THE AFRICAN BUSINESS FORTUNE- ENERGY
Solarcentury built Africa’ s largest solar carport at the Garden City Mall in Nairobi, Kenya. generates electricity even in cloudy conditions.
Recognizing this, a growing number of businesses throughout east Africa are installing solar systems to generate solar electricity for powering facilities in buildings such as lights, air con, or machinery.
Solar roof systems are particularly well suited to dense urban environments, where land is at a premium, and power demand is high. Solar is highly scalable and flexible which enables it to be integrated in innovative ways.
A great example is the solar carport that was constructed on the roof of the car park at Garden City Mall in Nairobi last year. There is no better illustration to show how planning at the initial design stage of a new mega structure can easily incorporate solar, which provides a source of electricity to power the building during daylight hours, thereby reducing reliance on grid energy.
Such systems – known as solar hybrid – are dispelling the common perception that solar is the preserve of households and communities with no access to grid energy. In fact, there are examples around the world of structures with solar integrated in clever ways, such is the global opportunity for solar PV.
The solar system at Garden City Mall comprises 3,364 solar panels; the structure not only provides 454 parking spaces and 6,000 square meters of car park shade, but also generates 1,450mWh of clean electricity annually, equivalent to powering 550 urban homes in Nairobi every year. By using solar electricity rather than grid energy, the Mall will reduce carbon emissions by around 18,750 tonnes over the lifetime of the solar system.
Solar hybrid technology is a highly innovative energy solution that works alongside the power from the grid, and in combination with a diesel generator. During daylight hours, the solar panels generate solar electricity, and if the grid goes down, the system generates solar electricity alongside the diesel generator.
According to MasterCard’ s African Cities Growth Index( ACGI) 2015, Nairobi is one of the cities globally with the highest growth potential and it is expected to grow rapidly in the next five years. As a continental financial and investment hub, its commercial property sector is as robust as ever. It is commendable for new buildings to adopt environmentally friendly technologies, such as solar, in order to generate clean energy which reduces reliance on fossil fuels.
If all the shopping centres and buildings with unused roof spaces in Nairobi, and other towns and cities, installed solar, there would be far less need to rely on grid power and diesel energy.
The amount of additional solar electricity generated by the panels could help to meet the energy demand of the new and existing businesses, many of whom need a secure, reliable source of energy around the clock.
THE AFRICAN BUSINESS FORTUNE MAY- JUNE 2016 57