Upturn for South Africa

In reaction to acute electricity shortages, the promotion of renewable energies and energy efficiency has reached high priority for South Africa. By 2030, the proportion of renewable energy is to substantially increase to 17.800 MW or approx. 44% in total. The massive and timely extraction of green electricity requires both fast and comprehensive consultation from all involved participants, including politicians, grid operators, energy providers and associations.

SAGEN: South African-German Energy Program

Within the context of German-South African development cooperation, the GIZ (German Corporation for International Cooperation GmbH) has initiated the South African-German Energy Program, abbreviated SAGEN. The program supported the South-African Ministry of Energy and partners such as the state-owned energy provider, Eskom, in strategically implementing work towards increased energy efficiency as well as the usage of renewable energies.

To implement SAGEN, energy & meteo systems supported GIZ with the goal of increasing the grid load capacity and improving energy systems. We advised on how the optimal integration of fluctuating renewable energy from wind and sun can succeed from the beginning in grids and markets. In doing so, laws and procedures at (government) agencies and with grid operators were taken into account.

Morever, energy & meteo systems delivered power predictions for all South African wind and solar farms. We were working with the power supplier Eskom to determine the effects of decentralized rooftop PV-systems on grids and power supply systems. Thus, energy & meteo systems was actively contributing to a better understanding of the usage of renewable energies and their incremental expansion in South Africa. The project was completed in May 2018.