- Tiger Brands of South Africa will be investing in solar power systems for 35 of its manufacturing sites
- It will start with 4 sites to generate power from 2 MW capacity through PPAs signed with IPPs
- Once all 35 sites are equipped with solar power, it expects to source 65% of its electricity needs for manufacturing from clean energy
One of the largest packaged goods producers in South Africa, Tiger Brands has announced a multi-million rand investment to procure solar power for its 35 manufacturing sites by 2030 to secure 65% of its electricity needs fulfilled by clean energy.
The company will have 35 of its manufacturing facilities fitted with rooftop solar systems, and secure clean energy through power purchase agreements (PPA) with independent power producers (IPP).
To start with, it will have 4 of these sites generating power from 2 MW installed capacity, providing at least 1/3rd of their power usage when these become operational between Q4/2022 and Q1/2023. The company identifies these 4 sites as Henneman Mill in Free State, King Foods in the North West, along with beverages, and home and personal care manufacturing plants in Gauteng.
Businesses like Tiger Brands are seeing value in installing solar power units at their premises to become energy secure and meet their sustainability targets, as the country continues to battle lengthy power outages owned by the sole national utility Eskom.
“Harnessing the power of natural energy sources is first and foremost about minimizing our impact on the environment and doing our part to reduce reliance and strain on the national grid so that more South Africans have access to the resource,” said Tiger Brands’ Chief Manufacturing Officer Derek McKernan.
The company aims to go net zero by 2050 in its emissions, and in the interim reduce its GHG emissions by 45% by 2030. It is also exploring other renewable energy sources.
As South Africa continues to battle long hours of power outage with its aged power infrastructure, businesses are looking at solar power to ensure energy security. Realizing the same, South African government is making efforts to encourage the uptake of rooftop solar by residential and commercial segments via feed-in-tariffs (see South Africa Leans On RE To Improve Power Supply).
In June 2022, Vantage Data Centers entered a solar PPA with SolarAfrica for 87 MW capacity in South Africa’s Northern Cape (see Corporate Solar PPA For 87 MW In South Africa).
