WESTERN Cape Province department of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism says that employment opportunities in the province’s green economy are projected to grow 500% by 2020, with the majority of the new opportunities to be created in the manufacturing of components for the renewable energy sector.

Employment in the province’s green economy is expected to increase from 3 000 jobs in 2010 to 12 000 by 2015, 16 000 by 2020 and 20 000 by 2025. The Western Cape government established Green Cape in 2010, a government-funded, industry-led agency tasked with unlocking the manufacturing and employment potential of the green economy.

Green Cape and the Western Cape government are currently in discussion with various stakeholders on the implementation of smart energy grids that will enable individual firms and households to install hybrid energy generation systems and feed excess power into the grid. A recently launched 110% Green campaign will act as a catalyst to build a critical mass of activity that puts the Western Cape well on the road towards becoming Africa’s green economic hub.

The Western Cape government is also aiming to establish the province as South Africa’s centre for the manufacturing of renewable energy technologies, with a focus on future-oriented technology. Three factories in Cape Town, AEG Power Solutions’ solar power equipment factory; energy efficient lighting and electronic equipment manufacturer Tellumat, and heat pumps manufacturer Tekniheat, on the 6th of August 2012, highlighted the potential of the green economy sector in the Western Cape and to engage with workers.

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