JSE-listed Sun International’s Sun City Resort has become one of the latest energy consumers to have embarked on a small-scale embedded generation after completing installation of a R16 million solar plant in a bid to reduce their consumption from the national grid.
Taking its name to heart and harnessing energy from the sun, Sun City enjoys many sunny days throughout the year.
On Friday, the resort officially launched its grid-tied solar photovoltaic system rated at 1.4 megawatts peak of installed capacity tied in at the Sun Central entertainment centre for use around Sun City.
The plant has an expected lifespan of beyond 25 years when coupled with a well-planned preventative maintenance regime.
Sun City general manager Brett Hoppé said the installed plant would displace an equivalent of 2 367 571kWh yield per annum, with the highest levels of energy production expected in nine out of the 12 months.
“This is an equivalent of what 329 average-sized South African households consume over a year,” Hoppé said.
“On good sunshine days, which will be most days, the facility will free up an equivalent of 14% of Sun City’s electrical demand from the national utility supplier Eskom, which will be to the benefit of the grid in the vicinity, and by extension local communities that feed off the same supply.”
From a sustainability perspective, the solar plant will see Sun City reduce its annual CO2 equivalent emissions above 2 510 metric tons per annum, a positive contribution to mitigate against climate change into the future.
“This is one of the many initiatives that Sun City, in particular, and Sun International, are rolling out to reduce energy use both from a supply and demand perspective,” Hoppé said.
“Efficient lighting, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) retrofits and reconfigurations, water-heating and a gradual move to renewables all form part of the plan.”
The system, which was installed by Tsebo Energy Solutions, constitutes 2 584, 550W-monocrystalline solar PV modules installed on the roof of the Sun City hotel.
Tsebo’s senior operations engineer, TM Lesetla, who installed the system, said they would be ramping up the plant’s capacity to 1.6MW with additional solar panels by the end of next month.
“These panels will be married into Sun City’s internal electrical network, including twelve 112 kW newly installed inverters, to feed the power produced on the roof to the delivery points,” Lesetla said.
“Sun City is like a little town on its own, and the solar capacity is part of the energy mix.”
Parliament last week heard that the uptake of renewable energy in South Africa had increased dramatically, with solar panel-generated electricity increasing by 350% from March 2022 to March this year, driven largely by customers seeking alternative energy sources due to load shedding.
This year’s uptake was further accelerated by incentive programmes like the SA Revenue Service tax rebates and the National Treasury energy loan guarantee scheme.
Tsebo Facilities Solutions CEO Aubrey McElnea praised the government’s Energy Action Plan for enabling embedded generation and incentives, saying the solar plant at Sun City had already exceeded expectations.
McElnea said while an annual net saving of R3.2m was projected, data acquired from the plant’s intelligent consumption dashboard shows that 413 871 kWh in energy savings were achieved in just over the past two months.
As a result, McElnea said the investment would pay for itself within five years, driven by above-average annual electricity price escalations, while also easing the pressure on the national grid.
“This results in an estimate of over R1m in savings, considering both energy and demand reductions, highlighting the efficiency and value proposition of transitioning to renewable energy solutions,” McElnea said.
“Our array of innovative solutions and over five decades of experience positions Tsebo as a strategic environmental, social and governance (ESG) accelerator, working with like-minded companies, whether suppliers, partners or clients like Sun City, to achieve sustainability targets more effectively and efficiently.”
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