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.
Energy security continues to dominate the energy conversation noting the Minister’s public announcement of his plans to unveil a mega bid window of over 15,000 megawatts of additional renewables which needs to be better understood in its implementation.
The Ministry also took the opportunity to summarise their overall vision of positioning South Africa as the largest green sector and economy on the continent. The wind industry was commended for its contribution to the energy sector really developing and contributing towards economies in complex regions providing positive socio-economic impact in remote communities.
In summation, we agreed to convene every six weeks to further deepen our relations. SAWEA will work together with members, the Ministry and respective government entities such as Eskom to realise the acceleration of the energy action plan.
As we head into the month of May, I would like to also take this opportunity to request members to consider actively participating in the upcoming Global Wind Day by providing project accessibility to surrounding communities and schools. Global Wind Day is a worldwide event that occurs annually on 15 June. It is a day for discovering wind energy, its power, and the possibilities it holds to reshape our energy systems, decarbonise our economies and boost jobs and growth. Please also do share your planned activities that could be amplified through SAWEA’s digital platforms.
From an industry event point of view, SAWEA was invited by the Northern Cape Economic Development Agency (NCEDA) to participate in the development of a Master Plan for Green Hydrogen Production on Tuesday, 2 May 2023 in Cape Town. Thank you to all members that have RSVP’d and let us collectively continue to advocate for the wind energy sector with every opportunity presented.
Kind regards,
Niveshen Govender
CEO, South African Wind Energy Association
