Cape Town - A Cape Town school is making the move to not be 100% reliant on Eskom, as it continues to announce more and more hours of load shedding.
Reddam House Constantia is part of the Inspired Education Group (IEG).
It recently launched its pilot solar project at the Constantia school.
According to the school, if successful the project will produce about 40% of the school’s essential energy needs.
IEG CEO Ravi Nadasen said the group’s decision to launch the renewable energy programme was in line with South Africa’s Paris agreement commitment, to substantially reduce carbon emissions by 2030.
He said the group recognised the need to reduce its environmental impact and its dependence on power supplied by utility companies.
“Solar energy over fossil fuels is one of the best ways to decrease carbon emissions and contribute to a healthy and sustainable environment for future generations.
“Our system at Reddam House Constantia alone is projected to decrease carbon emissions that equate to saving 7 933 trees per year,” Nadasen said.
Further stating that while it was predicted that the planet’s oil reserves would run out within this century, the sun would continue to provide energy for millions of years.
“By switching to solar, companies can offset energy costs and reduce the strain on the country’s power infrastructure,” he said.
The Reddam House Constantia pilot installation will test the viability of executing the project across selected Reddam House and Reddford House schools in South Africa based on the viability relating to energy optimisation at each school.
The new solar system will be a grid-tied 244kW solar solution, that will save 172.72 tons of CO² emissions each year, which according to the group is equivalent to saving 7 933 trees per year.
It could potentially generate about 440 610kW hours of energy annually, equivalent to the power used by more than 40 households per year.
“In the future, the project could provide excess power generated by the system when the campus loads are lower and over weekends could be fed back to the local power grid.
“It would benefit the utility provider and lower the strain on the existing infrastructure,” Nadasen said.
Meanwhile, the Western Cape Department of Education (WCED) says load shedding is less of an issue for written exams, as venues are required to have natural light.
Education MEC David Maynier said: “If there are any problems, learners can be shifted to another venue to write.
“Our districts monitor the situation closely and deal with any problems that arise on a case-by-case basis.”
“The biggest impact at the moment is on our matrics’ ability to study in the evenings. These exams are already stressful enough for them, without having to worry about whether they will be able to put a light on to study,” he said.
In September, the WCED also revealed that a total of 41 Western Cape schools had applied to install solar panels to reduce their environmental impact and electricity costs.
The projects were said to have been funded by the schools, either through School Governing Body (SGB) funds or by entering into lease agreements with firms such as Sun Exchange (a solar leasing platform).
Maynier said in addition to the solar initiative, 25 schools across the Western Cape have had their existing lights replaced with energy-saving LED lights through a pilot project with Stellenbosch University.
He said the Department provided 40% of the funding for the project in the 2021/22 financial year.
“The replacement of fluorescent lights with LED lights can lead to an annual saving of up to R36 000 per school. Following the success of the pilot project, a list of 100 no-fee, high-enrolment schools were identified to also be included in the intervention,” Maynier said.
