South Africa is set to play host to Africa’s first international renewable-energy conference, providing a platform to showcase the continent’s numerous renewable-energy projects to high-level international delegates, in Cape Town, from October 4 to 7.
The South African International Renewable Energy Conference (Sairec), under the theme ‘Re-energising Africa’, was expected to attract over 1 200 delegates from more than 35 countries to address renewable-energy security and access.
The conference, which was the sixth in a series of events previously held in Germany, China, the US, India and the United Arab Emirates, would be hosted by the Department of Energy (DoE), the South African National Energy Development Institute, the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century and the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbiet.
Sairec 2015 would provide Africa an opportunity to showcase its promising renewable-energy industry and why it should become the business destination for the renewable-energy sector, while gaining experience and knowledge from the best practices from countries at the forefront of renewable-energy deployment, explained Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson at a media briefing on Monday.
“[The conference] will demonstrate why Africa is the business destination for the renewable-energy sector, given its current growth trajectory and need for investment in clean energy to underpin sustainable economic growth,” she said.
South Africa planned to showcase 16 of its own renewable-energy projects, including solar and biomass, along with the related socioeconomic projects, training facilities and the business opportunities created.
Joemat-Pettersson noted that the DoE would also highlight its Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, the progress made and how the programme had more than halved the cost of renewable-energy generation.