Premier Winde lauds "huge potential" as Cape Town welcomes Africa's Green Economy Summit

CAPE TOWN, South Africa - Feb. 16, 2023 - PRLog -- There is huge potential in the Western Cape's green economy" says Western Cape Premier Alan Winde. The premier's remarks come in the run-up to next week's Africa's Green Economy Summit from Wednesday, 22 February, where he will deliver the welcome address in the opening session. "The economy is bristling with opportunity even in the face of the enormity of the energy crisis", according to Mr Winde. "While relentless loadshedding is causing considerable harm to our economy, the Western Cape Government is taking decisive action to counter the impact."

Meanwhile, Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) confirmed its platinum sponsorship for the event this week. GMA CEO William Dachs said "the Gautrain was established with the aim of improving public transport in the Gauteng province, and alleviating the negative impact that traffic congestion has on air quality due to vehicle emissions. The GMA is currently investigating more ways of utilising green energy for Gautrain 2026 and beyond, and this remains a conversation that we will continue into a Gautrain market engagement conference on 27 March 2023."

Jam-packed programme
With some 80 expert speakers in the jam-packed programme, Africa's Green Economy Summit will bring together financiers, project developers, and government representatives, highlighting investment prospects that exist across the continent in the fields of green hydrogen, EVs, energy storage, solar, hydro and wind energy, infrastructure development, urban sustainability as well as manufacturing.

The summit is part of the E-Fest Cape Town that will culminate in the Formula E 2023 Cape Town E-Prix race in the same week on Saturday, 25 February 2023.

Cape Town ready to talk business on the green economy
Already home to a thriving green economy, Cape Town's Executive Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the city is looking forward to welcoming the summit delegates and is ready to assist in creating opportunities to invest in this innovative space: "We our positioning Cape Town as a leading city for energy security, not only in our country but in Africa. We are the first metro to pay cash for power directly from residents and businesses with approved solar PV installations. We are also buying power on the open market via a major 3-phase procurement. This includes renewables, dispatchable on-demand energy, battery storage, and an incentives programme for voluntary energy savings through remote switching-off of appliances."

The mayor adds: "We look forward to welcoming Africa and the world to this important summit—rest assured the City of Cape Town is ready to talk business on the green economy."

www.greeneconomysummit.com