Eastgate shopping centre is now home to South Africa’s largest rooftop solar installation. The first phase of the project was commissioned in 2020, and is set to be complete by the third quarter of 2024.

Eastgate

According to a media release, phase one consisted of 1MW or 1.219MWp solar power installation, which resulted in an energy saving of 1 910MWh in 2023. For phase two, it added an additional 5 MW or 5.997MWp solar power installation, bringing the total to almost 13 675 solar panels, which equates to 35.04% of the energy required to run Eastgate’s daily load, generated through solar energy.

The solar installation covers most of the mall’s roof, an area of approximately 28 100m². The system represents Africa’s largest registered rooftop installation, when considering both phases combined generate a total of 6MW or 7.216MWp in solar power.

Eastgate has over 200 retailers under its roof, and boasts over 1 million visitors a month, it says.

Property owner Liberty Two Degrees’ sustainability lead, Brian Unsted, says: “This innovation in renewable energy generation at Eastgate is testament to L2D’s position in environmental leadership. L2D is proud to lead many firsts in this space.”

According to the company, the development has yielded various benefits to the mall and its customers, which include the reduction of Eastgate’s reliance on the grid and the creation of more shaded parking.

Eastgate

In order to ensure that no parking space was lost, new structural steel subframes were constructed on the roof, with solar panels placed on top of them, providing an ingenious solution, it said.

L2D says it prides itself on collaborating with the best in the industry to achieve its Net Zero Carbon targets. “What also makes this achievement noteworthy is the fact that due to the reduced reliance on the grid, Eastgate will see an estimated reduction of 10,9 tons of CO² emissions per year, for both phase one and two combined. We are very proud to have achieved this milestone towards L2D’s Net Zero Carbon journey.”

The Eastgate shopping centre was awarded a five-star green-star rating by the Green Building Council of South Africa in 2021.