{
  "id": 3483489,
  "title": "In South Africa, renewable energy latest part of timber industry’s green efforts",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/in-south-africa-renewable-energy-latest-part-of-timber-industrys",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-26T10:09:21.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mongabay",
    "slug": "mongabay",
    "url": "https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/in-south-africa-renewable-energy-latest-part-of-timber-industrys-green-efforts/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Johannesburg, South Africa: Timber giant York Timber Holdings has struck a 10-year renewable electricity deal with electricity trader Discovery Green to power its Jessievale sawmill, marking a shift toward sustainability in South Africa's timber industry. According to Linmari Pelser, the company's group risk and compliance officer, the renewable energy agreement will account for about 90% of the mill's electricity needs going forward.\n\nPelser explained that the 10-year contract provides York Timbers with access to renewable electricity on a large scale, while also offering long-term certainty in terms of electricity costs. Discovery Green, a subsidiary of South Africa's leading health insurance provider, operates a renewable energy division that assists companies in enhancing energy efficiency and transitioning to clean energy, including \"wheeling\" agreements similar to the one signed with York Timber.\n\nUnder the agreement, electricity will continue to flow through the existing infrastructure, but Discovery Green will ensure an equivalent amount of power from solar and wind producers nationwide is fed into the national grid. In addition to the renewable electricity deal, York Timber also operates a 700 kW solar farm at the sawmill.\n\nThis move is expected to cut the sawmill's greenhouse gas emissions and insulate the company from potential electricity tariff increases and future carbon-based costs, such as South Africa's upcoming Carbon Tax, which was introduced in 2019 and is set to phase out allowances that reduced the cost burden for polluters. Dan Ginsberg, head of actuarial and research and development at Discovery Green, emphasized the benefits of the partnership.",
  "summary": "JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — York Timber Holdings signed a 10-year renewable electricity agreement with electricity trader Discovery Green for power for its Jessievale sawmill in June 2026. Renewables will now make up approximately 90% of the mill’s electricity use, and the agreement is a trend that is spreading amongst commercial users in South Africa. “The […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Daily Maverick",
        "title": "MACABRE BUSINESS OP-ED: Shot, skinned and sold: South Africa’s enormous trade in wild primates",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/25/macabre-business-op-ed-shot-skinned-and-sold-south-africas-enormous",
        "published": "2026-08-25T17:48:16.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}