The V&A Waterfront in Cape Town is seeing the start of the installation of more than 7,500 sq meters of solar panels over eight rooftops of key buildings on the 123-hectare property. The installation of the panels follows a tender process that was completed in June in which Sustainable Power Solutions was awarded the EPC contract for the job. As part of this tender, SolarWorld Africa was the chosen PV module supplier. The solar project will provide 4,207 SolarWorld SunModule Plus SW260 Poly PV modules with an output of 1093.8 kWp. The ground-breaking project will produce an estimated 1,640,000 kWh, units of clean energy. The average daily production of this system will be 4,495 kWh. The first phase is set for completion in October 2015 and the overall project is scheduled to go live by early 2016. SolarWorld solar panels will be installed on the roofs of the Watershed, the Breakwater, the Clock Tower, Granger Bay, Two Oceans Aquarium, Ports Edge, West Quay and Portswood House. Axel Scholle, MD of Sustainable Power Solutions, said: “It is a privilege to be a part of this flagship project. We pride ourselves on our focus on quality components and I am most satisfied that our highly professional team of engineers is on track to deliver this project on time and within budget, particularly as we were faced with the additional challenges of managing multiple subcontractors in a very busy public space.” SolarWorld Africa Managing Director, Gregor Kuepper, commented, ”We are very proud to be the chosen partner on this important project, validating our global business model of manufacturing high quality solar panels with long durability. Our 30-year track record in Africa and 40-years in the solar industry is testament to our commitment to the value proposition of technology leadership. This installation is significant in that it shall become the beacon for the roll out of solar rooftop applications for embedded generation in the commercial sector across South Africa, and further north into the continent. Furthermore, this project instills the financial benefits of a diversified energy mix, while emphasizing the importance of becoming environmentally friendly.”
