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South Africa: Multibillion Budgets for Green Buildings |
| Source: |
IT Web News |
| Source Date: |
Friday, November 28, 2014 |
| Focus: |
ICT for MDGs
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| Country: |
South Africa |
| Created: |
Nov 28, 2014 |
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Hugh Fraser, an architect and media manager for Paragon Group, notes his company is involved in both the Alexander Forbes and Sasol projects. Although costs vary with each individual building, he adds, companies are increasingly looking at ways to integrate greener infrastructure with an eye on the long-term benefits. "There are usually great savings to be made over an extended period of time.
"The technology integrated into many of the facilities looks to optimise or reduce energy consumption, water consumption and waste management," he adds.
Mindset shift Fraser notes that entities such as the Green Building Council of SA are creating a shift in the way developers are thinking. The council rates property developments to ensure they are designed, built and operated in an environmentally sustainable way.
He says ensuring a building is rated four stars by the council could increase costs by around 4% and 5%, while five- and six-star buildings could see costs rise between 8% and 9%.
But not all companies have the capacity to build new structures from scratch. Mike Cassidy, product manager at Mustek, says businesses are starting to look at ways of improving their environmental responsibility by making changes to their existing infrastructure.
Since Mustek invested around R4.3 million in 1 000 rooftop solar panels last year, the company has saved around R2.7 million over 12 months, according to Cassidy. "There is no reason why these solar power systems can't last 20 or 30 years, so the long-term outlook is very positive."
Cape Town's Black River office park has also eyed the same model as Mustek, fuelling energy demands through solar panels and feeding excess power back into the city's grid.
Heavy government investment - Government will spend around R8 billion over 27 years to run the new Pretoria-based headquarters for the environmental affairs department, with costs set to include maintenance, cleaning and refurbishments during the period.
Albi Modise, spokesperson for the department, says the department expects a 10% saving in electricity spend, while "additional estimated average cost savings of 15% may be realised due to operational and light systems installed in the building".
The Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development also plans to install rooftop solar panels on government buildings across the province.
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South Africa: Multibillion Budgets for Green Buildings A mix of increased environmental responsibility and rising electricity costs is prompting a growing amount of South African businesses to invest in greener buildings with just four of the new developments in Gauteng accounting for more than R5 billion worth of investments Alexander Forbes in Sandton and government's new environmental affairs headquarters are two of the completed buildings costing R800 million and R635 million respectively Others in development include a R2 billion Sasol building in Sandton and Discovery's new headquarters in the same business district at a reported R2.5 billion
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