Cape Town - The Solar Power Africa conference got under way at the Cape Town International Convention Centre yesterday where government, the private sector and energy leaders discussed the increasing role that the solar PV and energy storage industries will play in resolving South Africa’s energy crisis.
Sentiment at the conference was that despite the persisting regulatory red tape, those in the industry were meeting the accelerated demand and shining a light on SA’s energy crisis.
Department of Mineral Resources and Energy acting deputy director general Mthokozosi Mpofu said that the solar PV industry (and the renewable energy sector in general) has delivered, and was continuing to deliver, when the country needed it most.
Economic growth Mayco member James Vos gave the keynote address on the future of the Solar PV sector and said that it was important to note the significance of the summit taking place in Cape Town, which has been hailed as a pioneer for its efforts to reduce load shedding and reliance on Eskom’s strained power grid by pushing ahead with energy solutions.
“This was evident in the City’s announcement that businesses and residents will receive cash for selling their excess power into Cape Town’s grid; the tender for the engineering, procurement and construction of a 7 megawatt solar power plant in Atlantis.
“A 200MW procurement of renewable energy was concluded last year and tenders will be awarded in the coming months. The City also issued a tender for third-party aggregators who will reward ‘Power Heroes’ for reducing their electricity usage.
“In the coming weeks we will also launch our own set of ease-of-doing business indicators to cut turnaround times for issuing construction permits, approvals for development applications, and to cut red tape for investors wanting to expand their operations here,” Vos said.
SA Photovoltaic Industry Association (Sapvia) CEO Rethabile Melamu said that the summit was taking place after their local content study, which would ensure that they were best placed to unlock market opportunities along the solar PV value chain for the benefit of Sapvia’s members and the country as a whole.
kristin.engel@inl.co.za