ECONOMICS AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT INTERVENTIONS IN A LARGE SCALE (1 000 SCHOOLS) EU FUNDED PV PROJECT IN SOUTH AFRICA

摘要

An EU-funded project to electrify 1000 schools in rural South Africa commenced in December 1998, with installations starting in late 1999. Also in late 1999, IT Power was appointed to provide Technical Assistance to the project. In January 2000, a Technical Assistance Unit (TAU) was set up to advise the implementation agency (Eskom) and the supervisory Ministry (Department of Minerals and Energy, DME) on technical and project management issues. During the first months of the TAU's existence, technical problems became apparent which resulted in the installation process being halted for some time to enable these issues to be addressed. This paper describes some of the technical problems encountered and how they were solved in co-operation between the TAU, Eskom and various contractors. The paper then goes on to describe a number of issues relating to the long-term sustainability of the project, and how these were dealt with by the TAU in liaison with the relevant stakeholders. Making the project more sustainable and realising additional benefits for the communities involved adds value to each system thus improving the economic viability of the project.