Rural areas — in any country — have always presented a challenge to both the inhabitants and local government in terms of infrastructure and services.
This makes economic viability of these areas difficult to achieve.
But in South Africa no one is Âsitting still when it comes to Âfinding alternatives to conventional Âinfrastructural delivery — whether in the area of telephony, internet access or power Âgeneration.
Without these services no development can take place, especially on a local business level.
In today’s world, of course, alternatives are not just geared at replacing the existing available system with a different system, but also with being environmentally responsible and finding cost efficiencies.
Renewable energy, in this context, is no longer just a buzzword.
The University of Fort Hare in the Eastern Cape, one of the most impoverished rural areas in the country, is well on its way to establishing a world-class research facility where renewable energy systems can be monitored to improve efficiency and enhance technical progress.
At present the research projects are being undertaken as a community outreach programme, which aims to improve the quality of life of local people, while attaining information on the practical and economical viability of the scientific advances being measured.
Solar home systems, both photovoltaic and photochemical, both in indoor and outdoor power-Âgeneration Âsystems, have been installed and are being monitored by Fort Hare’s researchers.
But just getting power to rural areas is not the final answer. Project head Professor Edson Meyer’s team is involved in the development of advanced engineered energy-efficient building material for low-cost housing, cutting down on energy requirements.
One such project is the use of innovative brick-firing methods, like microwave heating of the bricks during production to reduce cost and improve the qualities of building materials.
These methods are employed at a fraction of the cost of conventional building materials and lead to reduced production time to boot. Meyer says these methods can be transferred to the existing information building material manufacturing sector at low cost and minimal time — a winning solution for all.
Coupled with houses designed with passive solar energy modules, employing solar modules as the primary energy source, an optimum answer for sustainable, energy efficient, eco-friendly power generation in rural areas is in the offing.
“Discussions on the implementation of the energy-efficient house as an RDP alternative have already been initiated with the Blue Crane municipality in the Somerset West region and the Buffalo City municipality in East London.
“On a commercial level these products have enormous investment potential, job creation and poverty alleviation and a further spin-off in transferring the technological advances being made and measured here, to the material, energy and communication sectors — which can all benefit, as can the economy as a whole.
“Our overall aim is to consolidate three distinct areas, that of material science, renewable energy and ICT,” says Meyer, director of the univerÂsity’s Institute of Technology.
“That is why we are applying innovative, cross-cutting research applications with renewable energy at the core. By employing advanced engineering materials and material science to the rural areas, innovative processes and products can be developed to promote alternative energy technologies and information communication to the large, low-income population of South Africa. These will, of course, be eminently suitable for export to other developing countries in Africa and South America.”
To this end, Meyer’s team is working on the development of a mobile internet device powered by renewable energy, which will be non-reliant on existing networks.