RE: SAEEC & DoE Minister

I am currently attending the South African Energy Efficiency Conference, and the minister of energy, Dipuo Peters, just spoke. Here are my notes from her talk:

· There was a cabinet discussion yesterday on the National Integrated Resource Plan

o President asked – “Are there the necessary skills and resources?”

o Minister, after seeing the audience today, would reply: “Yes – they need to be deployed appropriately”

· Energy Sector = Critical for growth, criticial for poor South Africans

· Minerals gave form to industrialisation

· Cheap Energy has not promoted Energy Efficiency – they have been opposed to each other

o This is an unsustainable paradigm, supply orientated only

o Energy / GDP very high

· Energy = 80% of emissions

· Must do more RE & EE

· 2005 EE target - 12% against projected national energy usage by 2015

· Mines can do 15% with no cost / low cost technologies + good housekeeping

· Biofuels into mix for road freight

· Alternative ways for heating in low-cost housing

· Integrated Energy Centres for communities

· Technologies on the road map: Nuclear, wind, solar, CCS

· Have we done what is required? Do we live our lives according to what we preach? We all should be living energy efficiently

· Need more Energy Efficiency activists

Frank