CEO Voice

CEO VOICE – APRIL 2023

Dear Members,

I am happy to report that we had a meaningful and robust engagement with the Ministry of Electricity on Tuesday, 24 April 2023 at the Union Buildings. SAWEA was represented by some members of the board, as well as the Executive Management. We have successfully positioned ourselves as an association that is able to contribute to the Ministry’s renewable energy plans, particularly with regards to the wind sector. The purpose of the meeting was essentially to understand the Ministry’s outlook on the future energy mix, and the mechanisms that will be employed to implement the energy action plan with reference to the acceleration of new generation capacity through renewable energy. In our engagement, we had the opportunity to raise concerns / challenges that the wind industry is currently facing, as well as provide solutions to some of the regulatory constraints to enable fair representation of wind across the energy mix.READ MORE

CEO Voice – March 2023

Dear Members,

The country has witnessed interesting positive development in the energy sector during the first quarter of 2023. The highlight being the significant appointment of Minister of Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. SAWEA is currently engaging with his office to discuss areas of possible collaboration and support for the wind energy sector and vice versa. We are motivated by the positive response and willingness from his office, and we should see this as the country’s commitment to providing an energy secure future.

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CEO VOICE – FEBRUARY 2023

Dear members,

We are living in unprecedented times with our country’s electricity crisis being declared a National State of Disaster, our state utility has an interim CEO at the helm and we wait to find out who will be the new Minister of Electricity.

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CEO Voice – January 2023

Dear members,

Reflecting on last year, it is clear that 2022 was a year of contrasts, with both successes and lost opportunities. We celebrated a number of regulatory changes namely the ERA amendments and ERA schedule 2, which have impacted our sector significantly, opening up opportunities in the private off-taker market and accelerating the liberalisation of the broader energy landscape.READ MORE

CEO VOICE – OCTOBER 2022

Dear Members,

The severe strains on the electricity system continues to frustrate the South African public. Eskom’s recommendations in presenting the transmission development plan provides some light on the future mix required for an optimal operating system. As SAWEA, we have supported and continue to support the system operator in its aim to plan for an energy secure future. The 50GW of new generation capacity in the next 10 years is aligned with the renewable energy sectors’ vision.  According to our mandate we continue to address blockages to wind power procurement and generation and are hence actively engaging on grid capacity challenges.READ MORE

CEO VOICE – SEPTEMBER 2022

Dear Members

We are just days away from Windaba 2022’s kick-off, which promises to be an outstanding conference, thanks to our members and broader industry’s continued support and involvement.  At the same time the EnergyDrive’s Cape Route will be launched, once again made possible by the many wind farms across the three provinces, which are funding this much-loved edu-vehicle.READ MORE

CEO VOICE – AUGUST 2022

Dear Members

As we mark another ‘Women’s Month’, I’m pleased to confirm our commitment to gender equality as demonstrated in the work that is being undertaken in the lead up The Wind and Solar Gender Diversity Study as example of the work being undertaken by our Association.  This study, which was conceptualised by SAWEA, funded by GIZ and undertaken by Urban Earth, is currently underway, and I am pleased to report that the literature review is complete and are moving into data collection.  Please look out for the survey on data that is required to inform this important study. In the next phase, we will be looking to conceptualise an industry led Gender Diversity Charter to direct the sectors commitment to diversity.READ MORE

CEO VOICE – July 2022

Dear Members

It’s just days since our President addressed the on-going energy crisis, outlining the government’s plan.  He was certainly candid in his approach, clearly stating the current challenges and laying out the numerous interventions, to tackle the energy crisis head on and further liberalise our energy system.READ MORE

CEO VOICE – JUNE 2022

Dear Members

As we continue our drive for increased wind power procurement support SA’s push of the Climate Agenda, the relevance and importance of educating school learners becomes increasingly relevant. With this in mind, we invite our members to once again support the EnergyDRIVE, which has already actively engaged with an estimated 4 000 learners over the last four years.READ MORE

CEO Voice – May 2022

Dear Members

As our country continues to bare under the weight of strangled energy availability, we now expect BW5 preferred bidders to reach financial close by the end of June, or late September 2022, pushed out from end-April, which was just six months after the bidders announcement, in October last year. The original timeframe was actually very tight considering the complexity of the market and scale of the procurement process.

This is something that our Policies & Markets WG is unpacking, namely the ideal timeframe for projects to reach financial close, which needs to be short enough so that pricing from suppliers and contractors can be as close as possible to the pricing that was bid on, and long enough so that all permits, consents, and the Eskom budget quote can be obtained as well as for all agreements to be negotiated and finalised.

Preparations for #WindAc Africa 2022 (11-13 October) are already underway, with our call for students to apply for sponsorship already live on the WindAc Africa website.  The sponsorship covers the conference fee; travel and accommodation expenses; a student workshop; as well as the very popular networking event.

We bid farewell to Letlhogonolo Tsoai, Technical Programme Officer, who has been a valued member of our team over the last 2 years.  We have commenced the recruitment process for a Senior Technical Advisor, which is a key role as this person will lead the management of all SAWEA working groups, manage research objectives amongst other key functions.

Kind regards,
Niveshen Govender
CEO, South African Wind Energy Association