Stellenbosch Municipality began installing solar panels on municipal buildings earlier this year to avoid loadshedding and to protect economic interests in the town. This is according to Deon Louw, the director of infrastructure services at the municipality.
“South Africa’s energy crisis is an economic crisis, and it has become imperative for municipalities to start investing in alternate energy sources,” said Stellenbosch mayor Gesie van Deventer in a press statement from 6 April.
Van Deventer recently ceremoniously installed a solar panel on the roof of the Stellenbosch Municipality Main Building. The installation represents a milestone in achieving the municipality’s long term goal to be loadshedding free, which was made after a 2021 investigation into the use and generation of alternate energy supplies, according to Van Deventer.
Stellenbosch mayor Gesie van Deventer recently ceremoniously installed a solar panel on the roof of the of the Stellenbosch Municipality Main Building on Plein Street. It is hoped that the panels will allow the municipality to avoid loadshedding in the future, said Deon Louw, the director of infrastructure services at the municipality. PHOTO: William Brederode
The panels will collectively generate a total of approximately 0.7 megawatts of electricity per day once the construction taking place on six municipal buildings finishes in June, said Louw. This is enough electricity to boil a two litre kettle 3 125 times, according to the information obtained on the CheckAppliance website, a site which reviews appliances.
Lifting loadshedding
Louw explained that the stage of loadshedding denotes how much energy needs to be taken off the system.
For example, when Eskom imposes stage two loadshedding, the municipality either has to “shut off 10% of the loading or we need to be able to generate that equivalent loading”, said Louw.
The wider Stellenbosch’s peak electricity load is approximately 75 megawatts, according to Louw. The 0.7 megawatts that will be produced by the municipality represents significant progress to reaching the goal of generating 10% of the peak energy load, he said. About 3.8 megawatts is produced privately in the municipality, he added.
The top graph displays the amount of power that is produced by energy sectors in Stellenbosch. The bottom graph displays the amount of energy required to avoid loadshedding at different stages in Stellenbosch. This information was supplied by Deon Louw, the director of infrastructure services at the municipality. GRAPHICS: William Brederode
However, implementing solar energy in the municipality is not without its challenges, according to Louw. For a start “you only get power in the daytime,” he said, adding that the municipality had to spend money to upgrade their circuit breakers in order to be able to control the electricity supply on a municipal level.
In spite of this, solar power has advantages, such as having a small environmental impact. This was according to Mandie Smit, a representative of Premium Solar Energy, a Stellenbosch-based business.
“A solar energy system is not an expense, it is actually an investment,” as the money saved on electricity can pay for the cost of the panels, explained Smit.
The solar panels which are being installed on Stellenbosch municipal buildings provide an environmentally friendly way for the town to generate electricity, said Mandie Smit, a representative of Premium Solar Energy, a Stellenbosch-based business . Solar energy systems are “not an expense, it is actually an investment,” said Smit. PHOTO: William Brederode
Green light for business
By keeping the power supply more constant, the municipality hopes to reduce the negative impact of loadshedding on businesses, said Louw.
Edna Sym, a manager at The Missing Sock laundromat, said that “as a laundry, [loadshedding] really affects us very badly”. During loadshedding, the laundromat has to resort to hand washing, explained Sym.
“You have to work longer hours to make up for the inconvenience,” said Sym, who added that the tailor cannot use their sewing machine during loadshedding, resulting in lost revenue.
During loadshedding, many businesses are not able to operate, which causes a loss in revenue, according to Deon Louw, the director of infrastructure services at the municipality. Edna Sym, the manager at a Stellenbosch-based laundromat, said that, during loadshedding, they are not able to operate their washing machines and their tailor must sew by hand. PHOTO: William Brederode