After more than two years awaiting Cabinet approval, the South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (SAREM) may finally be adopted in April, says Deputy Minister of Electricity and Energy Samantha Graham-Maré.
Speaking during an EE Business Intelligence webinar, Graham-Maré acknowledged the bureaucratic hurdles delaying the approval process but expressed determination to see it finalised. “I am adamant that we will not let another month pass without SAREM being signed off,” she said.
SAREM is set to play a pivotal role in expanding the country’s renewable energy sector by creating an environment for industrialisation and manufacturing. “While we are cognisant that trying to compete with China in solar panel production is unrealistic, South Africa has significant potential to manufacture key components for solar, wind and green hydrogen technologies,” she said.
SAREM also positions South Africa as a key contributor to Mission 300 – an ambitious initiative led by the World Bank Group, the African Development Bank and other stakeholders – to provide energy access to 300 million African people by 2030 through clean energy solutions.
Referencing Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s recent budget speech, when he announced a credit guarantee vehicle for transmission procurement, Graham-Maré said the National Transmission Company South Africa will also facilitate a build, own, operate and transfer package to support and fast-track the transmission build. “Unlocking transmission is fundamental to resolving our energy crisis and fulfilling the Mission 300 objectives. It requires collaboration between business and government to make it a reality,” she said.
New platform launched to address skills gap
Graham-Maré also welcomed the recent launch of PowerUp – a skills resource platform created by the Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority and GreenCape with support from the UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions programme. Designed to address the skills gap in the renewable energy sector, PowerUp connects industry needs with training institutions and facilitates the development of new qualifications.
“The platform functions as a demand-driven skills pipeline. Businesses can list the skills they require on the platform and those can be met by individuals who have been trained in those skills. Where these do not yet exist, tertiary institutions can design courses around the skills demand,” she said.
Encouraging widespread industry participation, she said the initiative will only succeed if enough companies and prospective employees signed up on the platform. “We need numbers to make a real impact and develop people to work in the renewable energy space.”
The Just Energy Transition for munics
Discussing the financial challenges of South Africa’s Just Energy Transition (JET), Graham-Maré spoke about the potential of carbon and green energy trading as funding mechanisms for renewable projects.
“While the International Partners Group has committed over R10 billion to finance the JET, much of this funding is in the form of concessional loans with only a small portion in the form of grants. Loans remain out of reach for small community projects and struggling municipalities. It is the small community projects in municipalities where the JET and renewable energy projects are needed most.”
There has been reliance on grants for too long, she added. “I’d like to see a shift from the reliance on grants towards leveraging assets.”
Carbon trading could provide municipalities with additional revenue streams while driving demand for small-scale embedded generation projects. “By developing this mechanism, we can lower municipal electricity costs, create more capacity for renewables on the grid and supplement municipal revenue and it can help municipalities reduce their debt to Eskom, which currently stands at R100 billion,” Graham-Maré said.
