Electricity from South Africa's largest solar roof: Self-use powered by KACO new energy.

The Clearwater Mall in Strubens Valley has made full use of its rooftops to maximise self-generated solar power.

Johannesburg / Neckarsulm, 07. July 2015 - The shopping and leisure centre in Gauteng has continued its rooftop development: Having now tripled its photovoltaic output, the Clearwater Mall now operates South Africas largest solar rooftop. As before, KACO new energy Powador 60.0 TL3 solar inverters are delivering the power.


Last year the Clearwater Mall in Strubens Valley near Johannesburg had already begun to cover a portion of its electricity needs from about 500 kilowatts of photovoltaic output. This approach functioned so well that the management of the mall decided just half a year later to extend it to the maximum stage of expansion. So, since June 2015 a 1,600 kilowatt photovoltaic system on the rooftop of the shopping mall has been supplying electricity for self-use to over 250 shops, restaurants, cinemas and sports centres.

The second expansion stage also relies completely on KACO new energy Powador 60.0 TL3 solar PV inverters. Thanks to this threefold increased output, the Clearwater Mall has now covered about one third of its 5 megawatt installed load from photovoltaic, and holds the record of being South Africas largest solar rooftop.

Christoph Heinermann, Managing Director of KACO new energy South Africa stated: "Clearwater Mall is an example of how convincing photovoltaic can be when everything is done properly. Thanks to the exemplary construction work of our partner Solareff and the continuously high degree of efficiency of our inverters, the yield is correct and thus fully justifies our customers business case. That made their decision to embark on the second stage of expansion all the easier."

As part of their portfolio, Solareff (Pty) Ltd. and KACO new energy South Africa offer complete solutions based on photovoltaic power supply concepts to new commercial developments.

About KACO new energy:
KACO new energy is amongst the world's largest manufacturers of solar inverters. With offices in 16 countries, the company offers inverters for every array size from the smallest homes to the largest solar farms of hundreds of Megawatts. KACO new energy is based in Neckarsulm, near Stuttgart, Germany and the production facilities there, in the Americas and Asia have supplied approx. 7 Gigawatts of inverters since 1999. The company was the first inverter manufacturer to achieve fully carbon-neutral production and is rapidly heading towards power self-sufficiency. KACO new energy also supplies energy storage systems and battery inverters, as well as inverters for combined heat and power plants and CPV systems. In 2014, KACO new energy celebrated the Centenary of the original company which was one of the first suppliers of inverters in the late 1930s. More information at www.kaco-newenergy.com

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