Building resilience in the solar PV sector through quality assurance and skills development

The document details the establishment of the South African Renewable Energy Technology Centre (SARETEC), a national accredited Solar PV Service Technician qualification, and the PV GreenCard voluntary quality assurance mechanism. It highlights the importance of local partnerships, international expertise (particularly from Germany), and proactive timing in addressing skills gaps to support both utility-scale and small-scale solar PV deployment in South Africa.

• The South African Renewable Energy Technology Centre (SARETEC), hosted at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town, opened in July 2015 as the first national renewable energy training centre in South Africa. It was funded with R105 million from the National Skills Fund via the Department of Higher Education and Training in 2012.
• A national accredited Solar PV Service Technician qualification was developed to ensure the availability of a workforce with internationally recognised qualifications for both utility-scale solar power under the REI4P and small-scale installations in public buildings in Cape Town.
• The PV GreenCard is a voluntary national initiative by the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) that uses an as-built report and checklist to promote safe and quality solar PV installations. As of the report date, 53 installation companies have registered and 122 installers have completed training and assessment, though only 10 approved installations have been recorded.
• The development of these initiatives relied heavily on international expertise and mature market models, specifically drawing on the German system of continuing education and the 'PV passport' concept via DGS Berlin.
• The case study identifies several critical success factors for building sector resilience: the use of small, agile, and informal partnerships; the involvement of local partners to address local skills gaps; and the necessity of implementing quality assurance and skills measures proactively before market roll-out.

APA

GreenCape (2019). Building resilience in the solar PV sector through quality assurance and skills development. https://greencape.co.za/assets/Energy-2_GreenCape_Resilience-Report_Interactive.pdf

Chicago

GreenCape. Building resilience in the solar PV sector through quality assurance and skills development. 2019. https://greencape.co.za/assets/Energy-2_GreenCape_Resilience-Report_Interactive.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=GreenCape |title=Building resilience in the solar PV sector through quality assurance and skills development |date=2019 |url=https://greencape.co.za/assets/Energy-2_GreenCape_Resilience-Report_Interactive.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greencape2019building, author = {{GreenCape}}, title = {{Building resilience in the solar PV sector through quality assurance and skills development}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2019}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/assets/Energy-2_GreenCape_Resilience-Report_Interactive.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }