Eastgate in Johannesburg is set to become the home of Africa’s largest officially registered rooftop solar installation, according to an announcement made by the shopping centre’s owner on Monday. The ambitious solar project, which began with its first panel installation in 2020, is approaching its final stages and is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.
Investing in solar power was a strategic decision taken by Liberty Two Degrees (L2D), as it provides a cost-effective, efficient and environmentally friendly means of generating electricity.
L2D’s sustainability strategy includes the reduction of its reliance on the grid, which has improved operating efficiencies.
L2D has made significant investments in renewable energy as part of its Net Zero Carbon journey and today announced South Africa’s largest registered rooftop solar installation at its superregional asset, Eastgate Shopping Centre.
The project is set to be completed in Q3 2024.
Eastgate’s journey to becoming an environmental leader began in 2020, where the first phase of the solar system was commissioned, a significant step in the centres commitment to sustainable energy practices. This first phase consisted of a 1 MW [AC] or 1.219MWp solar power installation, which has resulted in an energy saving of 1 910 MWh in 2023.
Since then, as part of its second phase, the mall has actively expanded its renewable energy capacity, with the addition of a 5 MW [AC] or 5.997MWp solar power installation. In total the mall has almost 13,675 solar panels, which equates to 35.04% of the energy required to run Eastgate’s daily load, generated through solar energy. This is the largest registered rooftop installation, when considering both phases combined generate a total of 6MW [AC] or 7.216MWp in solar power.
The solar installation covers most of the available mall roof space, an area of approximately 28,100m². The energy generated will be used to power the mall’s daily operations.
“This innovation in renewable energy generation at Eastgate is testament to L2D’s position in environmental leadership. L2D is proud to lead many firsts in this space.” This development has yielded various benefits to the mall and its customers, the main benefit being the reduction of Eastgate’s reliance on the grid with an additional benefit of the creation of more shaded parking.,” said Brian Unsted, L2D Sustainability Lead.
“New structural steel subframes had to be constructed on the existing rooftop to retain the current rooftop parking. The new roof structure has no sheeting or launder system, and panels sit directly on steel purlins, allowing water to pass through the roof. The current stormwater and drainage system continue to function with the waterproofing barrier on the existing roof level.”
