Home > Projects > Solar Water Heaters in South Africa

Projects : Solar Water Heaters in South Africa

South Africa has abundant sunshine, yet only a tiny fraction is converted into useable energy. Climate Focus will change this through one of Africa’s first Programme of Activities (POA) installing solar water heaters across South Africa.

Programme of Activities, a way to fund many individual activities under a single project, promise to bring efficient solar heating to the developing world. The “Solar Water Heater Programme” will replace conventional boilers with solar water heaters in about 50,000 households across South Africa potentially saving enormous GHG emissions by displacing fossil fuel use. The German aid agency KfW commissioned Climate Focus to structure one of Africa’s first PoA transactions installing these solar-powered heaters.

Climate Focus is leading the effort to develop contractual templates, PoA Emission Reduction Sale and Purchase Agreements (PoA ERPA), and end-user contracts between managing entity and suppliers, installation and insurance firms, as well as negotiate seed financing for PoA projects. Climate Focus’s legal and contractual assistance has helped reduce risks, lower transaction costs and prepare for large-scale implementation through secure, predictable and robust contractual arrangements.

Climate Focus is pioneering the legal aspects of PoA, a novel and evolving legal area, through this and other projects. The rules and regulations that govern PoA issues such as additionality, CPA review, monitoring, and liability have not been finalized, and Climate Focus is designing and implementing practical PoA procedures based on our extensive regulatory, legal and operational experiences.

You can find more information on our website under related sections on services (Legal), sectors (Renewable Energy) and focus areas (Progamme of Activities).