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Organisation profiles Solar Engineering Services
Full contact details
PO Box 628
Kloof
3640
South Africa
E-mail: soling@...
Phone: +27-31 764 6292
Fax: +27-31 764 1266
Main contact person
Mr. Will Cawood
Background, mission and goals
Mission: Solar Engineering Services is dedicated to working with people to build a better and environmentally sustainable South Africa credit Winrock International. We do this through research, project implementation, capacity building, information dissemination and networking
Vision for the future sees these income generation and labour saving activities being fully integrated within the community. We believe that this will result in the best possible long-term sustainability prospects for each individual project. By way of example, the brick manufacturer(s) would supply bricks to be used in both the construction of the water tanks to contain the harvested rainwater, to construct the biogas digesters and in the construction of other civil works, as required.
The gas generated from the digesters would allow a more widespread use of gas cookers, irons and refrigerators, thereby creating potential small business opportunities and also improving personal food hygiene. Electric generators run off biogas can become widespread. Cooking, refrigeration and lighting, with their concomitant benefits, can become widespread using biogas.
Biogas digesters, using human faeces as the raw material, are planned for schools, thereby reducing the cost of stand-alone power, improving hygiene, providing fertiliser and allowing a major leap in the quality of education to be effected. Hence, when viewed in this light, there is common cause between the brickmakers' activities and the education to which their children have access. See our renewable energy wheel, which summarises our approach, and where we think it is all heading.
Approach, organisational programmes and activities:
Our approach has been to focus intensively, and over a fairly long period of time (eight years), on one area, in order to provide a model for replication elsewhere. Our focus area is Maphephetheni www.solarengineering.co.za/maphephetheni.jpg in the Valley of a Thousand Hills, outside Durban, in KwaZulu/Natal, South Africa. We are approaching the completion of the first phase of our work to establish suitable, widely-applicable, development methodologies. We feel that the stage is now set to further develop, and duplicate, our model of appropriate integrated rural development in other areas.
Examples of past successes and experience
Our previous endeavours, we can boast the following successes:
The Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) is currently implementing a national Non-Grid Electrification (NGE) program based on the outcome of SES's pilot solar home system programme, financed by the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) and the DME. The program was initiated in 1996, with loan finance from a local bank. By December 1998 a total of 49 of the required 50 systems had been installed. 19 SHS's have since been removed due to poor payment records, 32 are now fully paid up and 3 still being paid for on a monthly basis.
Myeka High School has been electrified using solar PV and connected to the Internet using GSM/satellite technologies, with funding from SELF and donations from a range of private sector companies. The school now boasts 27 networked computer workstations and full access to email (see www.myeka.co.za). The International Solar Energy Society (ISES), in conjunction with the Solar Schools - Brighter Future Competition (see www.ises.org/ises.nsf), judged two students' art and essay works to be winners. These two students and their principal attended the ISES Millennium Solar Forum held in Mexico City in September 2000, at the sponsor's expense.
Myeka High is the first school in South Africa to use human waste from the school toilets together with cow dung in Biogas digesters to produce methane gas which is used by the domestic Science and Physics classes and generate electricity via a diesel generator.
Solar Engineering Services was also nominated for the Energy Globe 2001 and received a 3rd prize in the category "Education for the Future".
We have also completed a number of labour saving and income generation applications of renewable energy that were funded by Winrock International. These include: domestic biogas digesters, solar-powered pay cellphones, battery charging centre, treadle pumps, ram pump, crop dryers & various cookers.
We are also working with Durban Metro Housing Unit to promote the wide spread use of solar water heaters (SWH) in South Africa, especially in low-income housing areas. We have active engagement with the SWH industry and are also members of the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) Working Group tasked with upgrading the standard for SWH.
Solar Engineering Services performs the above activities in collaboration with a number of NGO's, Banks and Tertiary institutions which include: The Valley Trust (TVT), African Christian Action Trust (ACAT), Hlomisa Enterprise, Biogas Energy & Agriculture Development (BEAT), Durban Alternative Ernegies Co. (DEAC), Embo Craft, Partners in Development, (Community Awareness & Promotion (CAP), Ithala Bank, University of Natal (DBN & UNP campuses), University of Durban Westville and Durban Institute of Technology (DIT). Without their help and cooperation we would not succeed in the tasks we undertake.
Overall institutional structure
Solar Engineering Services is a South African company made up of two staff members: Will Cawood (Director), Richman Simelane (Administrator/Field Assistant).
Our policy is to employ the minimum number of permanent staff needed to administer projects successfully. We sub-contract project implementation to experts in the particular field, whenever this is practical and desirable for the successful implementation of projects.
Other details
Solar Engineering Services is Winrock International?s Renewable Energy Project Support Office (REPSO). Funding for most of our programmes originates from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) via Winrock International.
We are also the local representative for the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF). Both organisations are US based. Solar Engineering has collaborated with a number of local NGO's: The Valley Trust, Khuphuka, Agama Energy, Community Awareness and Promotion, Melusi Training & Development, Less Carbon, Parallax ACAT & Hlomisa Development Enterprises. Their contributions include community entry negotiations, ongoing liaison and conflict resolution, training, quality control, inspection of installations and maintenance surveillance.
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