[ Home ] [ Speeches & statements ]

23 January 2009

Programme Director
Honourable Minister Per Stig Moller
Your Excellency Ambassador
Your Excellency Ambassador Dolana Msimang,
Your Excellency Ambassador Mary Sibanda-Thusi,
Officials from the Royal Danish Government and Embassy
South African government officials
Members of the media
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

It is indeed a great pleasure and honour for me to be part of this Wind Energy Seminar held here today. This event is even more appreciated as it shows that the friendship between our countries has really overcome the test of time. We as a people will always appreciate the assistance given to us during the times of turmoil and hardship that engulfed our country in times past. As friends we have also grown and matured from a time of relating as donor and recipient to the current one of partners.

Minister Moller and Excellencies, we have come a long way since the inception of the Darling demonstration wind farm jointly by the South African and Danish governments. The co-operation that the South African government has with the Danish government, ably facilitated by the Royal Danish Embassy, has seen substantial funding flow into our country in the last decade. Through this co-operation in the late 90's, the Danish Corporation for Development (DANCED), now the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) funded the Capacity Building in Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (CaBEERE) project implemented by the Department of Minerals and Energy between 2000 and 2005.

DANIDA was also one of the investors who helped South Africa realise its first wind farm by contributing a grant of DKK 15.1 million (Danish Krone) for investment and technical assistance into the Darling wind farm. The Darling wind farm, which is a national demonstration project, is a 5.2MW plant with a potential of being expanded to 13MW during its second phase.

From research, I understand that wind is the world's fastest growing energy source with an average annual growth rate of 29% over the last ten years and the wind industry provides more jobs per capita than conventional power generation. Over 70 countries now have wind power and many developing countries have joined the trend recently, including Brazil, Egypt, Iran and South Africa.

Offshore wind power plants have grown significantly since 2006 with several projects ranging from 100MW to 300MW underway in Europe and the United States of America. It is said that wind power now dominates new capacity investment with approximately 47% share compared to about 30% for solar photo voltaics and a meagre 9% for solar water heating.

Here at home, there is a huge technical potential for wind energy estimated to be in the region of 64 000 GWh. This potential presents an investment opportunity to achieve a more ambitious target for renewable energy beyond the current modest 2013 target of 10 000GWh. We believe that this is a realistic target and we will continue to monitor and review our performance in this regard as the need arises.

Along with this global focus on wind energy development, it must be acknowledged that developing the local South African potential will not be without challenges not least of which is the heavy reliance on imported technology. Our ideal therefore, Honourable Minister, is that part of this co-operation will include exchange with regards to skills leading to local production.

The global wind power industry has experienced supply chain difficulties due to booming demand and we hope that through this co-operation with the Danish government we will be able to find innovative ideas to address such challenges and advance the growth of the wind energy sector in South Africa.

In order to stimulate wind power development beyond the 5.2MW plant at darling, the DME is implementing Phase one of the South African Wind Energy Programme (SAWEP). This is a two year technical assistance project which started in February 2008. One of its objectives is to install and operate up to 5.2MW Darling wind farm and prepare the development of a further 45MW so that more wind farms can be developed by the private sector.

Programme Director, let me highlight some of the current activities undertaken through SAWEP:
* support and capacity building for the South African Wind Energy Association,
* activation of the green power guarantee scheme for the City of Cape Town,
* support for the development of the Renewable Energy Sectoral Business Case,
* wind resource assessment where an updated and more accurate national wind atlas will be produced, and
* an investigation into the Development of a Wind Industry in South Africa.

Without repeating myself, I must appreciate that some of these SAWEP activities were made possible through our partnership with the Danes and the good work of committed and dedicated local personnel at the Royal Danish Embassy. Through staff at the Royal Danish Embassy, we have been able to forge a new partnership with a reputable Danish research institution, the National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy (RISO). RISO, in collaboration with the South African National Energy Research Institute (SANERI), the South African Weather Services and the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) are updating the wind resource map which I mentioned earlier.

The benefits of this partnership also include the knowledge and skills that will be transferred to the South African Weather Services and the CSIR during the implementation of this project.

Technology and skills transfer are at the core of our efforts to develop a sustainable wind energy industry in South Africa. The revival of the South African Wind Energy Association will enhance these efforts and strengthen our commitment to working together with our partners in the private sector.

The establishment of the Renewable Energy Market Transformation Project Implementation Support Unit at the Development Bank of Southern Africa will also be an additional technical support for the development of wind energy and other renewable energy projects in the country. The country needs to develop and successfully promote large, commercially viable, renewable energy projects to demonstrate government's commitment to renewable energy development and to convince others that renewables can make a difference in terms of our power supply.

It would be amiss if I were not to mention in appreciation the work put into making the South African government's pilot project into mixed housing as embodied by the N2 Gateway in Cape Town energy efficient through renewable energy. The installation of solar water heaters means that the need for conventional heating is reduced and the use of clean energy is elevated.

Honourable Minister, ladies and gentlemen, let me also take this opportunity to say that the Royal Danish government has also given an amount of R60 million to the metropolitan areas at local government for renewable energy projects. This is not just for wind energy but includes those projects looking capacity building to harness the potential for the use of methane captured from landfills.

Programme Director, this Seminar comes at an opportune time as the DME will be conducting a mid-term review of the renewable energy target in March this year. The successful implementation of renewable energy projects, especially large-scale wind farms, will contribute towards the achievement of this target and beyond while also helping South Africa to diversify the current energy mix. The DME will make it a point that we create an enabling environment for potential investors that need to exploit our rich renewable energy resources.

Minister Moller, I appreciate the previous co-operation agreements that we have had with the Danish government. I am looking forward to signing the Declaration of Intent for co-operation in the areas of renewable energy and energy efficiency as planned during this seminar. This will go a long way in the battle against energy poverty and assure a better life for all our people.

Thank you.

Issued by: Department of Minerals and Energy
23 January 2009