A solar initiative titled Southern African Solar Thermal Training and Demonstration Initiative (SOLTRAIN) was officially launched in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
These SOLTRAIN projects, a district heating plant for Wits University residences and a solar process heat plant for the Klein Karoo International (KKI) tannery, is expected to save millions in energy costs over the lifetime of the plants.
SOLTRAIN in South Africa is managed by the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies at Stellenbosch University, and the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI), in partnership with AEE-Institute for Sustainable Technologies (AEE INTEC) from Austria.
SOLTRAIN – is a regional initiative on capacity building and demonstration of solar thermal systems in the SADC region.
It is funded by the Austrian Development Agency and co-funded by the OPEC Fund for International Development.
The launch follows the fourth SOLTRAIN Conference, held on 14 May 2019 in South Africa, for all SADC project partners and opened for free attendance to the solar sector.