The Minister of Energy, Ms Dipuo Peters, will undertake a working visit to the United States of America from the 21st to 25th April 2013.
On Monday, 22nd April 2013, Minister Peters will participate in the Group of Friends on Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) High Level Event at the United Nations. Minister Peters will be joining the UN Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki Moon and the UNSG Special Representative and Chief Executive for the Sustainable Energy for All, Mr Kandeh Yumkellah as a speaker at the High Level Event.
In addition to scheduled bi-lateral engagements, Minister Peters has also been invited to address the 6th Annual Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) 2013 Summit which is taking place in New York City from 22 – 24 April 2013.
The BNEF Summit is an annual leading discussion forum for decision-makers in the clean energy sector. The Summit is an invitation-only forum providing a platform for engagement at the intersection of energy markets, industry, finance and policy.
The Minister has been invited to participate in this major Summit which consists of the pre-eminent decision-makers in the energy sector, especially the private sector.
Whilst in the United States, the Minister will also visit Shale Gas infrastructure and sites in the Pennsylvania area. South Africa is estimated to contain 485 Trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas in the Karoo Basin. Following the upliftment of the moratorium by Cabinet, more research and engagement is required to inform South Africa on the potential and proposed development path of this new energy resource. Minister Peters regards continued engagement with all sectors as important in this regard, and will amongst others also meet with local regulators and community members in the areas adjacent to the gas extraction sites.
Enquiries:
Email: johannes.mokobane@energy.gov.za / mediadesk@energy.gov.za
Tel: 012 406 7481
Cell: 082 766 3674
Email: Zodwa.batyashe@energy.gov.za
Tel: 012 406 7484
Cell: 082 455 9796
Information Note to Editors
Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit
Year on year, the Summit offers the opportunity to tackle the issues that will drive this industry forward. A global community of thought leaders will address the issues that are critical and strategically important – and create frameworks for future market developments.
The three core issues which will be addressed at the Summit are succinctly particularised below:
a. Integration of renewable energy into electricity markets, in particular the impact of non-dispatchable generation on the economics of conventional assets (coal and gas) and the integration and alliance with other mainstream industries e.g. automotive, telecoms, water;
b. Consolidation of the equipment supply chain as uneven and slow economic growth stunts demand in the short to medium term.
c. Communication externally will be critical as the industry reaches scale and faces the twin challenges of austerity programmes and a higher profile garnered from being a greater portion of the energy mix.
