted building planning”: These modules use innovative sanitation technologies with the professional designation “Ecosan”. As a result, multiple use of the water – i.e. the treatment of mildly polluted “grey water” – reduces the water consumption. Clean drinking water is provided from surface or rain water via filtration. Energy is gained re-generatively and via the sun (“SUN”), e.g. for solar water and room heating and as an energy-rich fuel from the fermentation of organic residual materials. The residential units are architecturally tailored to EcoSUN technology. A central unit combines the technology and the supply or disposal to individual houses as a type of public utility. Overall, a complete settlement is thus created according to a uniform principle with 100 houses of different construction types.
During the entire project, technologies are used which have been developed by project partners in Germany, and these are modified to suit South African conditions. This requires in part significantly changed processes and apparatus – and a considerable amount of research and development.
Sustainable settlements are in great demand in South Africa. Over the past 20 years, several million residential units were created which became known as “Mandela houses”, and these contributed towards a significantly better living situation for formerly disadvantaged people. More than two million residential units are to be added in the short term. However, the program is reaching its limits, as amongst other things, insufficient water of a good quality is available. Furthermore, South Africa suffers from extreme energy deficiency. The electricity networks no longer suffice, and new constructions are too expensive. Electricity from coal – the dominant production method until now – leads to local air pollution and burdens the global climate. This can only be dealt with through multiple use of water and with the aid of regenerative energy from local origins, coupled with efficient energy use in well-planned houses – all of these are core elements of the project.
After completion of the project, the municipality will continue to manage the sustainably re-designed settlement – to the benefit of the residents and as a reference for the subsequent use of these concepts in other municipalities in South Africa and the sub-Saharan regions. This requires well-trained service technicians, whose training is therefore an integral part of all project work.
For the German and South African partners involved, the EcoSUN joint project supports market access on-site, but also enables the return transfer of new knowledge for the companies and therefore improves their position in the competition on global markets.
The EcoSUN joint project is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF)). It is part of the BMBF support measure “International partnerships for sustainable climate protection and environmental technologies and services (CLIENT)” focussing on the support of “Sustainable water management” (Nachhaltiges Wassermanagement (NaWaM)).
Published at: July, 18th 2016
