Q & A: ALUMO
Alumo Co-founder Rein Snoeck Henkemans explains why solar, storage, and smarter financing models are becoming essential for business continuity, cost control, and long-term resilience.
How is the ongoing electricity instability in South Africa accelerating the business case for commercial and industrial solar? There are two main factors at play: one is a complete outage, and the other is when voltage or frequency is out of range. Complete outages drive solar adoption because businesses cannot operate without power. For farms, smallholdings, or industrial areas, adoption accelerates significantly in these cases. When it comes to voltage or frequency fluctuations, these slowly degrade or damage equipment. Solar adoption, especially off-grid solutions, protects equipment and ensures continuity, otherwise businesses must install voltage regulators and frequency stabilisers, which can be very costly. This depends on the site and system size.
Solar is like buying a car brand. If you buy cheap, it will break …”
In Alumo’ s experience, what are the most common mistakes businesses make when investing in solar solutions? The biggest issues are a lack of understanding of solar and choosing the right system for their business’ s needs. Many companies do not realise the value of the investment. Solar systems usually pay for themselves within five years while continuing to provide reliable power and energy stability.
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