Stellenbosch University (SU) will soon finish installing solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof of the Neelsie Student Centre in a move towards greater environmental sustainability.
This forms part of a larger plan with which SU hopes to optimise its power usage and reduce its carbon footprint, according to Nadeem Gafieldien, director of property services at SU.
The project’s completion is expected for the end of September, according to John de Wet, environmental and sustainability manager at SU. However, this may be postponed due to unforeseen weather conditions, said Marlo Walters, who works for Royal HaskoningDHV, one of the companies that worked on the project.
The plan to install PV panels on the roof of the Neelsie Student Centre was initially scheduled for completion earlier this year, but had to be rescheduled due to Covid-19, said De Wet. The energy generated will supply power for the student centre, said Walters.
“It’s almost like a dream come true. I’ve really pushed this long and hard, and eventually now it’s happening. I can’t actually believe it,” said De Wet.
When finished, the panels will generate 315 kilowatts of power, according to De Wet. This installation of the solar panels will help SU meet its goal to rely on 20% renewable energy by 2025, said De Wet.
Two companies worked on the project. WMC Coast, an engineering consultants company, worked on the structural installation of the PV panels, and Royal HaskoningDHV, a company that consults on a variety services, assisted as the electrical consultants for the project.
Solar panel perks
Once the solar panel system kicks in, the benefits will be clearly visible, said De Wet. The university will save costs because they won’t be dependent on Eskom’s annual price hikes, he said. At the same time, loadshedding meant unreliability in power supply. This, too, would be avoided.
The installation of the PV panels will also ensure that less energy is wasted, said De Wet.
According to Gafieldien, the student centre is currently at capacity in terms of energy usage. The power from these solar panels will allow for growth in the future, he said.
According to Walters, the structures that support the panels are unique to the Neelsie Student Centre’s roof.
This is owing to substructures that were added to the roof to support the PV panels, he said.
This addition was, in part, necessary as the student centre was previously a parking garage, said Walters. Because of that, not a lot of information was available regarding its roof structure, Walters said.
These substructures were also necessary to ensure that the roof was secure and that the solar panels would not result in high winds pulling at the roof sheets or the panels themselves, Garfieldien said.
“We don’t put caution into the wind,” he said.