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SAWEA and EnergyDRIVE
2021 EnergyDRIVE: Okiep High School learners at Kangnas Wind Farm in Springbok, Northern Cape.
ENERGYDRIVE INCREASES
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SCHOOL LEARNER’S CLIMATE LITERACY
As South Africa ramps up its transition to renewable energy, educating school learners about this clean source of energy is becoming increasingly important. This is the impetus behind the country’s wind power sector support of the EnergyDRIVE.
BY SAWEA
School learners across South Africa’s green energy map will once again welcome the much-loved mobile edu-unit, EnergyDRIVE, a partnership between the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) and the Durban University of Technology. Although it is promoted by the wind association, this initiative stretches across renewable technologies, to include communities within the vicinity of solar farms as well, so that other technology partners and stakeholders with a national footprint are also able to get involved.
“High school learners are at the stage where they will be making study and career choices, they are also leaders of tomorrow, hence the programme promotes renewable energy and climate change awareness. It demonstrates and imparts knowledge to learners across communities about the benefits and uses of clean energy technologies,” says Niveshen Govender, CEO of SAWEA.
With the intention of increasing awareness to create a generation of well-informed decision-makers that can play an essential role in increasing adaptation and mitigation capacities of communities, while empowering youth to adopt sustainable lifestyles, EnergyDRIVE will be making its way across at least three of the country’s provinces.
With the conviction that education is an essential element of the global response to climate change, as it helps increase climate literacy, especially among young people, EnergyDRIVE encourages changes in attitudes and behaviour. Designed to be interactive and educational, it features a solar roof structure, biogas digester, photovoltaic panel display unit as well as a solar hot water display unit. The walls of the container are made up of a battery bank, photovoltaic components and a TV, making it an inspirational and experiential teaching aid.
2021 EnergyDRIVE at Joe Slovo Freedom High School in the Eastern Cape.
