South Africa’s Department of Minerals and Energy has announced plans to begin the South African National Energy Development Institute (Sanedi) after the Q2.
Sanedi would essentially be the assimilation of the existing energy research organizations of Saneri, and the National Energy Efficiency Agency (NEEA).
“Our immediate objective is to establish when and how Sanedi will be operationalized this year, because we have decisions to make as to how this entity will be funded, and where it is going to be located,” said South African National Energy Research Institute (Saneri) CEO Kadri Nassiep, in an interview to reporters.
The establishment would develop renewable energy resources, energy efficiency programs, energy research, supply security, and all energy infrastructure development coordination.
“One thing is clear, that Saneri and the NEEA will work together. So we retain a lot of the focus and the structure in this new entity. We don’t anticipate much change in the NEEA, and we will still work closely with the likes of Eskom and the regulator, in terms of supporting energy efficiency,” added Nasiep.
The research institute is running a pilot project in Cape Town where taxis have been converted to run on LPG. It will also be able to supply LPG for the vehicles, though some modification to filling points would be required.