Eastgate Shopping Centre, owned by Liberty Two Degrees (L2D), now hosts South Africa's largest rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) installation.
The solar panels cover an area of approximately 2.8 hectares, just shy of three rugby fields.
L2D announced that the entire project is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2024. This initiative aims to provide cost-effective and efficient electricity, significantly reducing the mall's reliance on the national grid.
The first phase of the solar PV installation, with a capacity of 1MW, was commissioned in 2020. It saved Eastgate Shopping Centre 1,910 megawatt hours of energy in 2023 alone. A further 5MW installation is currently underway, marking the second phase of the project.
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," L2D stated.
Combined, the installation represents a total capacity of 6MW, making it South Africa's largest registered rooftop solar project.
Covering most of the mall's available roof space, approximately 28,100m² (2.8 hectares), the solar panels not only generate power for daily operations but also provide shaded parking on the rooftop, enhancing the shopping experience.
"What also makes this achievement noteworthy is the fact that due to the reduced reliance on the grid, Eastgate will see an estimated reduction of 10.9 tonnes of CO2 (carbon) emissions per year for both phases one and two combined. We are very proud to have achieved this milestone towards L2D's Net Zero Carbon journey," said Melinda Isaacs, L2D's developments executive.
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