The Minister of Energy, Ms Dipuo Peters, today, Thursday, 4 November expressed confidence that the Solar Park Conference that was held in Upington marked an important milestone in the realisation of the project.
“The conference was an overwhelming success given the attendance by top executives CEOs and MDs of some of the world’s top solar companies. The conference was oversubscribed. We initially expected 300 delegates, but we finally had about 450 people. The very fact that Eskom’s CEO, Brian Dames and Chairperson, Mpho Makwana attended and made a compelling presentation demonstrated the seriousness with which this project is being taken,” Minister Peters said.
The Solar Park Project has its genesis in the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed between the Department of Energy (DoE) and the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) in October 2009. The prefeasibility study that was subsequently commissioned demonstrated that the Northern Cape has the highest radiation level in the country and is perfectly suitable to host a solar park.
The DoE and the CCI have now commenced with the feasibility study. Meanwhile the recently released Draft IRP2010 makes reference to the 7200 Megawatt worth of renewable energy power that can be realised in the next two decades of the project.
Finally, the mere fact that government has set itself a target of 1 100 megawatt worth of power in the first phase of the park is great step in the right direction and we have been taken aback by the fact that we now have offers on the table that goes beyond government’s targets, Minister Peters concluded.
Enquiries:
Bheki Khumalo
Cell: 082 773 2388
Zodwa Batyashe
Cell:082 455 9796
