

Western Cape premier Helen Zille has encouraged businesses in the province to invest in grid-tied rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.
Rooftop PV is a clean and green alternative source of energy and by feeding into the grid, businesses will produce energy for others and contribute to the current national energy challenges, she says.
Through the "Energy Security Game-Changer", the Western Cape aims to reduce its demand on the national grid by 10% over the next three years.
The game-changer is a joint initiative with the City of Cape Town and a number of other local municipalities, including Stellenbosch, George, Saldanha, Mossel Bay and Drakenstein.
"One of the game-changer targets is to add a further 120-megawatts over the next three years in the province from rooftop solar PV," notes Zille.
The Western Cape government intends to diversify its energy mix and promote energy-efficiency measures, while addressing the impact on municipal revenue.
Another way for business to get involved is through investing in energy-efficient measures, adds Zille.
This includes, for example, doing an LED lighting retrofit, which has an 18-month pay-back period and will result in major energy savings. LED lighting uses at least 75% less energy, and lasts 25 times longer than incandescent lighting.
"In the current economic climate, it is critical for us to find ways of supporting the growth of the energy industry in the Western Cape, as estimates indicate the energy-efficiency market alone could grow to R1.3 billion by 2019 with approximately 1 000 job opportunities being created," notes Zille.
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