The construction of one of the largest rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) plants in South Africa at Emperors Palace, in Boksburg, Gauteng, is 50% complete, with first power supply to Emperors Palace expected to start next week.
About 4 000 Canadian Solar Tier 1 modules, comprising sizes of 315 W and 250 W, will be installed and connected to 37 SMA inverters to regulate the direct current to alternate current for power supply. About 18 000 m of cabling is required for the plant.
Energy engineering solutions provider Terra Firma Solutions is building the plant.
The company first conducted a detailed study to ensure the roof could support the weight of the solar panels and associated equipment and also established that Emperors Palace will directly use all the solar power produced.
The plant will cover about 7 265 m2 of the current roof space and is expected to generate about 1.9 MWh/y of electricity.
“This will equate to about R2-million of electricity savings a year at the current tariffs,” Terra Firma Solutions marketing manager Fred Hagelberg noted at the plant’s launch on Wednesday.
Once at peak production, the solar PV plant was expected to produce 15% to 20% of Emperors Palace’s electricity needs.
