DNV GL Exclusive Diamond Sponsor at African Utility Week in Cape Town in May

Cape Town, South Africa, May 01, 2015 --(PR.com)-- DNV GL, a leading global testing, certification and advisory services company, is the exclusive diamond sponsor at the upcoming African Utility Week, 12-14 May at the CTICC in Cape Town, South Africa. The event is expected to again attract more than 5,000 power professionals and feature 250 exhibitors, 190 speakers, eight conferences, free technical workshops on the expo floor, three high-profile plenary sessions and the coveted industry awards gala dinner. Attendees will include utility heads, the continent’s leading renewable energy project managers, investors and technology providers.

During African Utility Week, DNV GL will release findings from a large survey for Africa on three dynamics reshaping renewable and grid connection. “We know that renewables and the grid is a complex issue worldwide,” says DNV GL Energy’s Africa Area Manager Sliman Abu Amara. “It is the same in countries such as Germany and the US, but we are also aware of this from our work in South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Egypt and Morocco. This is why at African Utility Week, we will announce the results of our survey to develop tailored solutions for African grid challenges, to enable African utilities to connect and integrate more renewables into the grid.”

DNV GL is working on the largest wind and solar energy projects in Africa, including in South Africa, Egypt, Kenya and Morocco. In South Africa alone, DNV GL has been involved in nine wind projects (including Dorper and Gouda Wind Farms), and one solar project. In Kenya, DNV GL is the engineering partner in the 300MW Lake Turkana project, which will be the single largest wind park in sub-Saharan Africa.

A 21st century energy network
At the African Utility Week DNV GL wants to demonstrate its commitment to the development of the power sector in Africa. “We have noticed a lot of things happening in the African market, in South Africa, in sub-Saharan Africa and in Northern Africa,” says DNV GL’s Abu Amara. “The African market is ready for the penetration of larger scale renewable energy on the continent. For African utilities to continue attracting investments in solar, they have to solve issues related to grid integration. In 2020, we will see very strong deployment of solar technologies in Africa, like never before.”

According to Abu Amara, he sees Africa’s lack of an extensive national grid network “not as a challenge but as an opportunity: to develop and install a 21st century energy network. One that is fit for the purpose of carrying energy from multiple sources, enabling trading between nations, with storage and smart systems built and designed in from the very start.”

He continues: “The technology has been developed in Europe where the challenge of retro fitting is much more difficult than starting with a clean slate. So in many ways, Africa is poised to show the world that a clean, intelligent, sustainable and sophisticated energy system can exist in this century. Overall, the provision of access to affordable clean energy, particularly in rural areas, will support rapid economic development and a reduction in environmental decline as people switch to clean energy sources.”

African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa are organised by Spintelligent, leading Cape Town-based trade exhibition and conference organiser, and the African office of Clarion Events Ltd, based in the UK.

African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa dates and location:
Exhibition & Conference: 12-14 May 2015
Industry awards: 13 May 2015
Site Visits: 15 May 2015
Location: CTICC, Cape Town
Contact
African Utility Week
Annemarie Roodbol
+27 21 700 3558
http://www.african-utility-week.com
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