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Wind energy body appoints new board

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 13 Nov 2019
South African Wind Energy Association CEO Ntombifuthi Ntuli.
South African Wind Energy Association CEO Ntombifuthi Ntuli.

Renewable energy industry body, the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA), has announced three additions to its board of governance, effective immediately.

Mark Tanton, Dhesen Moodley and Toni Beukes will now be board members, joining existing members Tobias Bischoff-Niemz, Katherine Persson, Ntombifuthi Ntuli (ex-officio) and Mercia Grimbeek, who returns to the board after being re-elected as chairperson of SAWEA.

SAWEA, which represents interests in the South African wind power value chain, says the reconfigured board will be charged with steering the wind energy sector and advocating for a clean and affordable energy mix, of which wind energy is a big part.

Additionally, this group will lead the organisation into the new procurement rounds in line with the recently approved Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2019, as well as operationalise the industry commitment statement which has a strong focus on transformation and economic development.

Government finally gazetted the long-awaited new IRP 2019 last month, with SAWEA previously blaming it for investors holding back investment.

The adoption of the IRP 2019 came after government had, on multiple occasions, failed to approve the draft.

The latest IRP consists of additional capacity of 1 500MW coal, 2 500MW hydro, 6 000MW photovoltaic, 14 400MW wind, 2 088MW storage and 3 000MW gas.

Ntombifuthi Ntuli, CEO of SAWEA, says: “It is great that the newly-elected board members hold strategic leadership roles in their respective organisations, and therefore they bring immense experience in the wind energy sector and particularly the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, ensuring the organisation is well positioned to provide leadership to the broader industry.”

The current board represents a blend of developers (30%), independent power producers (60%) and original equipment manufacturers (10%), which are critical role-players in the wind energy value chain, according to Ntuli.

Tanton was instrumental in the establishment of SAWEA, and the organisation says he brings a lot of governance and industry experience, having been one of the first developers to pave the path of wind energy in SA.

Similarly, it says Beukes, who is an admitted attorney and has 12 years of experience in the energy sector across oil, gas and renewable energy, will be invaluable to SAWEA. Her renewable energy experience stems from her work under the Renewable Energy Programme.

Lastly, SAWEA says Moodley’s experience has seen him develop, bid, finance and manage IPPs in SA and Mozambique across coal, gas, wind, solar and hydro technologies.

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