This year’s editions of nonprofit organisation GreenCape’s yearly green economy market intelligence reports (MIRs) have been made available.

The reports were officially launched on June 7 by Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities Mireille Wenger and Western Cape Minister of Agriculture Ivan Meyer.

The MIRs, available for free, highlight current green economy investment opportunities in the Western Cape, while also providing a national context.

The reports are developed in partnership with the Western Cape departments of Economic Development and Tourism and Agriculture, and the City of Cape’s Town Department of Enterprise and Investment.

“The Western Cape is proud to be positioned as one of Africa’s top green economy investment destinations. Through our strong green economy ecosystem partnerships, we are able to support investors who want to establish and grow their businesses here.

“We are proud to support GreenCape and the production of these impressive annual Market Intelligence Reports, which set out the many exciting opportunities for investment and job creation, driven by the development of the green economy,” said Wenger.

The MIRs, are written for different sectors, and provide an overview of the market within each of these, including key developments and achievements, the key players, legislation and regulation, market opportunities and challenges, as well as funding opportunities.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES 2022 MIR

According to the electric vehicle (EV) report, the emerging EV market currently represents a small share of the South African automotive industry, but presents considerable opportunities for businesses and investors active and interested in the sector.

Investment opportunities highlighted in the 2022 MIR include local manufacturing and electrification of public transport, lithium-Ion battery production, local manufacturing of passenger vehicles, and EV use in construction, retail and underground mining.

ENERGY SERVICES 2022 MIR

The term energy services (ES) is used to describe three interrelated energy market segments in the South African energy space, namely small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) (encompassing system sizes smaller than 1 MW); energy storage; and energy efficiency (EE).

Rising electricity prices, energy insecurity, dropping technology costs, supportive energy policies, and incentives prompt consumers to explore alternative energy options driving the growth of the ES market in South Africa and creating a thriving value chain, this report indicates.

Investment opportunities highlighted in the 2022 MIR include solar installations; behind-the-meter battery storage; smart metering coupled with an energy service company model; and cooling-as-a-service.

LARGE-SCALE RENEWABLE ENERGY 2022 MIR

According to the large-scale renewables report, the South African large-scale renewable energy capacity accounts for about 10% of the wholesale/public nominal capacity.

The industry is noted to be showing growth and potential with just over 5 GW of large-scale connected and operational projects.

Investment opportunities highlighted in the 2022 MIR point out that since the publication of the 2021 MIR, there have been several important developments in the sector and the national government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

These developments are noted to have led to opportunities connected to public procurement, private procurement, local manufacturing of renewable energy components and systems, and electrolysis using renewable electricity for the production of green hydrogen.

WATER 2022 MIR

This year’s Water MIR draws on market trends and presents emerging longer-term investment and business opportunities to improve water security, resilience, and universal access to water and wastewater (W&WW) services as key enablers of sustainable economic growth, and social progress.

Investment opportunities highlighted in the 2022 MIR are public sector water and wastewater infrastructure (new W&WW infrastructure, renewal, and refurbishment), and smart systems for water and wastewater management.

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE 2022 MIR

According to the sustainable agriculture report, the national and provincial governments continue to place the growth of South Africa’s agriculture sector at the centre of their economic and job growth strategies and are focussed on ensuring that growth is inclusive.

Investment opportunities highlighted in the 2022 MIR are technologies relating to sustainable agriculture in the context of energy efficiency, renewable energy, regenerative agriculture, smart farming, controlled environment agriculture and electric machinery.

WASTE 2022 MIR

According to the waste report, the South African waste management and beneficiation landscape has been bolstered with the publication of South Africa’s new National Waste Management Strategy (2020), as well as the implementation of several key and progressive regulatory changes.

Moreover, the City of Cape Town is implementing its long-term Waste Sector Plan and shorter-term Integrated Waste Management Plan and will make considerable investments into material recovery, notably in recyclables and organic waste streams.

Investment opportunities highlighted in the 2022 MIR are organics, e-waste, plastics and municipal contracts, some of which are cross-cutting.