The V&A Waterfront is the most visited tourist destination in all of Africa – attracting more than 23 million people per year. It comes as no surprise then, that the facility is looking to do its part for the environment with the installation of a massive solar energy ‘farm’ on its many rooftops.
Comprising 4,207 solar panels installed on the roofs of the main Waterfront buildings, with a total electrical output of 1,093.8 kWp (killowatt-peak), it is hoped that the iconic retail location will be able to reduce its carbon footprint by a whopping 1,610 tonnes per year. The average daily production of the system will be around 4,500 kWh (kilowatt hours), which is enough energy to provide a day’s worth of electricity to 310 average-sized households.
The V&A isn’t the first shopping mall in Cape Town to harness the power of the sun, however. Bayside Mall in Tableview has had a solar project running for some time now, but it’s 500 kWp (kilowatts peak) is about half the total output of the Waterfront’s rooftop solar farm.
It took about three months to install the solar farm on top of the V&A Waterfont, and Sustainable Power Solutions Managing Director, Axel Scholle, told Cape Business News that they managed to stay on schedule and within budget despite the challenges associated with a busy tourist attraction like the Waterfront.
The V&A’s Executive Operations Manager, Colin Devenish, says their solar project proves that clean energy systems can be integrated with high-usage properties, adding that they are looking to install more solar panels and inverters on the roofs of several other buildings in the Waterfront precinct, including the Two Oceans Aquarium and the Watershed.
Kudos from all of us here at Cape Town Etc. It’s always good to see Cape businesses leading the way in making a real difference for future generations.
Read the full story about the V&A Waterfront solar project on Cape Business News.
Photography BDLive and Jurie Senekal (CBN)
