SPECIAL FEATURE: Localisation retains renewable capital in SA

Cape Town - The localisation of manufacturing in the renewable energy sector in South Africa is important from an economic perspective, according to Ludwig van Aarde, technical director of Biotherm.

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Localisation now at 50%

Van Aarde said there are case studies which show in the first Independent Power Producer (IPP) round in SA local content was only about 20%. Today it is close to 50%.

"You can imagine on a R2bn project the capital that would then be retained in SA. That is one of the reasons why localisation is quite critical in my view," said Van Aarde.

"That is why it is important to create a local manufacturing base for renewable energy projects and the equipment we use on these projects."

Dr Tobias Bischof-Niemz, centre head at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), said SA is moving into a cleaner power system, which means less carbon intensive power generation.

"We have a significant energy transition going on. Our main mission and vision is to create the knowledge base to be the foundation for that energy transition," he explained.

Chris Ettmayer, energy manager of the industrial development zone (IDZ) in East London, said they looked at what could be easily localised and what would be a conducive environment for localising certain technology.

"We provided those key drivers which would then enable localisation. We then applied to the Department of Trade and Industry for the development of a specialised energy manufacturing cluster," said Ettmayer.

"This would allow smaller companies to share the same facility. That then gives them a foot into ultimately becoming a full-blown manufacturer."