B Sonjica: Wind energy seminar

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