Facebook on Tuesday, August 28, 2018 committed to powering its global operations on 100 per cent renewable energy by 2020.

The company is also promising to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 75 per cent in the same time frame. They have already met their target of being powered by 50% renewable energy one year early and they aim to double that over the next two years.

The social network consumes a huge amount of electricity to power its data centres. In 2017, Facebook’s total carbon footprint was 979,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, 62% of this was from their data centres.

However, after its sustainability pledge, it is on track to be one of the largest corporate purchasers of renewable energy.

Bobby Hollis, Director of Global Energy at Facebook, said: “We bring an open and innovative approach to finding renewable energy solutions that can move energy markets forward. Since 2013, we have added over 3 gigawatts of new solar and wind energy to the grids that power our data centres, all while opening those markets for other customers to follow our lead.”

Marty Spitzer, Director of US Climate and Renewable Energy Policy and World Wildlife Fund, said: “Facebook’s involvement has helped engage other companies in signing on to the Corporate Renewable Energy Buyer’s Principles. We now have more than 50 companies demanding clean and renewable energy from utilities across the U.S.”

Greenpeace commented: “Facebook was the first major internet company to commit to be 100% renewably powered and continues to play a leadership role within the sector.”

Last year, Facebook pledged its support for climate action by supporting the Paris Agreement through the We Are Still In initiative. They also set the record for clean power purchases in 2018.

Facebook joins other tech titans such as Apple and Google in a commitment to go green.

Courtesy: Climate Action Programme

Nigerian off-grid energy investment company, All On, has announced its partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Nordic Development Fund (NDF), Global Environment Facility (GEF) and Calvert Impact Capital (CIC) towards a $58 million first close for the Off-Grid Energy Access Fund (OGEF).

The OGEF, which is managed by LHGP Asset Management (LHGP), an alternative fund manager with offices in Lagos, London, and Nairobi, is a dedicated debt fund for off-grid energy companies and is part of the AfDB-sponsored Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEI). The FEI is a $500 million finance platform designed to provide loan facilities in both local and hard currencies to support innovative energy access companies.

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, AfDB President, said: “Access to electricity is a fundamental human right. That is why the African Development Bank set up the Fund for Energy Inclusion, to support off-grid energy systems. I am delighted that All On and Shell have joined forces with the African Development Bank to invest private capital in this Fund to help accelerate access to electricity in Nigeria. Together we will close the energy access gap in Nigeria and across Africa.”

OGEF achieves its first close with equity and debt commitments of $58 million from All On, AfDB, NDF, GEF and CIC, and the structuring process and investments build on support from Shell Foundation, DFID and USAID. FEI OGEF has been designed to provide a flexible range of loan facilities in predominantly local currency, to companies in the household energy access sector including distributors, manufacturers, end-user credit providers and other businesses supporting the ecosystem.

According to Wiebe Boer, the CEO of Nigeria-based All On, an off-grid energy impact investment company backed by Shell, “We see OGEF as a great opportunity for public and private investors to work together to address Africa’s significant access to energy gap.  We look forward to working with LHGP, especially the Nigeria-based team, to build a solid portfolio of off-grid energy companies that are improving livelihoods by providing affordable power to unserved and underserved communities.”

This first close follows the official launch of FEI at the Africa Energy Market Place (AEMP) on July 5 and 6, 2018, where the initiative was presented to the governments’ representatives of five African countries – Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Egypt, Nigeria and Zambia – as well as leaders from the private sector and the development partner communities.

The inclusion of new coal in the updated draft Integrated Resource Plan for Electricity (IRP) will cost South Africa close to R20 billion more than is needed to spend and will make electricity more expensive for all South Africans. If the Department of Energy were to publish the least-cost plan that civil society organisations have been demanding, it would not include any new coal.

Allowing the two new coal plants contemplated by the draft IRP to go ahead would be disastrous for water resources, air quality, health, land, and the climate, environmentalists believe.

The Life After Coal Campaign (consisting of Earthlife Africa, the Centre for Environmental Rights, and groundWork) and Greenpeace Africa argue that the inclusion of an additional 1000 MW of new coal-fired power – on top of existing and under-construction coal – puts the Department of Energy in conflict with the rights enshrined in the Constitution, given that there are safer, cleaner, and less-expensive energy options available.

“While we recognise the increased emphasis on renewable energy in the draft IRP, unless the Minister of Energy substantially revises and amends the draft IRP to ensure that the Constitutional right to a healthy environment is preserved and protected – and specifically excludes any new coal – the Department runs the risk of the IRP being challenged in court,” warns Melita Steele, senior climate and energy campaign manager at Greenpeace Africa.

Robyn Hugo, head of the Pollution & Climate Change Programme at the Centre for Environmental Rights, says that the updated IRP fails to take sufficient account of the external costs of the various available technologies. “Coal is an outdated and dirty technology – the environmental and health costs of which have not been factored into electricity planning.”

At present, almost 90% of South Africa’s energy mix is already comprised of coal, despite many of these plants failing to meet the required emission standards and causing devastating health impacts.

A 2016 report by UK-based air quality and health expert Dr Mike Holland found that air pollution from Eskom coal-fired power stations kills more than 2,200 South Africans every year and causes thousands of cases of bronchitis and asthma in adults and children annually.

“This costs the country more than R33 billion annually, through hospital admissions and lost working days,” says Bobby Peek, Director of groundWork.

“In addition to these severe health impacts, coal-fired electricity is also enormously water-intensive and the estimated costs of rehabilitating old mines and mining areas runs into the billions”, says Steele.

“Even discounting the health and environmental dangers of coal, it simply makes no economic sense to include coal in the IRP, as it is more expensive than other technologies such as wind and solar power,” says Makoma Lekalakala, director of Earthlife Africa.

The Campaign and Greenpeace Africa will reiterate all of these – and other concerns – in comments on the draft IRP. It is crucial that South Africa’s future electricity plan is least-cost and in the public interest. All South Africans – including coal workers and the unemployed – must be part of the process to ensure a just energy transition.