The South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE) will host its inaugural National Conference in Johannesburg from November 27 to 29.

The conference will discuss how South Africa can ‘Engineer an Africa for the Future’ by bringing together local and international thought leaders to brainstorm critical issues that impact on the continent, namely building a sustainable energy future using a mix of technologies – including existing fossil-fuelled plant, gas, renewable energy, storage, nuclear – all in conjunction with the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

“One of the biggest challenges that our industry faces is the realignment and/or restructuring of the electricity supply industry. This includes the scaling up of all alternative energy sources, renewable, gas, hydro and nuclear energy generation in Africa.

“The question of a sustainable energy future is more imperative than ever as we navigate the economic and environmental challenges that lie ahead,” SAIEE CEO Sicelo Xulu says.

The conference will include a keynote address by Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan and a solutions-driven panel discussion on South Africa’s power crisis, led by award-winning business journalist Bruce Whitfield.

SAIEE will also be launching its Nuclear and Women in Engineering Chapters at the conference.

Meanwhile, the institute has welcomed the newly gazetted 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP 2019), particularly the energy master plan’s positive attitude towards growing renewable energy and storage in South Africa.

The IRP 2019 was gazetted by government on October 18.

Since the gazetting of the prior IRP, in 2010, several new technologies and environmental policies have been introduced that require an updated plan that considers all the necessary factors towards achieving a sustainable energy future for the country, says Xulu.

Last year, SAIEE jointly hosted a session with Conference Internationale des Grandes Reseaux Electriques, at the University of the Witwatersrand, to discuss the integration of renewable energy into the grid, and the broader implications for energy planning.