Nearly 10,000 jobs created
A study commissioned by one of the companies involved in these projects showed that they alone contributed US$295m to South Africa’s GDP and created more than 9,500 jobs between 2013 and 2015.
As a majority stakeholder in a consortium along with Aveng (29%), Soul City (10%) and Community Trust (10%), Acciona Energy installed a photovoltaic plant with a rated nominal capacity of 74MW in the Northern Cape and a 138MW wind farm in the Western Cape.
It asked EY (Ernst Young) to conduct a survey to calculate the socio-economic footprint of the renewable energy facilities installed in the region, in terms of its economic impact, job creation and social and environmental externalities, including community development and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
The company's impact on employment in the area peaked, with 7,112 jobs created in 2014. During this period, 37 were direct employees, 2,981 were employed by direct sub-contractors and suppliers, 2,286 were indirect, in the industry and 1,808 were induced in other sectors of the economy.
EY's analysis did not confine itself to assessing the actual impact of the projects carried out to date, it also included a theoretical model to estimate the socio-economic footprint of any future wind or photovoltaic project developed by Acciona Energy in the country.
The model concludes that every megawatt of standard wind power capacity that the company installs in South Africa will represent a contribution of US$1,5m to the country's GDP. The contribution is calculated considering the wind project's entire life cycle, which includes the manufacture of wind turbines, development and construction lasting 1,5 years (US$877,000 of GDP/MW) and the operation and maintenance of the wind farm for 25 years (US$625,000 per MW).
The findings related to employment reveal that 45 job-years are produced per MW of wind capacity that is installed.
Using other parameters, the report reveals that every dollar invested by the consortium of which the company is a member contributed US$0,67 to South Africa's GDP (considering the project's useful life and using a 9% discount rate).
Applied to the solar plant, the model concludes that every MW of photovoltaic capacity installed in the country generates US$1,76m to the GDP: 40% directly, 35% indirectly and 25% induced, again considering a life cycle similar to that of a wind farm.
With regards to employment, every MW of photovoltaic capacity entails 54 job-years: 41 during equipment manufacture, development and construction (1,5 years) and 13 during plant operation (25 years).
In the same way as in the wind model, every dollar invested by the company in a photovoltaic project represents a contribution of US$0,57 to the GDP.
EY's survey also addressed other aspects related to the social and community impact of Acciona Energy's activities through its consortium in which it participates.
Rafael Esteban, Acciona Energy country manager in SA, says: “We are committed to allocating 2,1% of its annual turnover from its projects to local communities through socio-economic development (SED) or enterprise development (ED) plans that align with government’s agenda, including promoting self-employment. We also provides breakfast for over 3,000 school children in the communities surrounding the Sishen plant in partnership with the Tiger Brands Foundation.”
Acciona produced 437,4 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of renewable energy in 2015, which avoided the emission of 0,4m tons of carbon dioxide, with a saving of US$15m in costs derived from climate change.
It has also reduced emissions of pollutants at a local level, such as NOx (1,150 tons avoided) and SOx (2,500 tons avoided), saving over US$2m in estimated healthcare costs.
The report also mentions that the electricity produced by the Gouda wind farm spares 800,000 cubic metres of water per year when compared to a coal plant. Among the environmental conservation and improvement measures at its facilities, the company plants three trees for every tree that needs to be removed when building the project.
