Sun City, a holiday resort in the North West Province, said yesterday it had installed a R16 million solar plant to reduce electricity consumption from the national grid.
Sun International, which owns Sun City, said the system constituted 2584 560W monocrystalline solar PV modules installed on the roof of the Sun City hotel.
Sun International said the investment will pay for itself within five years, driven by above-average annual electricity price escalations.
The plant had an expected lifespan of beyond 25 years when coupled with a well-planned preventative maintenance regime, it said.
Tsebo Energy Solutions national engineer TM Lesetla said: “These panels will be married into Sun City’s internal electrical network to feed the power produced on the roof to the points of delivery. Sun City is like a little town on its own and the solar capacity is part of the energy mix.”
Tsebo Energy Solutions, who installed the system, said the installed plant would displace an equivalent of 2367571kWh per annum, with the highest levels of energy production expected in nine out of the 12 months.
Sun City general manager Brett Hoppé said: “This is an equivalent of what 329 average-sized South African households consume over a year. 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.”
The group said from a sustainability perspective, the solar plant would see Sun City reduce its annual CO2 equivalent emissions by an estimated 2510 tons per annum, a positive contribution to mitigating climate change in 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. Efficient lighting, HVAC retrofits, reconfigurations, water heating, and a gradual move to renewables all form part of the plan.”
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