Eastgate Shopping Centre in Germiston, Ekurhuleni, is set to have the latest registered rooftop solar installation in South Africa.
According to Liberty Two Degrees, it started its solar system in 2020, with the first phase consisting of a 1 MW [AC] or 1.219MWp solar power installation, which resulted in an energy saving of 1,910 MWh by 2023.
As part of the second phase, the mall added a 5 MW [AC] or 5.997MWp solar power installation
Overall, the mall has close to 13,675 solar panels, equating to 35.04% of the energy required to run Eastgrate’s daily load generated via solar energy.
When considering both phases combined, the mall has the largest registered rooftop installation, generating a total of 6MW [AC] or 7.216MWp in solar power.
The solar installation covers most of the mall’s roof, which is roughly 28,100 sqm in size, or roughly the equivalent of four soccer fields.
The energy generated will be used to power the mall’s daily operations, with the project set to be completed in Q3 2024.
With a total gross leasable area (GLA) of 142,825 sqm, Eastgate Shopping Centre is the sixth biggest mall in South Africa.
While Eastgate has access to one of the biggest single rooftop solar installations in the country, its coverage is dwarfed by the Shoprite Group, which has more than 185,000 square metres of solar across 91 of its operations.
As of December 2023, the group reported having enough solar panels to cover the equivalent of more than 26 soccer fields.