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Woolworths has confirmed it will invest a further more than R17.5 million in renewable energy projects in key locations across the country.
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The latest investment includes the installation of various solar installations valued at R10.5 million at key locations, as well as renewable energy agreements valued at R7.3 million per year.
This includes the company’s head office and distribution centre in Cape Town, as well as stores at Phalaborwa Shopping Centre in Limpopo and Greenacres Shopping Centre in the Eastern Cape.
The expansion of the solar installation at the Woolworths headquarters building will triple the capacity of the initial pilot project completed in 2013, adding an additional 357 kilowatts.
This will increase the solar capacity at Woolworths headquarters to 465 kW.
The extension will see around 11% of the retailer’s head office’s energy needs met by solar, including its power-hungry national data centre, which runs 24/7.
At the retail level, the transition to renewable energy will require significant investment and collaboration with shopping centre owners.
Retailers like Woolworths often face challenges because they do not own the rooftops, but rely on progressive and flexible landlords like Phalaborwa Shopping Centre, with whom Woolworths worked to install a 165 kilowatt peak (kWp) grid-tied system on the shopping centre’s rooftop that meets 30% of the store’s energy needs.
Similarly, Woolworths has invested in a 300 kWp solar system at its Greenacres store in Gqeberha, benefiting from partial roof ownership of the shopping centre.
“We have an ambitious target to source all our energy from renewable sources by 2030,” Woolworths group head of sustainability Feroz Koor said.
“Working together with the renewable energy industry, energy traders, retail owners, governments and local municipalities is vital to making this transition happen. Our 2030 targets include not only switching to renewable energy, but also maximising energy efficiency. Through a variety of interventions, including installing refrigerator doors in our 348 food supermarkets, adopting smart technology and energy-saving practices in all our stores, we have reduced the energy intensity of our stores by two-thirds over the past 15 years.”
“Investing in renewable energy makes excellent business sense. By adopting renewable energy, we can not only enhance environmental sustainability, but also future-proof our retail business by decoupling energy use from business growth,” Koor concluded.
The estimated payback period for these stores and the headquarters facility is 4 to 5 years.
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