SOUTH AFRICA – Provest Group, a South African provider of mining, industrial, and construction services, has successfully implemented a solar energy system at its Steelpoort plant in Limpopo.
This shift aims to enhance energy security and reduce carbon emissions, particularly within the platinum, chrome, and manganese sectors that Provest primarily serves.
The challenges of load shedding drove the move to solar power. “Loadshedding pushed us to explore alternative energy solutions,” said Martin Kubyane, Provest’s plant manager.
“Our reliance on diesel generators increased our operational costs and contributed to higher carbon emissions. We realized that solar energy would allow us to secure our power supply, reduce grid dependency, and continue meeting production targets while significantly cutting emissions.”
Last year, the Steelpoort plant endured 120 hours of load shedding, equivalent to 15 working days.
Diesel generators sustained operations, consuming 2,120 liters of fossil fuel and 52.02 tons of CO2. The plant also used 56.545 MWh of coal-generated electricity, further contributing to emissions.
The newly installed solar system is expected to save Provest over R50,000 monthly on generator hire alone, excluding diesel costs.
“This project will also prevent an estimated 52.02 tons of carbon emissions annually, highlighting our commitment to reducing our environmental impact,” Kubyane added.
Development and implementation of the solar project
The solar energy initiative began in June last year, when Provest commissioned Pienaar & Erwee Engineers to analyse the plant’s energy consumption and costs comprehensively.
This data helped shape the business case for transitioning to solar power. By March this year, Rolling Snowball Holdings, a local company, was appointed to carry out the installation.
The project consists of a 50 kWh system for plant operations and a 30 kWh system for office operations.
The total investment of R1.5 million (US$87,467.39) covered installing 128 Canadian solar panels, a 50 kW Deye inverter, six 5 kW Luxpower inverters, ten 5.12 kWh HV Deye batteries, and six 5.12 kW Volta batteries.
Remarkably, the system is expected to pay for itself within 1.7 years, far below the industry average of nine years.
“Rolling Snowball was professional throughout the implementation process and provided excellent after-sales support,” Kubyane reported.
“The installation took just two weeks, and we optimized our energy environment within six weeks.”
With the success of this project, Provest has secured a reliable energy source and taken a significant step toward sustainability, reducing its environmental footprint while cutting operational costs.
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