Cape Town - Forty-one Western Cape schools have applied to install solar panels to reduce their environmental impact and electricity costs.
The combined peak capacity of these installations is 25.87 MWp, Education MEC David Maynier said on Monday.
“One of these schools, Tamboerskloof Primary School, has also installed a battery storage system to keep the lights on during load shedding and allow teaching and learning to continue,” he said.
These projects have been funded by the schools, either through school governing body (SGB) funds or by entering into lease agreements with firms such as Sun Exchange, a solar-leasing platform.
“We fully support these investments by our schools, valued at over R46 million,” Maynier said.
In addition, 25 schools have had their existing lights replaced with energy-saving LED lights through a pilot project with Stellenbosch University.
The department provided 40% of the funding for the project in the 2021/22 financial year. Maynier said the replacement of florescent lights with LED lights can lead to an annual saving of up to R36 000 per school.
“Following the success of the pilot project, a list of 100 no-fee, high enrolment schools has been identified that could benefit from the intervention. Twenty-five of these schools are benefiting from the LED lighting project in the 2022/23 financial year, fully funded by the department. The work has already been completed at most of the schools, with the project expected to be completed by October 2022. We will then consider expanding the project to other schools,” Maynier said.
Schools are also receiving LED lighting during scheduled maintenance projects where replacement of lights is required.
Newly constructed schools also make use of LED lighting.
“We are committed to doing all we can to support our schools to reduce their energy consumption, and look forward to seeing other schools taking the initiative to address our energy crisis and reduce costs in the process,” Maynier said.
Cape Times