Up to 50% of the annual inflows into the Western Cape’s Berg River Dam catchment and Limpopo’s De Hoop Dam catchment could be used up by alien plants over a period of 45 years, if they are left uncleared. This is the warning issued by water experts Dr David Le Maitre of the CSIR; Dr James Blignau...
CSIR researchers publish book on guidelines for planning and implementing green economy projects
A team of CSIR researchers recently published a book titled Green Economy Implementation in the Agriculture Sector: Moving from Theory to Practice. The book addresses a distinct gap, as there are currently no guidelines available for planning and implementing green economy projects in the agricul...
Draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2018
The Department of Energy released its draft Integrated Resource Plan on 27th of August 2018 to allow 60 days for public inputs and comments. The submission deadline was 26 October 2018. The CSIR consulted with various key stakeholders in the energy ecosystem towards the finalisation of its submis...
WEF founder encourages business, government and civil society to embrace fourth Industrial Revolution
The founder and chief executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Prof Klaus Schwab, has stressed the importance for government, civil society and business to work together to ensure the benefits of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) are distributed equally in society. Speaking in P...
Pinning down the period for increased risk of fire in the African savannas
Devastating wildfires are known to cause irreparable damage the world over. Studies conducted by CSIR earth observation experts revealed that determining the end of the growing season is important to be able to assess the risk of fire spread in the African savannas. The ability to manage the Afri...
Can we get 100% of our energy from renewable sources? New article gathers the evidence to address the sceptics
Is there enough space for all the wind turbines and solar panels to provide all our energy needs? What happens when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow? Won’t renewables destabilise the grid and cause blackouts? In a review paper last year in the high-ranking journal Renewable and Sus...
Hydrogen economy vital part of sustainable energy future
Source: Mail & Guardian ... Contact Person: Dr Henrietta Langmi, hlangmi@csir.co.za ,
Development of the Green Book on human settlement adaptation for climate change on track
The CSIR has completed the first stage leading up to the development of guidelines on how municipalities can adapt human settlements to withstand the impact of climate change. The development of the Green Book is a three-year project commissioned by the Canadian International Development Research...
Sasol Solar Challenge 2016 kicks off at Scientia on Heritage Day
The Sasol Solar Challenge 2016 comprising 14 teams, eight local and six international, will commence the eight-day event at the CSIR Pretoria campus on 24 September and conclude in Cape Town at the V&A Waterfront on 1 October 2016. CSIR scientists have again been asked to conduct inspections of t...
Young CSIR energy system modeller helps to quantify true value of renewable energy
There are many misconceptions about the value of wind and solar power, including that it is expensive and unreliable. Joanne Calitz is a young energy system modeller at the CSIR who uses mathematical modelling to quantify the true value of renewable energy in South Africa. “One of the biggest cha...