We’re proud to share that Next Renewable Generation is on a mission to make a difference by providing our expertise and services to the Noupoort Renewable Energy Trust.
Bringing Expertise: Our team is hard at work, utilising our skills and knowledge to support the initiatives and projects of the Noupoort Renewable Energy Trust.
Community Impact: We’re committed to helping the local community grow and thrive through our contributions and efforts.
Harvesting the Power of Wind: At the core of our mission lies a firm belief in the transformative potential of renewable energy, and nothing encapsulates this better than our collaboration with the Noupoort Wind Farm. Wind energy serves as a bastion of sustainability, providing clean and renewable power to communities whilst minimising environmental impact.
A Shared Vision: As the Noupoort Renewable Energy Community Trust and Next Renewable Generation are both invested, we stand together as a testament to the positive impact that strategic investments in renewable energy can have on both the environment and the communities we serve.
As loadshedding is slowly becoming a normality in South Africa, many are looking towards solar systems as a way to keep the lights on during these dark times. However, common questions such as how big of a solar system is needed or how many solar panels are required, often form the basis of this discussion. Thus, NrG has provided below a quick and simple guide on how to size a solar system:
1. Estimating your energy usage
The first step in sizing a solar system, is estimating your current energy usage. This is usually done by looking at your electricity bills and identifying the kilowatt-hours (kWh) that you consumed. Since, energy usage varies and fluctuates throughout the year and its seasons, taking a years’ worth of electricity bills, will help provide a more accurate picture of your energy profile. When sizing an industrial or commercial solar system it would be wise to take into account the hours of the day the site is in operation to avoid oversizing the system.
To size the solar system a daily kWh value is needed. Therefore, to calculate this value, one should sum and add all the monthly kWh consumption values, then divide it by the number of days in a year, thus 365. This will result in your daily kWh usage value. If sizing a commercial or industrial site you would divide this figure by the number of hours the site is in use.
2. Determining peak sun hours
The second step in sizing a solar system, is determining your peak sun hours. “One peak sun hour is one hour’s worth of sunshine at an irradiance of 1 kilowatt per square meter (kW/m²). Peak sun hours, measured as kilowatt-hours per square meter (kWh/m²), are influenced by the time of day, the season, the presence of clouds, and geographic location.”[1] South Africa averages from 4.3 to 6.3 peak hours per day. The table below, shows a breakdown of daily peak sun hours per province.
Table 1: Summary of Daily Peak Sun Hours per Province[2]
Province
Average Daily Peak Sun Hours (kWh/m²)
Eastern Cape
4.3 – 5.6
Free State
5.3 – 5.7
Gauteng
5.3 – 5.5
Kwazulu-Natal
4.3 – 5.3
Limpopo
4.7 – 5.3
Mpumalanga
4.7 – 5.5
Northern Cape
5.7 – 6.3
North West
5.5 – 6.1
Western Cape
4.7 – 6.0
3. Calculating solar system size
The final step is calculating your solar system size. The formula is:
This formula, however, assumes that the solar panels will work at 100% of its capacity rating, however, we know that is never the case. An infographic below, taken from Solar Empower, describes potential losses that can account to roughly 25%.
This means that our formula above needs to be multiplied by rough efficiency factor value of 1.25 to account for the potential losses. Our final formula becomes:
This calculated value will determine the solar system size needed in kilowatts (kW). Since solar panels come in all different sizes and ratings. This value can help you determine the number of panels needed and thus the square meterage needed for the system. Furthermore, the calculated value can help you determine your inverter and battery sizes and needs. Extra constraints and considerations to evaluate are space and budget constraints, as solar systems and especially back-up batteries are expensive. Orientation, roof tilts and mounting of the panels, as different facing directions and roof angles can affect the efficiency of the solar panels and the mounting on different types of roofs and panel weight requirements can become an issue.
Should you require more information or are ready to make a step in a renewable future, feel free to contact us.
Africa Solar Industry Association. (2022, March 8). Peak Sun Hours. Retrieved from AFSIA – Africa Solar Industry Association: http://afsiasolar.com/glossary/peak-sun-hours/
Bruce, J. (2022, November 22). Solar Panel Sizing – How To Calculate Home Solar System Size. Retrieved from Solar Empower: https://www.solarempower.com/blog/solar-panel-sizing-calculate-solar-system-size/
ClimateBiz. (n.d.). AVERAGE PEAK SUN HOURS (SOUTH AFRICA). Retrieved from ClimateBiz: https://climatebiz.com/average-peak-sun-hours-south-africa/
GoGreenSolar. (n.d.). Sizing Solar Systems: A Step-By-Step Walkthrough. Retrieved from GoGreenSolar: https://www.gogreensolar.com/pages/sizing-solar-systems
SunPower. (n.d.). How Many Solar Panels Do You Need: Panel Size and Output Factors. Retrieved from SunPower: https://us.sunpower.com/solar-resources/how-many-solar-panels-do-you-need-panel-size-and-output-factors#:~:text=You%20can%20calculate%20how%20many,generate%2011%2C000%20kWh%2Fyear).
Unbound Solar. (2020, July 14). How to Size a Solar System: Step-by-Step. Retrieved from Unbound Solar: https://unboundsolar.com/blog/how-to-size-solar-system
With the impact of loadshedding increasing month by month there is one industry that is battling to maintain their quality of production and service. The food hospitality industry relies on uninterrupted electricity to ensure their product maintains up to standard. Sustaining constant refrigeration of food produce is crucial, and load shedding compromises this, resulting in losses from having to dispose of food and increasing the risk of contamination. Because of this, many food establishments need to rely on diesel generators, whose operation is both unsustainable, harmful to the environment, and expensive. Companies are forced to explore alternative methods to sustain their businesses. This article focuses on the main challenges that food establishments encounter as load shedding becomes more frequent and offers some potential mitigation strategies that are available in South Africa.
