By Rikie Lai
Kingswood College recently unveiled a R12 million solar panel project that will help the school reduce reliance on the national grid by 70%.
The R12 million project will see in excess of 730 555-Watt solar panels with an inverter system installed on campus in 2024, with the ultimate goal to reduce reliance on the national grid by 70% and provide a stable
source of electricity to the campus.
The hybrid system will allow Kingswood to alternate between their solar installations or the national grid for their power supply.
“The ‘hybrid’ system means Kingswood will be able to switch between energy sources (solar, battery, generator and municipality) depending on price, energy production, and energy usage, making this system all that more effective,” said a statement from the institution.
The unveiling event was held with former Kingswood bursar Soné Greisel, College head Leon Grové, Chair of Council, Kesentri Govender, and Council member Geoff Kingwill. A ribbon was cut to officially unveil the solar project. Important stakeholders and attendees to the launch with the assistance of KMV operations manager Grant Bradfield were given a tour of the location of the battery and inverter room after the ribbon-cutting. Attendees were also given an opportunity to ask any questions they had on the future and the possibilities of the project.
Grové expanded on the capabilities of the project, allowing Kingswood to monitor the system functionality, if there are any faults or problem areas, and to quantify the money saved and reduced carbon footprint all at the touch of an application which is connected within the system.
The project not only marked a special day in Kingswood’s venture into sustainable alternative power solutions, but also Kingswood’s 130th anniversary which also initiated this step into solutions for problems including costs and negative impact traditional generators placed in situations where the campus would be without any electricity.
To construct the project, Kingswood had to remove the long-standing “Jagger Nets” which many old Kingswoodians have fond memories of. However, this is only to benefit Kingswood’s future and was appropriately chosen as the most suited area. However, consideration of what Kingswood would remove to construct this project would also lead to commitments to re-plant all trees which were removed and were identified as mostly alien plant life by indigenous flora in other areas on campus and the sports department also appropriately updated their cricket facilities and increase turf strips on Gane Field.
Photo: Jackie Clausen
“As we reflect on our 130-year history this year in 2024, it is critical that we also look to the future of Kingswood as a leading school in Africa. Energy and water sustainability are a major part of our Estate and Buildings strategy with an overarching goal as a school is encapsulated in our Education for Life vision, through which we hope to give our pupils the understanding, skills and global awareness to contribute positively to a changing world,” said a statement from Kingswood.
“The reason for choosing this mainly ground based system was that the requirements of the project necessitate a ground-based solution, that will allow us to maximize efficiencies with the panels we install – including (but not limited to) making sure they are all North-facing, and that a system of this size and complexity can be easily maintained and run in future. The location is also ideal for a system of this complexity with its proximity to the Maintenance Department.”
