NSE completed installation of a large grid-tied PV solar plant on the mall@reds roof in Centurion, Pretoria. This renewable energy plant makes use of the best quality PV panels, inverter and mounting structure available. The client achieves a payback period of 5 to 6 years and a project IRR in excess of 20% over the minimum lifetime of the plant.
The client mandated NSE to achieve two objectives. First to maximise the kWh production from the solar plant per annum. Second to minimise the financial payback period. NSE engineers had a difficult task of running various simulation to finally identify the most optimum design of the solar plant for this mall’s roof.
Astrino Nicoloudakis from Acsion (owners of mall@reds) commended NSE for its proactive approach in dealing with problems on site and providing relevant value-add services that improved the quality of the final product.
NSE CEO, David Masureik, commented that “This was a challenging project which needed to be completed on a tight schedule.” Solar panels were installed on 19 different roofs, each with its own orientation and angle. There were six independent AC tie-in points across the mall. The energy usage of each tie-in point was analysed to ensure that all the solar power connected to it would be consumed. Further equipment was installed to ensure no power was allowed back into the grid in the event the solar power exceeded the tie-in points demand. Despite these difficulties and many others, the complete solar plant was commissioned on schedule, 14 weeks from order.
NSE enhanced the overall product offering of the solar plant by including value-add services which benefited the client. These include:
- A comprehensive Operation and Maintenance (O&M) contract ensures the solar plant continues to perform as efficiently as expected for the duration of its life, which is expected to be a minimum of 20 years.
- A Performance Guarantee on the production of the solar plant and corresponding revenue the plant will generate for the mall.
- A detailed monthly report outlining the energy production of the solar plant and revenue improvement for the mall.
- A bespoke screen in center management showing performance of each inverter and sends an email alert to NSE service department when something is wrong.
This is another successful project completed by NSE, proving that solar can drastically improve the financial returns of a property through a high-quality installation and an enhanced overall service offering.
