Gordon Ayres, Secretary General of SABIA, embodies the association’s practical, market-facing role in Southern and Sub-Saharan Africa. In his interview, he underlines that while renewable energy accounted for only a modest share of South Africa’s final energy consumption in 2022, roughly half of that renewable share already came from biomass - a clear signal that bioenergy is not peripheral, but an established and expandable part of the energy mix.
He describes biogas as the most developed branch of the country’s wider bioenergy family, with strong demand coming from large waste generators, food and beverage industry players, municipalities and commercial agriculture, while smaller-scale farming systems create additional opportunities for decentralised solutions. His perspective also situates biogas within a wider momentum for pellets, biochar and liquid biofuels, showing how SABIA’s expertise in biogas gives it a highly credible entry point into broader cross-cutting bioenergy themes.
Ayres also stresses the policy and development context: South Africa’s commitment to reducing organic waste to landfill by 2030, rising energy costs, and the need to create practical opportunities for a young and dynamic population. That combination helps explain why SABIA has become far more than a technical association. Through standards work, practitioner training, public awareness, project alignment support and close engagement with government, donors, financiers and the private sector, it acts as a key bridge between regulation, implementation and market growth.
Secretary General Training & capacity building Government & project interface