In this week’s speaker Q&A, Ira Green, Managing Partner of GG Energy Holdings discusses the 
opportunities for renewables integration for African mine operators. Green will be speaking at the upcoming Renewables and Mining Summit & Exhibition next week in Johannesburg.
Q: What has changed in the last 12 months in terms of the appetite of African mining operators for integrating renewables?
A: Over the past year, the power situation in many markets has deteriorated with utilities unable to keep up with increasing demands for reliable and low-cost electricity. Renewable energy now has the potential to play a huge role in helping to address the power quality and pricing issues facing mining operators in Africa.
We have reached the tipping point for the profitable introduction of renewable energy into Africa, which emanates from both technological improvements and creative financing strategies like those employed by GG Energy. Within this new framework, we have seen many more mining operators seeking competitive renewable energy power solutions, and there has been a flurry of RFI and Tender proposals for projects to off-set unreliable and costly incumbent power supplies from either the grid or diesel power generation. GG Energy is engaged and prepared both technically and financial to respond to meet this increasing demand for renewable energy.
Q: What do you see as the key challenges for moving renewables projects forward in the region?
A: The mining business in Africa suffers from chronic power under-provision. There is a profound and unmet need for reliable power at stable, competitive prices. As there are no major technical or commercial issues to integrating renewables, the challenge the industry must overcome are old perceptions that renewable energy requires subsidies and cannot supply adequate power to meet the requirements of mines. GG Energy’s innovative model resolves these issues with an elegantly simple approach, offering substantial and stable power priced to be competitive with today’s and the perceived future price of electricity.
In addition, there is a perception that renewable energy projects are hard to finance. However, GG Energy has overcome this challenge by forging alliances with world-class financing partners ranging from large, commercial banks to global institutional financiers and development banks. This enables GG Energy to financially engineer the projects with the lowest cost of power!
Q: What are you looking forward to at the Renewables and Mining Summit & Exhibition in Johannesburg on July 1-2?
A: By the expected turnout of mining operators planning to attend the Summit, there appears to be strong and growing interest in dealing with the power issues facing mining operators. GG Energy is ready and available to meet this opportunity to supply cost-effective and stable power solutions under long-term contracts directly to mining customers. By delivering STABLE POWER at STABLE PRICES, GG Energy has become a leading IPP for renewable energy and one of the most competitive sources for alternative energy solutions in the Mining Industry.