Minister of EnergyTina Joemat-Pettersson (Pic By www.gov.za)
More than 3 000 delegates are expected to start arriving in Cape Town this week ahead of the South African International Renewable Energy Conference (SAIREC 2015). Focusing on the theme of RE-energising Africa, SAIREC 2015 will be held at the city’s International Conference Centre.
“We are delighted to welcome delegates from our country, our continent and the world to this sixth International Renewable Energy Conference, which is a historic first for Africa,” says SA Minister of Energy Tina Joemat-Petterson.
“This is the first conference of its kind on African soil and we are proud to have the honour of hosting this vital meeting on behalf of our continent. “It is particularly appropriate as South Africa was recently ranked by the United Nations Environment Programme among the top 10 countries investing in renewable energy.”
The international renewable energy series of conferences was previously hosted in the USA, China, Germany, India and the United Arab Emirates. Delegates are typically high-level decision makers and thought leaders, ranging from government ministers to academic researchers and experts and specialists from industry and civil society. SAIREC 2015 is hosted by SA’s Department of Energy and the SA National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI), in association with the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) and the German government.
Session themes range from energy interconnectivity on the African continent to technological innovations and energy-smart cities. Speakers from the African continent include Laura Nhancale, Director of Studies and Planning at the Ministry of Energy in Mozambique; and Ethiopia-based Kutane Terfa, Public Health and Environment Programme Coordinator for the World Health Organisation. From beyond Africa, speakers include Dr Eng Luis Crespo, President of Protermosolar in Spain; and Tetsunari Iida, Chair of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies in Japan.
Aiming to accelerate global scale-up of renewable energy, delegates will exchange experiences, solutions and visions and discuss energy security and access. “This makes SAIREC 2015 a key stop on the route to COP21, which will take place in Paris, France, within just two months,” says Minister Joemat-Pettersson.
“We also believe the conference and accompanying exhibition will demonstrate why Africa is a business destination of choice for the renewable energy sector,” she says. “We shall be showcasing the wide-ranging successes of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).
“In line with our National Development Plan to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030, the REIPPPP combines creating new sources of energy to power our country’s development with empowerment through socio-economic and enterprise development.”
The REIPPPP has contributed an extra 6327MW of capacity to the SA national electricity grid since 2011. Working with nearly 100 independent power producers so far, its rollout has attracted almost R193 billion of investment from the private sector, about a quarter of this from overseas. Nearly 20 000 job years have been created. About R25 billion has been committed to education, health, welfare, environmental and entrepreneurship projects, mostly in rural and impoverished regions.
“South Africa wants to share the knowledge and experience we have gained in the REIPPPP with other countries on the continent and the world, and SAIREC is an ideal opportunity to do so,” says SA Minister of Energy Tina Joemat-Petterson.
