The Clean Power Africa conference and exhibition in Cape Town in September will focus on new opportunities in the clean energy sectors such as retrofitting hydropower to current dams and helping the mining industry to use excess water to provide onsite power.

South Africa's Energy Minister Elizabeth Dipuo Peters will welcome delegates at the official networking reception at the event which will boast over 600 visitors from across the globe. Clean Power Africa incorporates the fifth edition of the hugely successful Hydropower Africa 2012 conference and exhibition and the second year of Solar Energy Africa.

New opportunities
Says the Clean Power Africa conference director Nicolaas Loretz: "we have found that most utilities, municipalities and governments need more insight into retrofitting hydropower to their current dams. Also new opportunities have arisen in the mining industry where excessive water or flooding is now used to provide onsite power for mines and the Clean Power Africa programme will elaborate on this."

He continues: "a very exciting trend in the hydropower sector is that conduit hydropower and generating hydropower energy from current water distribution systems are getting more and more traction and most utilities are now looking to capitalise on this."

Solar updates
According to Loretz, South Africa's Renewable Energy IPP Procurement Programme will be discussed and Energy Minister Dipuo Peters, will elaborate on the way forward. "The programme will also provide up-to-date information on major projects and future prospects for project development, including mini, small and large hydro as well as PV (Photovoltaics) and CSP (Concentrated Solar Thermal Power). More coal-fired power plants are now incorporating CSP and the programme will include updates on this", says Loretz.

Clean Power Africa programme highlights include:
• Perspectives on Africa's renewable energy potential and trends and prospects on emissions trading
- Glenn Hodes, Senior Energy Economist & Program Advisor, UNEPO Risø Center, Denmark
• Education and capacity building in the clean power industry
- Bernhard Pelikan, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna / ESHA

Hydropower Africa:
• Realising the potential and development of small hydropower and pumped-storage projects in Africa
- Chandirekera Mutubuki-Makuyana, Senior Advisor Renewable Energy, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, Zimbabwe
• Retrofitting hydropower to South African dams
- Bo Barta, Member and Custodian, Small-Hydro Interest Group, Sustainable Energy Society Southern Africa (SESSA), South Africa
• Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol and how hydropower works alongside other renewables
- Cameron Ironside, Programme Director, International Hydropower Association (IHA), UK
• Neusberg 10MW small hydro plant for RSA REFIT Programme – contractual and technical challenges
- Malcolm Green, Legal and Contracts Manager, Kakamas Hydro, South Africa
• Workshop on Conduit Hydropower and generating hydropower energy from current water distribution systems

Solar Energy Africa:
• Potential for CSP to be incorporated with South Africa's coal-fired plants
- Kadri Nassiep, CEO, South African National Energy Research Institute (SANERI), South Africa
• How to successfully integrate PV/CSP and wind into the Grid
- Ayanda Nakedi, Head of Renewables Business Unit, Eskom, South Africa
• Thermal energy storage as an enabling technology for renewable energy
- Mkhulu Mathe, Energy & Processes Manager, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa

Site visits
The event will also host site visit tours to some of the most exciting and power plants in Africa, including Katse Dam (one of the 10 largest concrete arch dams in the world in terms of its volume), Steenbras (the first hydroelectric pumped-storage scheme in Africa), Palmiet PSS (won an award for Most Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement by SAICE) and South Africa's first concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar demonstration plant at the Aquila safari lodge, near Touws River.

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