CEO Silas Zimu told engineering news Online that more that 100 people and organisations attended a prebid meeting on January 9, and that City Power was, therefore, optimistic that it could soon begin giving practical effect to its vision for the mass deployment of solar water heaters across the city.

He asserted that the key constraints related primarily to a shortage of manufacturing capacity, technicians and plumbers and finance. Nevertheless, he remained committed to delivering on an aspiration of installing at least 300 000 units across the city over the next few years.

It is also understood that Joburg’s sister Gauteng municipality, Ekurhuleni, has also issued a tender for solar water heaters, which led Sisulu to suggest that there could be demand for up to half-a-million units over the next three years in Gauteng alone.

Once completed, the East London factory will be capable of producing 30 000 units a year – a plant of significant scale in the South African context, considering that it is estimated that the local production currently stands at a paltry 10 000 units a year.

The outer shell of the factory was recently completed in the city’s industrial development zone (IDZ) and Sisulu said that assembly equipment from its partners in Taiwan should arrive within weeks.

Following 18 months of negotiation, Matla Power recently reached agreement with Taiwan’s Ming Yang, giving the South African company access to “cutting-edge” solar heating technology.