A statement on Cabinet's Renewable Energy Development, released on January 25 2008, named a number of projects the Department of Minerals and Energy have embarked on.

These include hydropower, the conversion of biogas to electricity, wind power projects, and a green power pilot project, which includes biomass electricity cogeneration.

All these renewable energy projects are geared at increasing power generation in South Africa's, and the Renewable Energy Subsidy Office (REFSO) has began disbursing subsidies for renewable energy projects to the tune of R4 million.

The Department of Minerals and Energy, which works closely with CEF (Pty) Ltd, will on a solar heating project that will see a million solar water heaters installed over the next three years. According to the statement, the department is confident that the project will see a marked reduction in electricity use.

The current cost of the solar heater is prohibitive, estimated at between R7 000 and R20 000, and the country's manufacturing capacity is only 10 000 units per annum.

With this in the mind, REFSO will provide a subsidy of 20% to 30% depending on the cost of the unit.

"The potential savings of this programme is 650 MW," the statement says. "The programme is targeting both the households, group houses (such as army bases and mine residences) commercial and industrial applications."

However, the possibilities for solar power don't end there. New research by Professor Vivian Alberts of the University of Johannesburg will hopefully make solar power less costly and more accessible.

Alberts has devised a solar panel that is thinner and up to 50% cheaper than anywhere else in the world.

Online science magazine Science in Africa explains the drawbacks of existing solar technology: "The conventional solar panels that we see dotted on telephone systems, remote aerials and house roofs use silicon-based photovoltaic cells. These cells each consist of two layers of silicon crystals doped with a very small number of phosphorus atoms in one layer and boron on the other. The phosphorous-doped layer in sunlight will generate a surplus of electrons, which will flow, via an external circuit, to the boron-doped surface where a shortage of electrons exists. As the electrons go around this circuit they can do work - such as charging a battery or powering a computer."

Due to the thickness of the silicone usually used to harness the sun's energy, only 15% of incipient solar energy can be harnessed by the cell.

Albert's patent has provided a solution to these problems. By producing much thinner photovoltaic cells and using different components to the conventional phosphorus and boron doped layers, more energy is generated at less cost.

The estimated working life of panels based on this alloy is about 20 years and, while conventional products cost between R35 to R40 per watt, the new panels will cost about R7.90 to R8 per watt.

The technology is already being produced in a pilot project based in Germany. It is hoped that South Africa's first solar fabrication plant, based in Paarl in the Western Cape, will be up and running in late 2009.

Albert's research has also caught the attention of energy specialists and investors from around the globe.

PTIP, the company that owns the intellectual property of the new technology, is co-owned by the University of Johannesburg and Alberts.

After structuring a beneficial licensing deal, Johanna Solar Technology, based in Germany and owned by a consortium of investors, including the CEF (Pty) Ltd, Venfin, Richemont and Anglo American, has committed to bringing the technological know-how and project management expertise gained through the pilot project back to South Africa.

While anticipation mounts as possible investors, including Eskom, wait to see the new technology's success in South Africa, spokesperson for the University of Johannesburg, Sonia Cronjé, said an official announcement would be made about South Africa's development of solar panels towards the end of March.

"This technology offers tremendous potential for addressing the economic and social challenges facing South Africa," she said.

"On a global level, it is widely predicted and accepted that the successful transformation of climate-friendly technologies into competitive photovoltaics industries will make significant positive impacts on the economic welfare and social welfare of nations and on the protection of the local, regional and global environment."