Solar users should focus on monitoring, managing and maximising assets

The solar industry experienced a boom between 2020 and 2023 when loadshedding was rife; however, the rush to install solar panels left monitoring and maximising these power systems as an afterthought, says solar technology specialist SolrBoost cofounder Paul de Goede.

He explains that 80% of solar systems in residential and small commercial and industrial operations are monitored reactively, instead of proactively with the use of analytics, which leads to lower returns on investment (ROI) for these assets.

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Apollo Africa ramps up electricity trading with balanced, scalable growth strategy

Licensed electricity trader Apollo Africa is ramping up its market entry with a balanced, scalable growth strategy that leverages its position as a trusted intermediary between South Africa’s top-tier independent power producers (IPPs) and a growing portfolio of industrial and commercial customers. Newly appointed interim CEO Ed Cameron reports that Apollo’s role unlocks reliable renewable energy supply for South African businesses through wheeling, while helping both IPPs and customers manage risk.
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Five-year solar power deal comes with zero investment, immediate saving, free upkeep

Lower-cost, free-maintenance, zero-investment rooftop solar electricity is the enticing five-year power purchase agreement (PPA) offer from Sosimple Energy – a diligent entrepreneurial company which already owns and operates more than 75 of solar PV assets across South Africa’s industrial and commercial sectors, and which is targeting five times more. “The customer carries no risk or expense beyond paying for the power they consume. We recover our investment over the term of the agreement,” Sosimple Energy MD Liana Braxton outlines in the attached video interview with Engineering News & Mining Weekly Publishing Editor Martin Creamer.
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Consultancy underscores value of air-quality offsets

Air-quality offsets offer a valuable tool for providing significant improvements in air quality, particularly when direct emission reductions are challenging or unfeasible, highlights global mining consultancy SRK Consulting South Africa chairperson and principal environmental geochemist Vis Reddy. Air quality offset programmes provide industries with an opportunity to counterbalance the impacts of their industrial emissions by reducing air pollution in surrounding communities that are generated from other sources.
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