SOLTRAIN+ Southern African Renewable Heating and Cooling Training and Demonstration Initiative

Energy transition is a major issue in the SADC region: access to sustainable energy services is insufficient and unevenly distributed, with an average of only 42% of the population having access to sustainable energy, and 10% in rural areas. There is also an energy deficit that inhibits economic development and an increase in prosperity. At the same time, there is an urgent need to mitigate climate change, and awareness of the enormous potential for renewable energy and energy efficiency development has increased.

The SADC region is blessed with abundant renewable energy resources (hydropower, solar power, wind power, bioenergy) and opportunities to increase energy efficiency. To improve access to energy, create jobs and prospects for the future, and support the energy transition towards affordable, sustainable energy for all, the SOLTRAIN+ project builds capacity at different levels of education and in different target groups for the target sectors of buildings, industry and commerce, tourism, and hospitals through training and the installation of demonstration systems, thus providing know-how to transform the partner countries’ energy systems towards sustainable, affordable, and carbon-free energy systems. Through a separate work package, women in particular are to be addressed in order to show them opportunities to gain a foothold in a promising professional field.

The technologies addressed in the project are solar thermal, heat pumps and energy efficiency (through waste heat recovery), and cooling through heat-driven absorption.

The partner countries of the project are Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Through the project partner SACREEE (SADC Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency), at least six additional SADC member states are expected to be involved in the short term and all SADC countries in the long term. The trainings will be conducted both on-site and online. Another focus of the trainings lies on practical implementation in order to apply the theoretical knowledge with regard to demonstration systems. Selected demonstration projects are monitored and quality measures serve to prove the functionality of the concepts and implementations.

The objectives of the project are:

• Build capacity through customized, targeted training for the technologies and sectors addressed above
• Demonstration and quality assurance of energy concepts and systems for renewable heating and cooling as well as energy efficiency in the partner countries of the SADC region
• Raising awareness between all relevant stakeholders at the scientific and non-scientific levels with regard to the opportunities the addressed technologies offer
• Encouraging women to assert themselves in a promising technical professional environment
• Utilization and dissemination of Soltrain + beyond the project to other SADC countries

Target groups include:

• Potential training participants, training experts in renewable heating and cooling
• Industry experts (plant operators and plant managers, plant engineers)
• Training institutions, competence centers, teaching staff, master students and PhD students
• Technology providers and companies with a need for well-trained experts
• Industry and trade, building sector, tourism sector, health sector and social institutions
• Policy makers, administration and financial sector
• Social institutions and other eligible entities, including NGOs