The South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) hosted its AGM this week and also released its annual report. As the recognised voice of South Africa’s PV industry, representing almost 500 members across the value chain, Creamer Media’s Terence Creamer used the opportunity to pose some questions to CEO Dr Rethabile Melamu on the state of the industry and its outlook. The questions and Melamu’s responses follow.
1. Why is this working group important? “The PV industry is growing and lacking skills”. To fill the gap and identify the skills that are needed in the PV industry, also drive the development of the training programmes and their quality assurances.)
2. Why should members join this working group? To make sure that the training guidelines we develop and the direction are and is in line with the needs of the industry.
3. What will the future of the working group look like? Develop road maps for solar PV training in different educational levels from schools, tvet colleges and universities. Also assure that the quality of the trainings which are offered and in place meet the standards and the demands of the industry.
4. What capacity (time, resources) is expected from members who want to join the working group? Make time to join and fully participate in the meetings.
1. Why is this working group important? Distributed Generation (which includes SSEG, EG, Wheeling Projects, BESS etc) in broad terms is the future solution for energy supply, not only in South Africa where load shedding exists, but also internationally. The reason is that on-site or localised generation (i.e. generation closer to load centres) from alternative and mostly RE resources are fast becoming cheaper than the traditional vertically integrated energy supply systems. Vertical systems also mostly rely on fossil-fuels which has to be transitioned away from in the interest of sustainability.
2. Why should members join this working group? Everyone has a duty to plough back into the industry within which he/she operates. This working group provides the opportunity to members from various backgrounds to become involved and contribute in fields wherein those individuals has expertise and could make a difference. It also creates the opportunity where participants in our industry get to know each other, thereby building your network to be able to share insights and gain insights. One proviso is however that this is a “working group”, not a sitting group, committee or a passenger group. If you don’t contribute and intend to just gain and not share then this group might not be for you.
3. What will the future of the working group look like? The working group would have diversified working streams whereby topical focus is obtained to a broad scope in industry interests to then provide feedback from such focused expertise to the larger working group for the benefit of the industry at large.
4. What capacity (time, resources) is expected from members who want to join the working group? A two-hour WG meeting every second month and a two-hour workstream engagement every alternate month. So two-hours per month in general unless there are occasions when members are called upon to engage externally in addition to just contributing to the current matters – such as industry forums, conferences, webinars, networking events etc.
1. Why is this working group important? To raise awareness among all stakeholders that buying locally manufactured products will ensure that the money spent by citizens stays in the country. It will also assist the country in realising its dream of growing the economy, safeguarding jobs, and creating more jobs for the unemployed.
2. Why should members join this working group? The benefit of this group work is that you can collaborate with experts who can learn from each other. Each group member will have something they can give the other team members. Local Manufacturing Members can get to understand the industry’s needs and requirements. End users will be able to understand what locally produced equipment is available in the market and share their requirements with the group.
3. What will the future of the working group look like? The expectation is that this working group will be able to engage with all industry stakeholders and offer solutions for all locally produced equipment and services at competitive rates.
4. What capacity (time, resources) is expected from members who want to join the working group? 1-2 Hours per month.
1. Why is this working group important? The Environmental Working Group is important as it keeps our members informed with current information regarding any new regulations applicable to the industry, regulatory changes or amendments, environmental best practices and compliance, trends and any other relevant topics.
2. Why should members join this working group? The working group is for participants that are passionate about making a difference and serving the sector for the best environmental results. The working group presents opportunities to learn and gain experience in areas outside of their own expertise and to share their knowledge with others. Participants and their specific expertise provide credibility to the work achieved in the working group.
3. What will the future of the working group look like? The working group will build on its knowledge base and expand into new areas that require focus for new matters at any specific time that the future will present in an ever-changing world.
4. What capacity (time, resources) is expected from members who want to join the working group? Members will need to be committed to serve at least 1.5 – 2.0 hours every quarter.
1. Why is this working group important? Grid Access is the single greatest challenge for the integration of renewable into the grid, not only in South Africa but Globally. This working group seeks to provide a platform for industry to support each other in all matters related to grid access, grid capacity, Eskom/industry discussions as well as keep up to date on the latest grid access rules be considered.
2. Why should members join this working group? Understanding the rules regarding grid access isn’t always easy, this working group is a great place to touch base with other industry colleagues to share knowledge, insight, tips and tricks as well as get access to the latest happening in the transmission grid access space. We also provide updates from the Energy Council and NECOM discussions with Eskom on the latest developing grid rules and proposals. We are also the creators and custodian of the National Annual Renewable Energy Grid Survey which is in the 3rd year of its existence. The national grid survey has become a key document to inform upcoming Eskom Transmission Planning studies such as the GCCA and TDP.
3. What will the future of the working group look like? We encourage broad participation by anyone in the industry with an interest in doing grid access applications. Future working groups will encourage grid managers from IPPs to assist with sharing knowledge from their own experience to benefit and give back in general.
4. What capacity (time, resources) is expected from members who want to join the working group? We will meet once every quarter. The working group will also call for volunteers for initiatives which may require additional donated time. The additional time will vary based on the initiative in question but is typically a few hours of service every month.
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