12 www. refrigerationandaircon. co. za RACA Journal I October 2026
SOLAR ENERGY business
The result is a pipeline of‘ awarded’ projects that never reach financial close or construction. Engineers can improve project robustness by providing conservative, well-documented performance models for chillers, refrigeration racks and air-handling systems over realistic ambient conditions and operating profiles.
When the moderator raised the role of green certificates and the potential to tap international ESG-driven capital, the discussion highlighted another area of technical relevance. Many domestic EIAs( Environmental Impact Assessments) do not reach the level of environmental and social performance required by international lenders, including IFC Performance Standards and similar frameworks. Issues such as resettlement, community consent, and long-term environmental impact are central to deal approval.
Perhaps the most immediately practical insight for HVAC & R engineers is the rapid growth of behind-the-meter and off-grid solar and storage in the region. In markets such as Zambia, Zimbabwe, DRC and Tanzania, installed behind-the-meter PV capacity is already several times greater than grid-connected utility-scale capacity. Self-generation is becoming the norm where grid reliability is poor and regulatory processes are cumbersome. The panel referenced significant activity in the mining sector, including a 200 + MW project in the Congo supplying a mine under a private off-take arrangement. These are precisely the environments where cooling and ventilation loads are critical to operations – whether for worker safety, process stability, product integrity or environmental compliance.
Designing HVAC & R systems for such hybrid energy environments demands a deeper integration between mechanical and electrical engineering. Load profiling at fine temporal resolution, including seasonal and process-related variations, becomes a key input to sizing PV arrays, inverters, storage and backup generation. Start-up currents, harmonic distortion, motor control and fault ride-through behaviour matter more when the system is islanded or running on a constrained microgrid.
The discussion also touched on localisation and industrial policy, particularly in relation to steel structures and tracker systems for PV plants.
South Africa has substantial steel capacity, but recent years have seen large volumes of imported steel for trackers and structures, raising concern within the domestic industry and prompting expectations of policy changes and duties. For HVAC & R, similar localisation considerations apply to support structures, plant rooms, ducting, piping, racks and enclosures. On larger integrated projects – for example, an agro-processing facility with industrial refrigeration, rooftop or ground-mount PV and shared infrastructure – attention to local fabrication and content can strengthen a bid or funding application, even in the private sector, by aligning with policy objectives and off-taker preferences.
Finally, the Q & A session highlighted the perceived funding gap for start-ups and SMEs. From the vantage point of many smaller developers and engineering firms, capital appears to be available only for‘ fully de-risked, blue-chip’ projects. The panellists acknowledged this frustration but pointed out that there are DFI-backed SME programmes channelled through commercial banks and other intermediaries, albeit often poorly publicised and difficult to access. For HVAC & R SMEs aspiring to participate in energy-linked projects, this suggests a dual focus: sharpening the technical and financial rigour of proposals, and building partnerships with developers and financiers who understand the funding landscape. Being able to present a coherent technical concept – for example, high-efficiency refrigeration with integrated PV and storage, supported by credible performance data and a sensible revenue or savings model – dramatically improves the chance that a project will be taken seriously by funders.
In summary, the pathway from tender to tariff in southern African solar projects is shaped less by panel efficiency curves and more by off-taker quality, contractual structure, regulatory clarity and integration with real-world loads. For HVAC & R consulting engineers and system designers, this is not a peripheral issue. Our systems are often the dominant, most flexible electrical loads on site, and their behaviour over 10 – 20 years is central to both technical and financial performance. RACA
The panellists being introduced. Panel discussion underway.
12 www. refrigerationandaircon. co. za RACA Journal I October 2026