Q & A: YELLOW DOOR ENERGY SOUTH AFRICA
Renewables reshaping consumer goods
Why are SA’ s biggest consumer brands racing to renewables? Yellow Door Energy’ s Ross Smythe answers the top questions with regard to costs, resilience, carbon goals and the shifting energy landscape.
ROSS SMYTHE | DEPUTY HEAD OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
What’ s driving renewable energy adoption in the consumer goods sector today? Adoption of renewable energy has historically been driven by a few key factors. Previously, load-shedding was a primary catalyst, with captive rooftop solar and energy storage deployed as hybrid systems to keep operations running. Today, this technical setup speaks more broadly to energy security, particularly in response to unexpected grid outages caused by neglected upstream electrical infrastructure.
Carbon neutrality is also becoming a key motivator, especially for large, well-known retailers and brands, as it directly strengthens corporate reputation. However, sustainability initiatives still need to make financial sense even as they meet customer expectations. In summary, the main drivers are cost savings from Photovoltaics( PV), further savings via BESS through energy arbitrage, followed by energy security and carbon mitigation.
Another major driver, arguably the most important for businesses, is cost savings. The price of solar and batteries has declined significantly over the past few years, while grid electricity tariffs have continued to rise well above inflation. This has created a highly favourable environment where renewable integration has shifted from an‘ if’ to a‘ when’. In addition, Battery Energy Storage Systems( BESS) can be installed onsite either as standalone solutions or paired with solar for arbitrage or peak shifting, both of which can yield substantial savings.
The price of solar and batteries has declined significantly over the past few years while grid electricity tariffs have continued to rise well above inflation. This has created a highly favourable environment where renewable integration has shifted from an‘ if’ to a‘ when’.”
52 sabusinessintegrator. co. za