The City of Cape Town will welcome some 600 local and international renewable energy experts at the upcoming Clean Power Africa conference and exhibition in Cape Town from 4-5 September, to focus on new opportunities in the hydropower and solar energy industries. South Africa's Energy Minister Elizabeth Dipuo Peters will address delegates on Tuesday afternoon at the official networking reception.

Says Cape Town's mayor, Patricia de Lille: "Sustainable sources of energy are essential to the future of Cape Town, as it is to all major cities throughout the world. In Cape Town we have to seek a delicate balance between the need to provide access to electricity for citizens, and that of constantly finding mechanisms to promote the use of efficient and diverse sources of sustainable energy. It is therefore apt that the Clean Power Africa conference will see energy experts meet under one roof to discuss the best ways to ensure sustainable energy for all of Africa, which in turn can contribute to economic and social development."

More speaker highlights at the event include:

- Councillor Xanthea Limberg, Chairperson: Energy and Climate Change Committee, City of Cape Town
- Nelisiwe Magubane, Director General, Department of Energy, South Africa
- Garth Aspeling, Mechatronic Engineer, Water and Sanitation Department, Utility Services Directorate, City of Cape Town
- Mlamli Mabulu, Mechatronic Engineer, Water and Sanitation Department, Utility Services Directorate, City of Cape Town
- Tinus Keyser. Chief Engineer and Turbine System Engineering Manager, Eskom Peaking Generation, Cape Town
- Christine Wörlen, Independent International Renewable Energy Expert, Germany
- Ayanda Nakedi, Head of Renewables Business Unit, Eskom

Delegates at Clean Power Africa will also have to opportunity to visit three projects to see renewable energy in action in the Western Cape, namely the Steenbras Pumped Storage Scheme, Klipheuwel Wind Energy Facility and the Aquila CPV solar demonstration plant.
Clean Power Africa will focus on new opportunities in the clean energy sectors such as retrofitting hydropower to current dams, assisting the mining industry to use excess water to provide onsite power and look at applying Photovoltaics and Concentrated Solar Thermal Power.

The event incorporates the fifth edition of the hugely successful Hydropower Africa 2012 conference and exhibition and the second year of Solar Energy Africa.

Event dates and location:
Pre-conference workshops: 3 September
Conference and exhibition: 4-5 September
Site visits: 6 September
Location: Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), South Africa
Event website: www.cleanpower-africa.com