The Kuyasa Low Income Urban Housing Energy Update is a low cost housing and poverty alleviation project in Kuyasa, Khayelitsha. This project is a successful Clean Development Mechanism project where houses in this low-income area have been retrofitted with solar water heaters, insulated ceilings, and energy efficient lighting.

NOTE: Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is one of the flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol that enables South African developers to develop projects that mitigate global climate change and contribute to sustainable development. The resultant greenhouse gas (GHG)reductions may be presented to industrial countries with GHG targets for investment in the projects or puchase carbon credits. The Kuyasa CDM project is a collaborative partnership between the City of Cape Town and SouthSouthNorth, a non-profit developmental organisation. The project is an intervention in an existing low-income housing development of 2309 homes in Kuyasa Khayelitsha, as well as in future housing development of 100 hectares in this area.

The Kuyasa Clean Development Mechanism will retrofit 2310 households in Khayelitsha (which previously used as much as 25% of their income on energy services). These housing units previously had electricity but no hot water storage geysers (providing hot water on demand) they also had no ceiling insulation. The households were dependent on batch heating for hot water and inefficient methods for space heating, during the four coldest months of the year.

Individuals: The retrofits have resulted in improved thermal performance of the housing units through the introduction of energy efficient lighting, ceilings, ceiling insulation, and solar water heaters. The results from technical research and social monitoring of the Kuyasa project highlights a 5% temperature increase in winter, a 5% decrease in summer through energy efficiency practices, and a saving of up to 40% on electricity bills thanks to less need for artificial heating and cooling. This has meant reduced electricity consumption per housing unit and significant reductions in Carbon Dioxide (CO2 ) emissions per unit - a saving in the annual cost of energy services to households by approximately $96 per household. Society:Retrofitting the homes in Kuyasa, has reduced localised and national air pollution, with subsequent decreases in pulmonary pneumonia, carbon monoxide poisoning and other respiratory illnesses. Reducing the household cost of energy through reduced energy demand and consumption, has made more disposable income available for the residing poor families. A decrease in accidents, damage to property and loss of human life as a result of fire is also a direct benefit. Economy:The project's high sustainable development contribution and poverty alleviation aspects continually draw attention from all quarters, including investors. The project prior to its completion in July 2007 will create employment in the way of 100 person years (employment of 1 person for 100 years, or 2 people for 50 years etc.) for installation of technologies and associated infrastructure (excluding local manufacture of the technologies which will add to this figure). The Net Present Value of the income from the emissions reductions will cover 20% to 30% of the capital costs of the installation of these technologies, based on the current nature of the carbon market.Environment:The City of Cape Town has become the first African city to prepare an Energy and Climate Change strategy. As part of the city's commitment to a renewable target of 10% renewable energy supplied by 2020 the City has finalised an agreement to purchase green electricity from the country's first independent commercial windfarm that will generate an estimated 13.2 Gigawatt-hours per year of clean electricity. The South African government has set a target of an additional 10,000 Gigawatt hours a year in renewable energy for the national power grid by 2013.

The city is focused on demand side management, installing a range of different efficient appliances, light bulbs and solar hot water heaters. Interventions such as these may help prevent the spending of millions of dollars in building additional generating capacity and thus mainstreaming energy efficiency. The Kuyasa project and its related energy efficiency and provision of enery to the urban poor can help to buffer against service interruptions and also draw marginalised people into global environmental issues.

Individuals:The aim of another of the city's projects is to promote sustainable development in a practical manner at a household level. The nominee's project, 21 Households focuses on several themes two of which are energy and transport. Participants in the project have indicated that they gained a gread deal from the experience and have made sustainable changes within their home and communities. This project helped to mainstream clean energy through the provision of incentives to participants.Society:One of the important aspects of mainstreaming relating to Kuyasa is that the project has guided the South African governments housing policy by making ceilings a standard product in the building of new houses (thus ensuring that the efficiency associated with having an insulated ceiling is made part of the mainstream in South Africa). Additionaly the lessons on the Clean Development Mechanism side of the Kuyasa project, have contributed to the establishment of a new category of small scale projects for CDM trading in the international carbon trading arena.Economy:One way in which the project will help to mainstream clean energy in economic terms is the job creation associated with retrofitting homes in low-income areas. The Kuyasa retrofit will create employment in the way of 100 person years (employment of 1 person for 100 years, or 2 people for 50 years etc.) for installation of technologies and associated infrastructure (excluding local manufacture of the technologies which will add to this figure). Environment:An energy retrofit of Khayelitsha housing will save R68,000 on energy costs, resulting from a reduction of 200 tonnes of CO2 emission annually. In addition, the City of Cape Town, through a corporate inventory, discovered that municipal buildings account for 16% of total emissions. To reduce these emissions, a pilot energy retrofit was started an an employee awaress campaign launched. This measure has resulted in annual savings of 130,000kWh of electricity worth US$6000 and 140 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. Since its completion the project has led to two additional buildings being retrofitted and other that are audited and awaiting retrofit funding. This shows that witin its own operations it is beginning to mainstream clean energy and efficiency.

The Kuyasa project, as outlined above, is an excellent example of how energy efficiency and clean energy have ecological advantages (emission and air pollution reductions)and a siginificant cost savings element. In the South African context demonstrating the cost savings is critical when presenting project to decision makers.The Kuyasa project is an important adjunct to the CIty of Cape Town's pressing integrated human settlement requirements and will help se the direction for sustainable housing construction in the long term. A summary of the specific benefits of the project include:- Improved thermal performance of the housing units through the introduction of energy efficient lighting, ceilings, ceiling insulation, and solar water heaters. - Reduced electricity consumption per housing unit, significant reductions in Carbon Dioxide (CO2 ) emissions per unit. - Reducing localised and national air pollution, with subsequent decreases in pulmonary pneumonia, carbon monoxide poisoning and other respiratory illnesses. - Reducing the household cost of energy through reduced energy demand and consumption, making more disposable income available for the residing poor families. - A decrease in accidents, damage to property and loss of human life as a result of fire is also a direct benefit.

The Kuyasa energy efficiency project has received significan international recognitions and acclaim. It has been recognized by the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership as a model project for national replication. It is also the first solar thermal and energy efficiency project worldwide to be validated as the world's first World Wildlife Fund Gold Standard CDM project. The success of the Kuyasa project will leverage additional projects in other muncipalities South Africa.