Chief Executive Officer at the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA), Niveshen advocates for a thriving wind energy sector in South Africa with local participation and beneficiation at the heart of its development. Enhancing SAWEA’s focus on Policy Advocacy and Lobbying, Niveshen represents the united voice of the wind energy sector and is working towards policy and regulatory certainty while achieving social, environmental, and economic impact, on behalf of the SAWEA membership.

With sixteen years in the Green Economy environment, Niveshen has a diverse knowledge base and depth of experience, which ranges from carbon management and climate change to flagship energy project implementation as well as formulating and applying energy policy. Furthermore, his most recent position as COO at SAPVIA, represents his passion for renewable energy and showcases his tireless dedication to advocating on behalf of members through engagement with government on various levels.

Niveshen has successfully championed the development and implementation of a voluntary quality mechanism, the PV GreenCard a programme based on skills development, standardization and documentation for small scale embedded generation. He continues to spearhead the development of industry led programmes - to support the just energy transition. Niveshen contributes on a global level having served as a board member on the Global Solar Council and now supports the Global Wind Energy Council. He is actively involved in the African Task Force sharing learning across the region. He further provides a mentorship role on various platforms to new businesses and entrants into the RE space.

Dr Rethabile Melamu is sustainability professional who is trained in Chemical and Environmental Engineering. She has 15 years’ experience in the areas of clean energy, green economy, environmental sustainability, water security, enterprise development, life cycle assessments and climate change. My experience spans several sectors including renewable energy, waste management, water and sanitation.

She is seasoned professional with a depth of understanding on adoption of innovative climate smart technologies in society. This is backed by experience of running a technology innovation-based incubation programme for almost 6 years. She has solid experience in developing public sector policies and have led the development of sub-national energy and green economy strategies and facilitated their implementation. She sits on several boards and advisory committees of private, academia and the public sectors organisations including as the Chair of the Water Research Commission.

I am a thought leader in the energy and green economy sectors, having published reports, thought leadership pieces and academic articles on several platforms in my areas of expertise. In 2019, I was recognised by the national Mail & Guardian newspaper as one of Women Who Are Changing South Africa in the Public Sector.