SEA Volunteer Photo Curtesy of SEA.
FA info icon.svg Angle down icon.svg Organization data
Location Cape Town, South Africa
Site sustainable.org.za/
Green hosting No

SEA: Sustainable Energy Africa is an organization based in Cape Town, South Africa dedicated to the development of a green nation through the implementation of various energy conserving projects and regulations in Africa and South Africa.

Background[edit | edit source]

Photo Curtesy of SEA.

SEA was founded in 2001 by Mark Borchers. Borchers is the technical director of Sustainable Energy Africa with a B.S in engineering and postgraduate degree in energy and development studies. In 1993 after Borchers worked at the Energy for Development Research Centre (EDRC) at the University of Cape town for several years, he and two co-workers founded the Energy Development Group (EDG).[1] EDG focused on sustainable energy projects for over a decade. The natural progression of the EDG led Borchers to establish Sustainable Energy Africa in 2001.[2]

Location[edit | edit source]

Sustainable Energy Africa headquarters are located in The Green Building. SEA and its investors wanted to show green building as commercially viable and possible for everyday life. The structure was built with limited finances and zero grants.[3] The Green Building itself is considered a project of SEA and aims to demonstrate how a building can be environmentally responsible in its operations and meet the needs of its users.[4] SEA is considered to have pioneered a city-based approach to a green future in Africa and South Africa.

Mission and Objectives[edit | edit source]

SEA strives to "promote the more efficient use of conventional energy, the transition to more sustainable energies such as solar and wind power and a holistic view of sustainable living more generally."[5] People who work for SEA are advocates and consultants available to implement research, capacity building, and projects geared towards the creation of a sustainable society for the general public.

Projects[edit | edit source]

SEA uses the skills of its staff and program to implement a range of projects. As an organization SEA covers urban and regional planning, engineering environmental science and education. To categorize its archived and current projects SEA created themes for areas of coverage: Sustainable Energy, Integrated Urban Planning, Green Development, Sustainable Transport, Energy Poverty, Climate Change, and Organizational Sustainability.

Sustainable Energy[edit | edit source]

Projects in sustainable energy include the development of wind and solar power and the transition into sustainable living. SEA's accomplishments in sustainable energy has been in work done with local government by providing support to better understand sustainable energy and how to create policies and plans that will facilitate a transition into sustainable development.[6]

Greening 2010[edit | edit source]

One major project already completed was Greening 2010. The FIFA Local Organizing Committee used SEA to develop a standardized set of guidelines for hosting a mega event like the FIFA World Cup.The guidelines created clarified the roles for various government departments on how to minimize the carbon footprint of such an event. The goal was to be carbon-neutral and be host to a environmentally responsible event.[7]

Integrated Urban Planning, Green Development, Sustainable Transport and Energy Poverty[edit | edit source]

Photo Curtesy of SEA.

Themes of SEA projects are interlinked and cross paths in many ways. Integrated Urban Planning is the concept of localizing needs and the creation of a centralized sustainable community in cities through out Arica and South Africa. Urban areas are extremely spread across the continent which can cause a demand for travel by car. The goals of integrated planning are to bring together transport, housing development, industry, education and leisure. SEA has made moves to implement the foundation of these urban needs in a sustainable format through various projects involved with Green Development.

Solar Water Heaters[edit | edit source]

A major project development is the use of solar water heaters(SWHs) throughout Cape Town, South Africa. It is common practice to use water heaters and recently SEA has received one year's worth of funding from the Energy and Environment Partnership Program to use solar water heaters throughout Cape Town. Currently SEA has a two-program system planned to "roll out" SWHs.[8]

SWHs Curtesy of SEA.
Program One[edit | edit source]

SWHs will be available to households of mid to high income based on a rate payment. The rate payments will be monthly re-payments that cost less than the electricity anticipated to be saved through installation. The program will launch in September of 2012 and it is estimated that 300,000 SWHs will be installed over the next five years.

Program Two[edit | edit source]

In April of 2012 a low-income program will launch. This program will combine with Eskom's[9] SWH program to be affordable for low income housing in Cape Town. It is estimated about 100,000 SWHs will be in use within the next 2 to 3 years.[10]

SEA has a list of other projects dedicated to these four themes including Climate Change and Organizational Sustainability that can be found at their website.[11]

Funding[edit | edit source]

SEA receives funding through a slew of investors: British High Commission (BHC), DANIDA, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), Renewable Energy and Energy Efficient Partnership (REEEP), UK Department for environment, Forest and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NFA), Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (EED), HIVOS: People Unlimited Regional Office Southern Africa, UK Department for International Development (DFID), Energy and Environment Partnership Programme (EEP). Information regarding SEA investors can be found at their Funder Website [1] with links to investors.

References[edit | edit source]

External Links[edit | edit source]

[2]

FA info icon.svg Angle down icon.svg Page data
Part of JMC330 International Mass Communication
Keywords conservation, energy, green nation
SDG SDG07 Affordable and clean energy
License CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 0 pages link here
Impact 386 page views
Created March 27, 2012 by Shelby Meyers
Modified October 23, 2023 by Maintenance script
Cookies help us deliver our services. By using our services, you agree to our use of cookies.