According to reports by commercial banks, load shedding leads to an increase in the number of people eating out and ordering takeaways[1]. This places additional pressure on establishments to ensure that they can operate smoothly during periods of load shedding. Restaurants depend on a wide variety of equipment that must remain operational throughout their service hours. Most of the energy is consumed by items such as electric ovens, extraction systems and deep fat fryers, which are essential for most restaurants. In 2022, the total hours of load shedding for the year amounted to 3,776, whereas in 2023, we have experienced 2,442 hours of load shedding already through until mid-April[2]. Undoubtedly, this worsening trend is expected to continue in the coming months and years, leading to the question: how are restaurants and food establishments being impacted?
Energy measurement studies undertaken by NrG at some of the leading food brands in South Africa indicate that when equipment is turned on, there is a surge of electricity, and establishments without uninterrupted power supply are subjected to surges more frequently during load shedding.
As a result, their energy usage increases, leading to higher bills.
Damages to Equipment
Power surges can also cause damage to equipment, reducing their lifespan and resulting in additional maintenance and replacement expenses.
Loss of Revenue
Loadshedding can often impact opening hours resulting in less customers and therefore less revenue.
Issues Faced by Food Establishments
Mitigation Strategies
Regular Maintenance
Ensure that equipment is regularly checked and scheduled for maintenance. When equipment is kept well and working it is more efficient which results in lower usage, and they are less susceptible to damages from surges.
Staff Training
Ensure staff are aware of their energy usage and that they are knowledgeable in ways to reduce their usage. (e.g., Switching all unnecessary lights off, etc.)
Make sure staff are aware of loadshedding schedule to plan around it to avoid fulfilling tasks/orders.
Train staff to react to issues formed from loadshedding, as well as knowing backup plans that have been put in place.
Mitigation Strategies (Alternate Energy Solutions)
Generators: Generators are the most common and readily available option for food establishments. They have low installation costs, but the rapid increase in fuel prices and concerns about carbon emissions have led to consideration of various solar PV options.
Grid-Connected Solar Systems: Grid-connected solar systems have the lowest installation and system costs, but they are unable to operate during load shedding.
Solar Systems Coupled with a Generator: This option can operate fully during load shedding while reducing generator fuel consumption, but the dependency on the generator for its availability and grid-forming ability results in similar issues as a generator-only system.
Solar Systems Coupled with Batteries: This option eliminates fuel costs and carbon emissions and can fully operate during load shedding. However, the costs are high due to battery prices.
Battery-Only Systems: Battery-only systems can provide energy security during load shedding, but the costs will also be high, and carbon emissions are not reduced because the batteries must charge from the utility grid.
To sum up, load shedding has had a significant impact on the restaurant industry in South Africa. Frequent power outages have led to a decline in revenue and increased costs, as restaurants find it difficult to maintain a consistent level of service. Ultimately, until a long-term solution to the energy crisis is implemented, restaurant owners and managers must remain flexible and adapt to the challenges presented by load shedding to ensure the survival and success of their businesses.
Carbon Tax rate in South Africa is calculated “according to The South African Institute of Taxation (SAIT), where the Act recognises six main greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted from industrial activities. The below table shows the gases along with their Global Warming Potential.”[1]
“To calculate total greenhouse gas emissions, the quantity of each greenhouse gas (kg/year) is multiplied by its global warming potential figure. These six numbers are then added to create a total known as the ‘carbon dioxide equivalent’ or CO2e. The amount of carbon tax is then calculated by multiplying the CO2e by the current rate of tax.”[2]
The first phase of South Africa’s carbon tax period, commenced on 1 June 2019, with a starting carbon tax rate of R120 per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. As of 1 January 2022, carbon tax increased from R134 to R144 per ton of carbon, where the South African government intends to escalate this more rapidly every year to reach at least R300 by 2026. Carbon tax will commence its second phase of rollout in 2026 when the rate will be subject to larger annual increases to reach about R450 per ton by 2030. During the second phase allowances will also fall away in the hopes of companies transitioning to cleaner and environmentally friendly technologies and processes.
How can NrG help you?
As seen by the rapid escalations projected on the carbon tax front, NrG wants to help companies in the industrial space to reduce and mitigate their GHG emissions and the effect of carbon tax on their company. Our goal is to build a financially sustainable approach to environmental sustainability and management. We provide:
The South African Carbon Tax Act of 2019 came into effect on 1 June 2019. This tax will affect anyone who meets the threshold for emissions. Therefore, a “Carbon taxpayer is a person who undertakes a taxable activity listed in Schedule 2 of the Carbon Tax Act in respect of which:
(i) it has an aggregated installed capacity equal to or above the tax threshold; or
(ii) a tax threshold indicated as ‘none’ applies.”[1]
The list of Schedule 2 activities can be found here.
Carbon Tax is a type of Pigouvian tax, which is a “tax assessed against private individuals or businesses for engaging in activities that create adverse side effects for society.”[1] Thus, it is a form of penalty imposed in response to climate change, where its implementation is being used as a way to mitigate, reduce and ultimately eliminating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and produce low-carbon economies. In simple terms, Carbon Tax is an environmental fee charged on the emissions produced through the burning of carbon-based fuels, such as fossil fuels.
When carbon-based fuels are burned, carbon dioxide is emitted, which is the primary compound responsible for the ‘greenhouse’ effect. The greenhouse effect is essentially, the trapping of heat within the Earth’s atmosphere resulting in global warming.
The figure below shows the map of countries that already have carbon taxes and emissions trading systems, as per The World Bank – State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2021.
[1] Figure 1: Map showing countries with carbon taxes and emissions trading systems. (The World Bank, 2021).
