CSIR and Nedbank join the RES4Africa Foundation

CSIR and Nedbank have joined the RES4Africa Foundation, a private sector and member-driven organisation advocating for investment to accelerate Africa’s renewable energy transition. The Rome-based organisation said CSIR and Nedbank are the first South African organisations to take part in the assembly of RES4Africa members.

“Their membership was approved and made official by RES4Africa’s Steering Committee, following a solid working relationship established between RES4Africa, CSIR and Nedbank over the past few months,” the Foundation commented in a media statement.

RES4Africa Foundation says despite South Africa boasting the largest electricity market in Africa and successfully initiating a renewable energy transition, South Africa’s power sector is experiencing some challenges.

RES4Africa Foundation programme on South Africa

The RES4Africa has a dedicated programme on South Africa’s energy transition. The organisation recently released a publication called A Just Energy Transition in South Africa (developed in collaboration with CSIR and ERM) with the aim to support the nation’s renewable energy transition. The organisation believes that partnering with South African organisations is key to facilitating its agenda hence the partnership with CSIR and Nedbank.

Head of the Energy Centre of CSIR, Clinton Carter-Brown, said the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is pleased to join the RES4Africa Foundation. “The integration of the work of the CSIR Energy Centre and RES4Africa Foundation is hoped to have lasting positive impact on energy access, sustainability and equality” 

Amith Singh, Head of Energy Finance of Nedbank CIB commented saying Nedbank is committed to use its financial expertise to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and renewable energy. “”We are honoured to become a member of the renewable energy value chain that seeks to address energy challenges facing the continent, using our collective muscle, and membership of this august network positions the bank to contribute to this vital development,” he added.

South Africa’s renewable energy resource have massive potential

South Africa’s economy is dependent on the extraction and export of coal, and its electricity demand has been weak and negatively influenced by frequent supply shortages, rising tariffs and lower economic growth. Moreover, its generation mix is based on increasingly older plants, which reduces the reliability of supply, while new generation capacity addition has been slow to materialise despite the approval of the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan that sets out a clear policy for the increased deployment of renewable energy sources. 

South Africa’s renewable resource wealth offers tremendous opportunities for clean and sustainable power generation, which is expected to play a key role in addressing the supply demand imbalance and supporting economic growth and prosperity in the region.

“The challenges that South Africa’s power sector is experiencing offer the opportunity to scale up the deployment of renewable energy, which has the potential to ensure a more reliable and sustainable electricity service, at a fairer price” states Salvatore Bernabei President of the RES4Africa Foundation