SOLTRAIN Phase III – Southern African Solar Thermal Training and Demonstration Initiative – Phase III

Phase III of the project is based on the national and regional governmental renewable energy targets as well as on the results and lessons learnt in the two previous phases of SOLTRAIN, which were carried out from 2009 – 2016.

It is the aim of all measures taken in the project to anchor the results achieved in the previous phases in the partner institutions and in governmental bodies of the partner countries and to initiate or to strengthen sustainable national solar thermal roll-out programs, that shall stay in place far beyond the duration of the project.

The specific project purpose of SOLTRAIN III is to strengthen the partner institutions and the governmental bodies of the partner countries in the implementation of their sustainable national solar thermal roll-out programs.

The project focuses on three main groups:

• Local implementation partners: Educational and research institutions like universities, vocational schools and other training centres
• Target groups: Installers of solar thermal systems but also policy, administration and the financial sector. This target group consists of about 750 participants of the different training courses. It is the aim to have of a gender balanced participation in the training courses.
• Beneficiaries: Social institutions and other eligible entities such as small and medium enterprises, house owners, patients of hospitals, occupants of homes for elderly people, students of student hostels, guests of the accommodation sector (hotels, lodges), visitors of restaurants, companies with demand for heat for industrial processes.

In the call for applications for demonstration systems a special focus is going to be on institutions which support women (e.g. girls schools, maternity clinics, shelters for battered women) and marginalized groups.

It is estimated that about 7,000 persons will directly benefit from these demonstration systems by reducing their energy bills and by improving the hygienic standard.

Project results:

• 12 Policy Workshops with 469 participants carried out
• 1088 persons trained in 35 technical training courses
• 139 Solar thermal demonstration systems installed, in operation and quality checked. 74 of these systems are for social institutions, hospitals, women, girls and marginalized groups
• National Solar Thermal Roadmaps developed for Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Mozambique
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