South Africa film sets ditch diesel in green energy shift

Netflix and Disney are among the companies that have pledged to reduce direct emissions by half by 2030

South Africa emerges as a test bed for clean-film set technology

* Cost and logistics are still barriers to smaller budget productions

By Kate Bartlett

Netflix filmed the second season of "One Piece" at Cape Town. It was its largest production in Africa and first time using a solar-powered camp to provide off-grid power during a shoot.

"We've demonstrated here that productions do not have to rely solely on diesel in order to be reliable at scale. "There are cleaner and quieter solutions which integrate seamlessly with how film productions already operate on location," said Abe Cambridge. He is the co-founder of Cinergy Mobile Power in South Africa, who provided the green power on set.

His company has used clean mobile energy across all production sites. This included a 400-kilowatt battery system coupled with 150-kilowatts solar power - enough for 40 European average households to be powered - at Cape Town Film Studios.

Solar power of 60 kW was used to power off-site operations and construction. Cinergy reported that this system has saved 93 tons CO2 emissions from the production of "One Piece", roughly equivalent to 30 flights back and forth between London Cape Town.

Diesel-powered generators are used by the film industry to meet their huge energy requirements, particularly on location.

RMI, an American think tank that focuses on energy transition, stated diesel generators account for approximately 15% of the emissions from most film and television productions. This is equivalent to 700,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

Netflix and Disney have made public pledges to reduce emissions by half or more by 2030. This is due to the pressure that big businesses are under to be green and to benefit from marketing.

Netflix's latest environmental, social, and governance report revealed that productions of movies and series will be the main source of emissions for Netflix in 2024. This is estimated to be about 41 percent.

Netflix responded to questions via email by saying that "since 2023, we will be incorporating some form of clean mobile energy into all the scripted shows and films we manage directly."

The company stated that "In South Africa, where cleantech isn't available everywhere, our investment in solar has led to industry firsts, such as creating a solar powered?battery-hybrid system, which includes solar panels and battery to power base camp."

ITV, a British broadcaster, has also been working in South Africa, where Cinergy provided clean power for "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here," a show filmed near Kruger National Park, a wildlife reserve.

"We were able reduce our fuel consumption with Cinergy’s solar and batteries solutions, to be almost fuel-free. We also helped protect a beautiful area of the world," said Phil Holdgate.

While the company may still use generators for backup purposes, "our aim is to always be fuel-free."

The sharp rise in oil prices due to the conflict in the Middle East has added an additional incentive.

Holdgate added that "producing our own energy from the sun also protects us from volatility in the fuel markets, such as price fluctuations and availability issues."

BARRIERS FOR GOING GREEN

Cambridge admitted that filming in remoter locations in Africa posed logistical difficulties.

A nine-ton battery must be lifted by crane. Once it's at the base camp, you can use it for at least one month. One is on a trailer that can be moved around.

Cambridge says that when the film industry provides statistics about how they 'have incorporated clean energy onto sets', it often means linking a diesel engine to a battery.

His company sometimes uses this method, which is efficient and reduces the use of dirty diesel fuel. He said that "we also tap solar energy into the mix and this just reduces or eliminates the need to?having diesel generators to charge your batteries."

Marisa?Turner, chief?officer at Film Afrika, a local production company which worked with Netflix to produce "One Piece," said that large-scale international productions could afford clean technology.

She said that transport remains a major obstacle due to a "limited supply of clean mobile energy solutions and low carbon vehicles".

International productions also require air travel, but big companies offset it with carbon credits.

Solar panels are mainly purchased from China.

According to Film Afrika, South Africa's movie industry supports between 12,000 and 12,000 jobs and contributes 3.5 billion rand (about 211 million dollars) to the economy.

South Africa may be able to remain competitive by using clean energy for the film industry.

Zizipho Zikhali said that this was a new experience for the South African film industry.

Zikhali stated that "as recently as 2023 if a production asked if diesel generators could have been replaced by clean mobile power on a large scale, the answer was no." $1 = 16.5726 rand (Editing by Jonathan Hemming).

(source: Reuters)