Africa’s potential to be one of the biggest consumers of renewable energy will be one of the topics to be discussed at the forthcoming International Solar Energy Society (ISES) Solar World Congress.

The biennial conference, to be held in Johannesburg in October, will focus on the role that renewable energy can play in developing impoverished communities.

ISES Solar World Congress 2009 chairperson Jon Adams says that Africa is “a sleeping giant” that has the potential to be one of the largest global consumers of renewable energy. However, owing to the poor financial positions of many African countries and the lack of legislation to entrench a renewable-energy culture in those countries, many African countries have failed to reach their renewable-energy potential.

The fact that it requires significant capital to establish a renewable-energy project further complicates the situation.

“The focus of the conference will be the role that energy can play in creating a sustainable future for rural communities,” says Adams.

Greenhouse Gases

He adds that the conference will also seek to find ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Adams says that the responsibility to resolve these issues lies with governments, and that South Africa’s establishment of a renewable-energy feed-in tariff (Refit) programme to kick-start the country’s renewable-energy sector is encouraging.

However, he says there are problems on the horizon: “The fact that photovoltaic energy is excluded from the proposed Refit programme is disappointing as the country has a great potential in that energy sector. I also feel that the South African target of 3% renewable- energy consumption by 2013 lacks ambition. If the right steps and processes are imple- mented, then South Africa can achieve a renewable-energy consumption target of 15% by 2015.

“Germany is currently sitting on 14% renewable-energy consumption and the country has far more climatic irregularities than South Africa. The sun shines half as much in Berlin than in Pretoria.”

However, he reiterates that the start-up capital for renewable-energy projects is significant. He reports that a 1-MW solar energy grid connecting system project, which has the potential to supply energy to between 500 and 5000 homes, depending on an area’s energy usage, will cost in excess of R50-million. “However, one needs to take into account that solar energy is free energy,” says Adams.

He reports that the ISES Solar World Congress will not only be a lecture and debating forum, but that there will also be a renewable-energy exhibition, where technology from different countries, both developed and developing, will be on show.

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