Building Energy develops rooftop photovoltaic system for the Consulate of Italy in Cape Town

Composed by 12 photovoltaic panels, the plant is expected to generate about five megawatts per hour of energy each year, thus decreasing the building's carbon footprint, through reduced reliance on the National Grid.

During the inauguration of the PV power plant in Cape Town, Matteo Brambilla, managing director at Building Energy in Africa and the Middle East, said that the solar power plant is expected to produce clean and sustainable renewable energy that will help the Consulate in reducing its reliance on grid electricity.

The project is set to reduce carbon footprint and the electricity bills of the Consulate, said Alfonso Tagliaferri, consul of Italy in Cape Town.

“This sponsorship’s importance is twofold. On the one hand, it testifies the vitality and the competence of the Italian business presence in Cape Town. On the other hand, it perfectly fits the global effort in fighting climate change initiated since 2012 by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the ‘Green Farnesina’ initiative, which sees the Ministry, together with several Italian Embassies and Consulates around the world, reduce their carbon footprint in a shift towards renewable energies, paperless workflow and recycling,” Tagliaferri explained during the inauguration ceremony.

Apart from this project, Building Energy built an 81MW photovoltaic plant in Kathu, in the Northern Cape, South Africa, which has been operating since August 2014 and is one of the largest solar plants on the continent.

The company has also announced to start the construction of a 140MW wind project in Roggeveld, in the Laingsburg area between the Northern and Western Cape Provinces, which will generate approximately 600 GWh per year.

Some of the other projects down the line include construction of a five-megawatt wind farm in Klawer, two five-megawatt photovoltaic plants in Skuitdrift and a 4.7MW small-hydro project in Kruisvallei, in the Free State Province.