The Shisa Solar Programme (SSP) is one of the Energy Office’s flagship project. Together with the management of the Municipality, the Energy Office realised that Durban has excellent solar resource potential (the city can boast an average of 300 days of sunshine per annum) and that this was not being exploited as it should be. This is especially true when it comes to the uptake of solar water heating in residential areas.

Nationally, the challenge of increasing uptake of solar water heaters (SWHs) was put forward by the Minister of Energy. In 2009 she stated that “the Department will ensure that one million SWHs are installed in households and commercial buildings over a five year period” . Though a commitment had been made nationally, it was unclear what role local governments would play in achieving this.

Although a SWH rebate program was announced by Eskom, uptake was slow in Durban. Responding to national government’s challenge, the city set its own target of 30 000 installations by 2013.
Essentially, the SSP combines the use of IT, an understanding of basic economics and a bit of innovation.

By registering on the SSP website a Durban resident wanting to ‘go solar’ has the opportunity to participate in the program. Through the website, the resident enters their details onto a database which is plotted onto the interactive ‘Shisa Solar Map’ entitling them to a free quote by one of the Municipality’s pre-approved service providers. The aim of this easy-to-use web resource is to find matches within a particular neighbourhood of ten or more residents, who have interest in installing SWHs.

“We are using simple economic principles to make SWH installations more affordable, as the high cost of SWHs is one of the main barriers to uptake. By creating a market of ten or more customers in one convenient area [the neighbourhood], installers are able to lower their quotes and everyone wins - the supplier, the resident and of course the local economy!” Energy Office manager Derek Morgan. 
Over 1244 people have registered on the site and the program’s scope is limitless given the large number of households within the city’s jurisdiction.

 This simple intervention illustrates how municipalities can play a facilitatory role by bridging the gap between supply and demand in a sector where their role is still unclear. By taking advantage of low hanging fruit, Municipalities can still achieve their imperative of growing the renewable energy sector without acting as primary developer. In spite of playing role of facilitator, the Municipality still had to invest significant resources into the project mainly entailing publicising the project through various media and enlisting the services of state-of-the-art web designers. 

So why would the average South African resident want to install a SWH? 

It is said that installing a SWH saves a household about 30% of their electricity bill, which when multiplied by a number of months gives you a payback period of about 5 years., After which, you would be receiving most of your hot water free of charge, made possible by our most abundant resource, the sun! In a climate of energy scarcity and associated rising energy costs it makes sound financial sense. Apart from this, the environmentally conscious homeowner could make massive improvements to their carbon footprint.