Archive
Ensuring a stable and secure electricity future
6 September 2011
Mr Bruno Merven and Dr Andrew Marquard with their SANEA award
Dr Andrew Marquard and Mr Bruno Merven from the Energy Research Centre at UCT received the South African National Energy Association’s (SANEA) Energy Education Award for their SNAPP electricity planning tool. They were nominated by the Living Planet Unit of WWF who funded this project. The award is awarded for a lecture, presentation, technical paper, article or other educational activities which serves to further the understanding of energy and its role in sustaining human endeavours.
The production and free dissemination of the SNAPP tool, which enables relatively lay people to model options for electricity supply for South Africa, is an example of academic innovation to build capacity for participatory development planning and governance in the energy services field. So far, it has been used by several organisations to make submissions on South Africa's electricity future as part of the recently-completed national electricity plan. The latest version of SNAPP is available on the ERC's website
The award was presented to Dr Marquard at a ceremony in August where Mr Brian Statham, Chairman of SANEA paid tribute to the many men and women who are striving on a daily basis to ensure that South Africa enjoys a stable and secure energy future. He said "It is important for all of us to actively participate and join forces to find the simple solutions which will change the lives of millions of people for the better.”