FEATURE-South Africa film sets ditch diesel in green energy shift

Large-scale international productions can afford clean technology, but costs are a barrier to smaller-budget films, said Marisa Sonemann-Turner, chief operating officer ⁠of Film Afrika, the local production company that worked with Netflix on "One Piece." Transport remains a major hurdle as there is a "constrained supply of clean mobile power solutions and low-carbon vehicles," she said.

* Netflix and Disney among firms pledging to halve direct emissions by 2030 * South Africa emerging as test bed for clean film set technology

* Cost and logistics remain barriers for smaller-budget productions By Kate Bartlett

JOHANNESBURG, April ​29 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - S olar panels are replacing diesel generators on some major film sets in South Africa, as streaming ​giants come under growing pressure to clean up one of the film industry's dirtiest habits - ‌its ​addiction to diesel generators. Netflix shot the second season of its hit show "One Piece" in Cape Town, its biggest production in Africa to date and the first to be filmed using a solar-powered base camp for off-grid electricity during a shoot.

"What we've shown here is that productions don't have to rely on diesel to achieve reliability at scale. There are cleaner, quieter solutions that integrate seamlessly into how film ‌productions on location already operate," said Abe Cambridge, co-founder of Cinergy Mobile Power, the South African company that provided the green energy on set. His company used clean mobile energy systems across production sites, including a 400 kilowatt-hour battery system paired with 150 kilowatts of solar - enough to power 40 average European households - at Cape Town Film Studios.

Off-site construction and operations were powered by 60 kW of solar. Altogether, Cinergy said, this system saved production of "One Piece" 93 tons of CO2 emissions, roughly the same as 30 return flights between London and Cape Town. The film industry typically uses ‌diesel-powered generation for the huge energy needs required for each production, especially on location.

RMI, a U.S. think tank focused on the energy transition, said diesel generators accounted for about 15% of most film and TV productions' emissions - an estimated 700,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions ‌annually. But with pressure on big business to go green, and the marketing clout that comes from doing so, Netflix and Disney are among a growing number of film and television companies that have publicly pledged to cut emissions by up to half by 2030.

Netflix's most recent environmental, social and governance report showed that the streaming service's principal source of emissions, about 41 percent in 2024, comes from productions of films and series. "Since 2023, all of the scripted productions we directly manage incorporate some form of clean mobile power," Netflix said in an emailed response to questions.

"In places like South Africa where cleantech is not available everywhere, we're achieving industry firsts like with 'One Piece,' where ⁠our investment in ​solar has led to new innovations like creating a solar-powered battery hybrid ⁠system, inclusive of solar panels and batteries to power base camp," the company said. Britain's ITV has also worked in South Africa, with Cinergy providing clean power for the current season of "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here," filmed near the iconic wildlife reserve of Kruger National Park.

"We were able to massively reduce our fuel use with Cinergy's ⁠solar and battery solutions to be pretty much fuel-free and help protect a beautiful part of the world in the process," said Phil Holdgate, head of production sustainability at ITV Studios. He said while the company might still hire generators as a backup, "our ambition is always to be fuel-free."

Sharply rising oil prices as ​a result of the conflict in the Middle East have added an extra incentive. "Producing our own power from the sun also provides some protection from volatilities in the fuel market, such as price shocks and availability issues," Holdgate said.

BARRIERS TO GOING ⁠GREEN Still, Cambridge acknowledged there were logistical challenges when filming in more remote locations in Africa.

One type of battery weighs nine tonnes and needs to be moved by crane. But once it is at a base camp, it can be used there for at least a month. The other is on a fully mobile trailer. Cambridge said when the ⁠global ​film industry gives statistics on how it has incorporated clean power onto sets, they often mean linking a diesel generator to a battery.

That may be efficient, reduce the use of dirty fuel and is something his company also sometimes employs. However, "what we also do is then tap solar into the energy mix, and that just reduces or entirely eliminates the need of having a diesel generator to charge your battery," he said. Large-scale international productions can afford clean technology, but costs are a barrier to smaller-budget films, said Marisa Sonemann-Turner, chief operating officer ⁠of Film Afrika, the local production company that worked with Netflix on "One Piece."

Transport remains a major hurdle as there is a "constrained supply of clean mobile power solutions and low-carbon vehicles," she said. Air travel is also unavoidable on international productions, though big companies often offset ⁠this with carbon credits.

The technology used on green sets is also mainly ⁠imported, with the solar panels bought from China. Still, South Africa's film industry contributes between 3.5 billion rand ($211 million) and 5.4 billion rand to the economy and supports up to 12,000 jobs, according to statistics provided by Film Afrika.

Turning to clean energy to power the film industry may help South Africa remain a competitive production location. Zizipho Zikhali, operations manager at GreenSet, part of the South African Film Academy, said this ‌was all quite new for the country's film ‌business.

"As recently as 2023, if a production had asked whether diesel generators could be replaced with clean mobile power at scale, the answer would ​have been no," Zikhali said. ($1 = 16.5726 rand) (Editing by Jonathan Hemming)