Growthpoint Properties has become the first party to wheel renewable electricity via the City of Cape Town’s power grid in collaboration with licensed electricity trader Etana Energy.
Read: iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Max: Everything you need to know
Under the wheeling pilot project, renewable electricity generated via solar energy at Growthpoint’s The Constantia Village shopping centre is being exported into Cape Town’s power grid for use at Growthpoint’s 36 Hans Strijdom office building in the Foreshore, where Investec and Ninety One are located.
“This project brings Growthpoint closer to our climate commitment of being carbon neutral by 2050 and is the starting point to providing clean green energy to our tenants in Cape Town to further their environmental commitments,” enthuses Estienne de Klerk, SA CEO of Growthpoint Properties.
The City’s six-month pilot project includes 15 wheeling participants representing 25 generators and 40 customers. The pilot is expected to lay the groundwork for future wheeling in Cape Town, as well as enable businesses to use energy from rooftop solar panels across multiple locations.
“Overall, Cape Town is planning to add up to one gigawatt of independent power to end load shedding in the city over time. The exact mix may vary, but we expect wheeling to contribute up to 350MW to the grid in time. Congratulations to the pioneering private sector players who successfully wheeled the very first electrons, and thanks to the City’s team who worked to get the enabling legislation, billing engine, and wheeling agreements in place. This is good news for the economy and the coming energy transition, which Cape Town is proud to be at the forefront of,” highlights City of Cape Town Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis.
Private sector needs to embrace wheeling to address South Africa’s energy crisis
With South Africa’s energy crisis ongoing, along with its toll on local businesses only set to worsen, it looks like the private sector will indeed need to embrace wheeling solutions moving forward.
Growthpoint has laid out a solid blueprint for going about it.
“The City’s wheeling pilot aims to test and validate the contracting framework and billing engine for full-scale implementation. This initial transaction sets the foundation for Growthpoint to wheel clean energy to all its buildings in Cape Town in the future, including Ninety One’s office for the long term at 36 Hans Strijdom,” the company’s release concludes.
Conclusion
Growthpoint Properties’ pioneering wheeling project is a positive step towards addressing Cape Town’s energy needs and reducing its reliance on Eskom. The private sector needs to follow suit and embrace wheeling solutions in order to help South Africa overcome its energy crisis.
