The role of the Standing Committees is to facilitate collaboration and tackle industry challenges in alignment with SAWEA's advocacy efforts for the wind energy sector.
Should you wish to participate in a Standing Committee, please complete the participation form.
Market Development
This Standing Committee will focus on expanding and accelerating the existing market for wind energy in South Africa as well as identifying new markets in which wind energy could play a role. This will be done through the review of and response to existing policies as well as by drawing up policy positions that can be used for advocacy purposes. The committee will also focus on strategically positioning wind as a leading generation technology to be further integrated into the energy mix in the short, medium, and long term.
Project Development
This Standing Committee will focus on all matters encountered during the project development process. This includes technical matters on grid access, optimisation, and integration as well as environmental surveying, permitting, and authorisation. The Standing Committee will also cover finance-related topics such as financial risk, investment, and tax implications.
Project Implementation
This Standing Committee will delve into the challenges involved during the implementation of projects, covering mostly EPC challenges and hurdles. The Standing Committee will further focus on the logistics of moving components and materials, compliance with regulations, engagement with local authorities as well as new technology, manufacture of components, and local content discussions from the wind OEMs.
Asset Management
This Standing Committee will focus on ensuring the smooth and efficient operation of existing wind farms through the identification of operational issues and the sharing of information that could assist in resolving challenges through presentations from asset managers and external service providers. This Standing Committee will focus on topics including enhancing asset management by focusing on operations and maintenance, the resilience of supply chains, health and safety considerations, as well as end of life strategies.
Social Impact
This Standing Committee will focus on creating and sharing the meaningful impact that wind projects have contributed in the local communities in which they operate and the greater South African economy through economic development initiatives, elevating gender diversity issues and creating a conducive landscape for skills development. The Standing Committee will tackle topics such as the Just Energy Transition; Skills development (new skills, upskilling, and reskilling); Enterprise and supplier development; socioeconomic and community development as well as gender diversity and transformation.
