MTN microgrid to power its operations
JSE-listed telecoms giant MTN has installed 9 000 solar panels on rooftops at its Fairlands headquarters in Johannesburg, with 5 418 solar panels activated and currently generating around 40% of the building’s power requirements.
The group said its head office solar renewable energy project has seen it make “steadfast progress towards achieving its net zero emissions objective”.
It said in a statement the “energisation process” of its renewable energy phase one project has progressed passed the 50% mark, with more than 5 400 solar panels having been activated out of the intended 9 000.
The company’s phased approach will inject 700 kilowatts into the 14th Avenue microgrid in Fairlands, with MTN noting this will reduce the head office’s dependence on the municipal grid by 40%.
It aims to inject 1 800kW by the end of February with a battery storage facility set to be installed by the end of March.
The progress made builds upon MTN’s pioneering step as a standalone independent power producer (IPP), implementing five different generation technologies within a single plant at its head office.
Last year, MTN commenced the first phase of its solar renewable energy project, converting its head office into a solar park with 4.9MW of solar PV and two megawatts of battery energy.
This initiative not only established MTN as a prominent IPP, but also saw it pledge significant annual energy consumption savings of 9.3 million kilowatt hours and a reduction in CO2 emissions by 9 672 tons.
MTN chief executive Charles Molapisi remarked: “MTN SA set its sights on achieving net zero emissions by 2040, a decade ahead of industry objectives.”
Further expanding on the company’s plans to eliminate its dependence on the municipal grid, Molapisi added: “The solar park, a 4.9MW solar-embedded generation plant, and the ground-breaking Island Mode Project, which will see MTN leveraging a combination of gas, solar, battery and diesel technologies working in cohesion to create a microgrid are pivotal in positioning MTN to go off the grid during load shedding.”