Solar Water Heaters Launch at Hessequa, Riversdale

On the 17th April I participated in a Solar Water Heater Project Launch that was held in Riversdale in Hessequa Local Municipality (just about under 100km away from George). The event was graced by the presence of MEC Tasneem Essop, the Provincial Minister of Environment, Planning and Economic Development, and the National Minister of Minerals and Energy, the Honorable Minister Buyelwa Sonjica.

As South Africa is facing power outages as well as load shedding, this initiave aims at contributing to Electricity Savings in the Province. Solar Water Heaters/Geysers have been identified as one of the measures to be installed by households and businesses in order to save electricity. In this project, 240 SWH units will be installed in Riversdale alone, and about 760 in Cape Town.

This project will also address three areas of challenge, namely,
(1) Global Climate Change (SWH uses clean energy to heat water - no emissions released during the operation of the unit),
(2) Job Creation & Poverty Alleviation (about 50 jobs were created in Riversdale alone - a training academy for SWH is to be established during 2008)
(3) Save electricity (this technology save up to 40% of the total electricity consumption for heating water)

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Exhibition for the Cuban visitors

Due to my exhibition experience in my organisation, I have been tasked to lead a team of staff to exhibit for the "Friends of Cuban Society" in Cape Town as well as Cuban visitors to South Africa. Among the delegation is the son of the former president of Cuba, the Nuclear Physicist Professor Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart.

On the 31 March he presented a lecture at CSIR where he noted that Energy Conservation and the use of Renewable Energy (wind and solar) is an alternative to nuclear energy. He made a note that there was a time when Cuba had power outages just like South Africa, but they no longer have. Some of the topics being presented by him and the South Africa research institutes and Government are Biotechnology, nanotechnology, nuclear and energy technology as well as climate change.

The workshop between the Western Cape Provincial Goverbnment and Cuban will focus on "Energy and Climate Change" issues. Our organisation has made strides in the area of Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy policies, and Climate Change strategy. We will be exhibing some of the work done by our organisation.

During the Event

The venue was packed to full capacity with activists, representatives from NGO's, and the public. A documentary on "Cuba and the Peak Oil Crisis" was played. I was so impressed by how the Cubans managed to survive the energy crisis. They used bicycles to commute, created mixed use buildings (houses/schools/shops/workplace in close proximity), practiced urban farming, organic farming (with less use of fertilisers and pesticides), conserving energy, increased the supply using renewable energy (Solar PV, Solar water heaters, wind facilities), etc.

The documenntation was followed by followed by powered speeches by the MEC Tasneem Essop and Dr Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart. The Western Cape Environment minister highlighted the challenges of 2006 power outages in the Western Cape, and how the province joined hands to save energy. She also dealt with the hot issues of Climate Change. "The poor people are the most vulnerable to Climate Change effects", she said. Dr Castro noted that Cuban theme for the year is "Energy Revolution". He highlighted what Cuba has gone through and had their breakthrough with regards to energy issues.

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