As South African businesses and consumers make provisions for rising energy costs, SolarWorld sees a new trend. The company’s managing director Gregor Kupper said, “There is a growing trend toward businesses investing in solar systems which provide an embedded generation environment by integrating solar energy with electricity from the national grid so as to reduce the overall electricity requirements of the business.”
Embedded generation is small-scale production of power connected within the electricity distribution network, located near a place of consumption. A typical solar system of this nature will supply enough power for the daily use of a business without feeding excess power back into the grid. At night, should the business require extra power, it can use power from the grid.
Embedded generation can reduce the overall electricity usage of a business with pre-determined costs over a period of 25-30 years. The environmental benefits provide the business with credibility as it invests in responsible technologies. Current South African legislation does not provide for feed-in into the national grid outside of the current REIPPP projects and there is no date in sight as to when this will be accepted into legislation. With an embedded generation system, a business owner is still able to utilize solar technology without contravening any legislation and put a system in place which, when increased in size, could generate profits in the near future.
“The decentralized approach of embedded generation systems provides a far more intelligent solution, reducing the country’s dependency on fossil fuel plants and inefficient long-distance power transmission. With greater environmental benefits, it has become a win-win for both businesses and consumers,” Kuepper said.
Make sure you visit and click ‘Like’ on our Facebook page to receive even more news and updates from Alternative Energy Africa.