Like most commercial and industrial (C&I) companies in South Africa, the tenants of Midway Square industrial park in Howick have had to endure regular interruptions to their energy supply because of the frequent and ongoing load shedding due to the deterioration of the country’s ageing generation plants.

But with a 225kWh rooftop solar PV array capable of generating around 295MWh annually and supported with 96kWh battery storage, the new installation is providing tenants with not only a source of clean electricity that supplements the grid during normal operations, but a reliable back-up energy supply for when the mains power goes down.

The installation took six months to complete following delays due to bad weather and long lead times on equipment. Now up and running, the solar panels are expected to avoid 280 tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually and reduce electricity costs by ZAR503k on like-for-like power bills, as well as preventing the burning of ZAR360k of diesel during load shedding.

The work was carried out by Spark development partner Renen Energy Solutions Limited and marks its first operational project under the financing agreement between Spark and the South Africa-based sustainable energy specialist.