Cape Town - CPUT vice-chancellor Chris Nhlapo and Eskom chief executive André de Ruyter have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to formalise their collaboration to establish a renewable energy training centre at Komati Power Station in Mpumalanga.
CPUT’s SA Renewable Energy Technology Centre (Saretec) will support Eskom for 36 months to establish a similar fit-for-purpose renewable energy training facility to train artisans and technicians at Eskom’s Komati Power Station.
Signing the agreement on behalf of Saretec at the Bellville Campus, Nhlapo said the objective of the agreement, which supports Eskom’s Just Energy Transition strategy, was to educate, re-skill and upskill Komati’s staff and qualifying beneficiaries from the surrounding communities.
Nhlapo said the Western Cape’s largest university was the perfect home for a project of this nature.
“Saretec is already part of a portfolio of excellence at CPUT. We have a proven track record of being trusted with nationally imperative projects and consistently fulfilling and exceeding the brief.”
He said Saretec had shown CPUT had the requisite skills and agility for the project, which is a tripartite agreement between Saretec, Eskom and the SA Wind Energy Association (Sawea) to establish an Eskom training centre as part of the Just Energy Transition.
De Ruyter said given the accelerated global movement towards investment in a clean energy transition, there was a need to skill, retrain and develop a workforce to take full advantage of the opportunities presented.
He said Eskom’s plan is to repurpose the coal-fired power station for good use while maintaining an enabling environment for economic growth to prevent any possibility of creating ghost towns following the decommissioning phase.
“We estimate that 300 000 jobs could be created thanks to the transition to renewable energy and that is why it is so important that we engage with a reputable education institution like CPUT to reskill these people who are currently working in the coal value chain to work in renewable energy.”
CPUT Engineering and Built Environment faculty Dean Marshall Sheldon said Saretec had, since its inception, established itself not only as a renewable energy subject matter expert, but significantly contributed to the national skills pool of artisans and technicians with special focus on wind and solar.