Growthpoint Properties has embarked on its two largest rooftop solar installations, each with a capacity of nearly 1.2 MW, on the rooftops of the Northgate Mall,
in Johannesburg, and the Brooklyn Mall, in Pretoria.
“Growthpoint has already passed the halfway mark in achieving its goal to install rooftop solar farms capable of generating an impressive 6 MW . . . in other words, enough solar energy to power nearly 2 500 average South African homes,” Growthpoint Properties head of sustainability Werner van Antwerpen said on Wednesday.
The Reit had another four projects under way, which were expected to generate some 2.7 MW of renewable energy.
Growthpoint had already completed the installation of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels with the capacity to generate more than 3.2 MW at seven of its office, retail and industrial properties across the country.
Growthpoint office sector divisional director Rudolf Pienaar noted that the solar farms were one way in which the Reit was creating a more sustainable built environment for South Africa.
Growthpoint, a platinum founding member of the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA), owned or co-owned the largest portfolio of certified green buildings of any company in South Africa.
Growthpoint has committed that, by 2020, all its office investments would be above the GBCSA Energy and Water Performance Rating Tool benchmark. It had also set a goal for all long-term office investments to achieve at least a 4-Star Green Star SA GBCSA Existing Building Performance certification.
The company’s consolidated property assets were valued at more than R110-billion.
