The South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (Sapvia) and German solar association Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft (BSW-Solar) have teamed up to support the development of the nascent rooftop photovoltaic (PV) market segment in South Africa.

The agreement, formally signed in Munich, would see the parties cooperate on a number of critical initiatives and draw on the experiences of the industry in Germany.

“There has been widespread recognition that rooftop PV holds great potential for South Africa. A hint in this regard is the fact that, in 2015, new capacity additions from rooftop PV installations, in megawatts peak (MWp), outpaced those related to the large-scale Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme,” explained Sapvia CEO Moeketsi Thobela.

The cooperation also aimed to facilitate the development of a framework of the minimum internationally benchmarked quality and safety standards for solar PV installations that installers would be required to meet, providing assurance for residential customers, investors, banks, insurance companies, electricity distributors and relevant State organs.

“Our experience from Germany’s PV market – comprising rooftop and ground-mounted PV systems with a total installed capacity of close to 40 000 MWp – is that quality installations are a prerequisite for the sustainable evolution of this market,” said BSW-Solar MD Jӧrg Mayer.

The agreement also provided for business-to-business interactions among members of the respective associations and it was envisaged that small- and medium-sized enterprises active in the PV sector in Germany and South Africa would benefit from this.

“It is our intention to support Sapvia and key stakeholders in South Africa by sharing our experience in the implementation of a safety and quality assurance system,” Mayer commented.

South African German Energy Programme (Sagen) programme director Sascha Thielmann added: “We are confident that the cooperation will ensure sustainability, reliability and customer satisfaction in the South African PV rooftop market.”

Sagen was established by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit to support the implementation of renewable-energy and energy efficiency measures in South Africa and to facilitate the development of the roof-top PV market in South Africa.