Johannesburg - It’s been a busy time over at South Africa’s most famous holiday resort with a new solar system already yielding results and the Lefika Villa project nearing completion.
Sun City has taken its name to heart and installed a R16-million solar plant to reduce electricity consumption from the national grid. Located along the border of the Pilanesberg National Park, with many sunny days throughout the year, the grid-tied solar photovoltaic system is expected to generate 1.4 megawatts of energy for use around the resort complex.
Senior operations engineer at Tsebo Energy Solutions, who installed the system, TM Lesetla said the system constitutes 2 584, 550W monocrystalline solar PV modules installed on the roof of the Sun City hotel.
“These panels will be married into Sun City’s internal electrical network, including 12, 112kW newly installed inverters, to feed the power produced on the roof to the delivery points. Sun City is like a little town on its own, and the solar capacity is part of the energy mix,” Lesetla said.
Sun City general manager, Brett Hoppé.said the installed plant will displace an equivalent of 2 367, 571kWh yield a year, with the highest levels of energy production expected in nine out of the 12 months.
“This is an equivalent of what 329 average-sized South African households consume over a year. On good sunshine days, which will be most days, the facility will free up an equivalent of 14% of Sun City’s electrical demand from the national utility supplier Eskom, which will be to the benefit of the grid in the vicinity, and by extension local communities that feed off the same supply,” Hoppé said
CEO of Tsebo Facilities Solutions, Aubrey McElnea, said the solar plant at Sun City has already exceeded expectations. While an annual net saving of R3.2m was projected, data acquired from the plant’s intelligent consumption dashboard shows that just over the last two months, 413 871kWh in energy savings were achieved. “These results constitute more than R1m in savings, considering both energy and demand reductions, highlighting the efficiency and value proposition of transitioning to renewable energy solutions,” he said.
Furthermore, from a sustainability perspective, the solar plant will see Sun City reduce its annual CO2 equivalent emissions above 2 510 metric tons per annum, a positive contribution to mitigate against climate change into the future.
“This is one of the many initiatives that Sun City, in particular, and Sun International, are rolling out to reduce energy use both from a supply and demand perspective. Efficient lighting, HVAC retrofits and reconfigurations, water heating and a gradual move to renewables all form part of the plan,” said Hoppé.
Sun City sustainability manager Lwazi Mswelanto said: “Sun International’s sustainability approach ensures we continue to meet our vision of providing memorable experiences for our guests, providing employment for our people, delivering superior shareholder returns, creating genuine value for the communities in which we operate and making sure we reduce our environmental footprint at the same time.”
Hoppé said the investment will pay for itself within five years, driven by above-average annual electricity price escalations. The plant has an expected lifespan of beyond 25 years when coupled with a well-planned preventive maintenance regime. The recent installation of the solar plant at Sun City created 23 job opportunities for individuals from the local community.
Meanwhile, one year after the announcement of Sun International’s R295m Lefika Villas development at Sun City, the project is 85% complete and every villa is already fully booked for Christmas and New Year. The Lefika project marks the first five-star plus timeshare on offer at the Sun Vacation Club.
“The development could not have come at a more opportune moment. With the Nedbank Golf Challenge starting on November 6 and the end-of-year holidays fast approaching, we are facing unprecedented demand. Luckily all 10 of the four-bedroom villas and 65% of the three-bedroom villas will be available from November. The remaining villas will come on board by mid-December, just in time for festive season bookings,” Hoppé said.
The development consists of 48 three-bedroom and 10 free-standing, four-bedroom villas, all en-suite. The new luxury villas form the first phase of a larger development envisaged for the Sun Vacation Club and includes a club house, new restaurants and other amenities.
Group general manager for the Sun Vacation Club, Janita Donaldson, said 40% of Lefika Villas sales were snapped up by existing Sun Vacation Club members. The remaining 60% was bought by new members, signing up for the first time.
Lefika means “stone” in the local Tswana language, and pays homage to the adjacent stone-walled Itlholanoga heritage site – the real “Lost City” of the greater Sun City resort. A team of 15 architects and designers from Boogertman + Partners and Boogertman Interiors Turnkey spent the past 18 months designing and supervising construction, as well as procuring furniture and fixtures for the building, landscape and the interiors.