The development of renewable energy in South Africa will get a boost with the establishment of an international partnership between the South African and European governments, as well as the European Investment Bank (EIB). The South African Renewables Initiative (SARi) aims to mobilise domestic and international funding, and sector expertise, to support South Africa to implement its ambitious plans for the scale-up of renewable energy.

The Declaration of Intent was signed in the South African city of Durban, which is hosting the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties, COP 17/CMP7.  This initiative is expected to scale-up and secure long-term funding to enable the growth of the renewable energy industry in South Africa. Agreement for the South African Renewables Initiative was signed by South African Minister of Energy, Ms. Elizabeth Dipuo Peters and the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. Rob Davies,  representatives of partner governments and the European Investment Bank.

South Africa’s Minister of Energy, Minister Dipuo Peters, noted that: “South Africa has a large potential for renewable energy, with over 18 GW already included in the current Integrated Resource Plan. South Africa already benefits from international partnerships in the energy field, but this is different: The South African Renewables Initiative will not only contribute towards the growth and deployment of renewable energy, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and enhanced energy access, but, equally importantly, it will also enable South Africa to boost the development of new green industries, and new green jobs in renewable energy and its value chain. “

Simon Brooks, EIB Vice President for Climate Action added: "South Africa's commitment to scale-up the contribution of renewable energy promises to deliver a major step change in the deployment of clean energy to power growth across the country. This engagement will create both green jobs and new economic activity. The European Investment Bank looks forward to working with South African partners both to share experience from renewable energy projects around the world and to see how best to support individual schemes."

Expanding on the opportunity, South African Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. Rob Davies noted that “Renewable energy is an opportunity for Africa. African countries need to become producers as well as consumers of tomorrow’s technologies. As South Africa begins to roll out large scale renewables, we are seeking to do this in a way that maximises industrial and job creation benefits. By working together with international partners, we can ensure that there is the funding, investment environment, and skilled workforce in place to enable the renewable energy industry to grow and thrive. The South African Renewables Initiative aims to unlock the environmental, industrial, and economic benefits that large-scale renewable energy offer to South Africa, without imposing an unacceptable burden on our economy, public finances or citizens.”

Joining Minister Peters in signing the Declaration of Intent on the South African Renewables Initiative (SARi) were Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for the Government of the United Kingdom; Erik Solheim, Minister of the Environment and International Development for the Government of Norway; Norbert Röttgen, Federal Minister for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety for the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany; Martin Lidegaard, Minister for Climate, Energy and Building for the Government of Denmark and Simon Brooks, Vice President for the European Investment Bank.

The South African Renewables Initiative (SARi) aims to mobilise domestic and international funding, and sector expertise, to support South Africa to implement its ambitious plans for the scale-up of renewable energy. The South Africa Renewables Initiative (SARi) is an initiative of the Government of South Africa and has been developed as part of the Industrial Policy Action Plan, and is an integral part of South Africa’s National Climate Change Response Strategy.

The aim of the initiative is enable the ambitious scaling up of renewable energy in South Africa, as envisaged in the Integrated Resource Plan for electricity.  This would deliver benefits for jobs and industrial development, energy security and regional energy development and would contribute towards South Africa’s international commitments, under the UNFCCC Cancun Agreement to contribute towards global climate change mitigation efforts.

The SARi International Partnership has been developed to support these objectives. It will bring together the South African Government with international partners from other governments and development finance institutions to work together towards the aim of developing the enhanced financing arrangements needed to catalyse growth in the renewable industry and associated industrial and economic benefits.

The key task of the partnership in 2012 will be to support South Africa to develop operational financial mechanisms, and to secure funding to enable an ambitious scale up of renewables.

It is envisaged as a growing partnership, which will draw in additional partners in order to enable South Africa to mobilise the scale of financing, needed to achieve its ambitious goals. It is also intended to demonstrate and share learning from an innovative large-scale collaboration to mobilise investment into climate compatible infrastructure and green growth.