Thursday, 26 March 2015

Solar PV: No time like the present to invest


Solar PV: No time like the present to invest

By Jack Ward, MD of Powermode


Hot on the heels of Eskom’s leadership crisis comes news that the parastatal power provider wants an electricity tariff hike of 25.3% from July 1 - double the expected increase.

As most South Africans will remember, tariffs were expected to go up by 12.69% in 2015-16, but now Eskom wants more cash to help pay for the diesel fuel with which to run its open-cycle gas turbines that have kept the lights on and reduced load shedding for the past year.

Let’s face it, higher than expected electricity price hikes are inevitable, as the South African economy’s survival is dependent on reliable power. This is a national imperative.

There is a positive perspective to the Eskom crisis. For those interested in the role of renewable resources, the tipping point to grid-parity for solar PV (photovoltaic) power is getting closer. Solar PV power is, without question, the way forward for households and commercial enterprises of all sizes.

And as more South Africans embrace free solar power – accepting its inevitability in the country’s power mix – so the already-strong demand for commercial and domestic roof-top solar PV installations will increase even further. Consumers who have opted for solar are already benefitting from its real medium-to-long term costs savings and reliability advantages.

Significantly, the collapse of the rand, which recently tested record lows against the US dollar, means there is no time like the present to invest in solar PV as a renewable source of energy.

Here at Powermode we’re experiencing this phenomenon first hand. Interest is burgeoning with our capacity to install around two domestic solar PV systems a week being urgently ramped up to cater for demand that should reach between four and six installations-per-week in the coming months.

Our outlook for commercial installations is equally positive with strong demand being experienced from many commercial/ industrial sectors.


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