ELECTROLUX South Africa has installed its first corporate solar PV system in the Western Cape and is rolling out three more Kwikot branches in Durban, Benoni and in the Eastern Cape over the next few months.
“This solar installation is part of Electrolux’s sustainability mission in which it is utilising renewable and green energy as far as possible,” says Electrolux SA IT head, Johan van Pletzen who is heading the project.
The R3.5 million investment helps ensure the organisation’s global strategy to achieve its ‘better living’ 2030 goal of zero carbon emissions.
“The solar journey began when Electrolux invested R16 million with the introduction of renewable energy at its industrial site in Benoni with various solar panel installations,” says Murray Crow, Electrolux managing director for South Africa. “The branches now going solar was an obvious next move,” he says.
“The branches will be run on solar power as part of our strategy to move away from fossil fuels, be more self-sustaining and keep Mother Earth breathing,” says Crow.
Consistent loadshedding, which takes away 4.5 hours of productive work daily from the company, gave extra impetus to the company’s green strategy. Last year South Africa experienced a record-breaking 6,800 hours of loadshedding – almost double that experienced in 2022.
“Loadshedding and the inability to work during blackouts have really put a damper on staff morale, and hits productivity. With the solar panels in place the team can do the hours without interruption.”
With escalating Eskom tariffs, there is also a “small saving of money spent on power, but it is not significant – in the bigger picture the drive is for sustainable power away from unclean power”.
The Kwikot Western Cape Branch is the company’s second-largest branch, generating about 20% to 25% of its sales and it was “the logical” move to get solar.
“The project saw us put up 72 solar panels from our own stock, 3x 16 kVA inverters and 60 kVA in batteries.
“We went live on December 13 last year, and while we are still collating data, we believe we have saved tons of carbon, reducing our footprint significantly.”
Crow says given the long rainy days Cape Town experiences over winter; they overcapitalised on panels moving from 36 to 72 so as to facilitate the downtime of sunshine in Cape Town.
According to Crow the rainy season does make the system slightly more reliable on Eskom. “If the solar system doesn’t work because of the rain, the system automatically switches to the battery system, and will finally go over to the Eskom system if the battery is drained,” he says.
Crow says they hope to mitigate the risk of pulling off the grid by having installed the extra panels. The entire project to all four branches will be completed by about the end of April.
It has now been rolled out in Benoni and will soon be rolled out to the Durban and Eastern Cape branches. Crow says there is no cookie-cutter solution for installations.
“Each area needs its own risk assessment, plus each area comes with its own set of challenges.”
For instance, at the Benoni branch the challenges were slightly different as we were unable to put the panels on the roof of the building and instead had to build a carport that could withstand the weight of the panels.
“The roofing at the branch – which is in a house – simply wasn’t strong enough for all the panels. In Benoni we have also installed fewer panels than Cape Town because it does not experience the extensive grey and rainy days that the Cape does.”
Some of the challenges the company is sorting out are in load balancing. “We have a three-phase power system, and one phase sometimes utilises more than the other phases, however, we are working to balance this out.” Another difference in the national installations is the amount of times a year the panels need to be cleaned. “KwaZulu-Natal has salty air so the panels need to be cleaned three times a year, while Cape Town and the other branches will be cleaned twice a year. This maintenance is essential for the efficiency of the system.”
The installation came with some help from the government with Electrolux SA making use of the government’s 2023 solar incentives. Crow continues: “Ultimately you do need the money to initially do the installation before you can get the tax break, which is why some companies just can’t afford solar installations”. In this year’s Budget speech, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana did not mention any extension of the tax breaks for individuals and businesses. However, businesses have access to a different tax incentive, which will still run an extra year, with the deadline for that set for February 2025. “This entire solar installation at our branches is about us putting our money where our mouth is. We have a green spirit – we want to move forward and make a difference,” says Crow.
