The 2026 SADC Sustainable Energy Week was held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, from 23 to 27 February 2026. The event brought together ministers, regulators, utilities, financiers, development partners, academics, and industry representatives under the theme “Driving Regional Economic Growth through Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency.” It provided an important platform for policy discussions, technical knowledge sharing, investment dialogue, and regional cooperation on the future of energy in Southern Africa.
An important part of the first day was the 9th SOLTRAIN+ Conference, which was one of the main breakout sessions of the programme. This conference focused on the role of solar heating and cooling, training, demonstration projects, innovation, and skills development in the region. The different sessions covered a wide range of topics, including energy policy and net-zero goals, international cooperation in heating and cooling, gender diversity, technology innovation, training activities, renewable heating and cooling in rural areas, solar heat for industrial use, dissemination tools such as solar trailers and training rigs, and the future growth of SOLTRAIN+ in the SADC region. In this way, the SOLTRAIN+ sessions provided both technical insight and practical lessons on implementation and human capacity development.
Within these SOLTRAIN+ breakout sessions, the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies (CRSES) contributed to discussions on solar heating and cooling, innovation, and gender inclusion through the participation of Dr Francois Rozon, Mr Lavhelesani Maluleke, and Mr Simnikiwe Gulwa. Dr Francois Rozon contributed in two important roles. He first served as co-moderator of the session on Heating and Cooling International Collaboration and Gender Diversity Management. This session focused on international cooperation in solar heating and cooling and on the need for broader and more gender inclusive participation in the sector. In the same session, Mr Simnikiwe Gulwa took part in the SOLTRAIN+ Gender Managers Panel, where he discussed key strategies for improving gender diversity in the renewable heating and cooling sector.
Later in the programme, Dr Rozon and Mr Lavhelesani Maluleke presented in the session on Innovation and Solar Thermal in the SADC Countries. Their presentation, titled “Innovations and Trends in PV2Heat and PV-Thermal,” focused on recent developments in South Africa. It showed that these technologies are becoming practical options for renewable water heating in both residential and institutional applications. One of the main points of the presentation was that the market is being influenced by electricity and water tariffs increasing above the inflation rate, together with the sharp reduction in solar PV module prices. As electricity become relatively more expensive over time and PV technology becomes more affordable, PV-based water-heating solutions are becoming increasingly competitive. The presentation also showed that South Africa is the early adopter, with examples ranging from decentralised PV2Heat systems for domestic hot water in housing developments to larger PV-thermal systems integrated with heat pumps in buildings such as hospitals and retirement homes. The presenters also explained the technical benefit of PV-thermal collectors, which can generate both electricity and heat from the same roof area and therefore make better use of limited installation space. These systems are especially suitable for high-density buildings, such as hotels and hospitals, where there is demand for both electricity and heat.
Overall, the presentation showed that PV2Heat is becoming a highly competitive water-heating option, while PVT combined with heat pumps offers strong potential for larger buildings with centralised hot-water demand, especially where system design, insulation, and hot-water network maintenance are properly managed. These contributions supported the broader themes of the conference, particularly the need for innovation, practical implementation, and inclusive development in the energy sector.
In general, the 2026 SADC Sustainable Energy Week showed that the regional energy transition is not only about adding new power generation. It also depends on better regional cooperation, improved energy access, wider use of practical clean-energy technologies, and continued skills development.
