It’s in regards to the proper folks, not simply the proper panels, says SolarAfrica’s Head of Business Brandon Horn.
Because the race to renewables quickens, a belief hole is rising. Too many companies have been burned by botched installs, fly-by-night suppliers, and complicated financing – whereas others merely don’t know sufficient to ask the correct questions.
Brandon Horn, Head of Business at SolarAfrica, says that whereas South Africa’s vitality transition is gaining momentum, so too are venture delays, failures and damaged guarantees.
There’s, nevertheless, a method for patrons to navigate and bridge this belief hole.
The belief hole
“This has emerged largely because of the trade’s superficial development throughout the loadshedding disaster. As demand for vitality options soared, many new gamers entered the market with out the mandatory experience, monitor document or inner functionality to successfully ship.”
Horn says that many companies are unfamiliar with how Energy Buy Agreements (PPAs) work or how methods are engineered and controlled, and thus have been left susceptible.
“As loadshedding peaked, the market was flooded with new gamers providing quick-fix photo voltaic options. But with out the mandatory in-house experience or expertise, many vital companies – resembling engineering, compliance, security and authorized – have been outsourced, leading to poor integration, misaligned values, inconsistent requirements, and an absence of possession.”
He likens the flood of photo voltaic installers throughout loadshedding to purchasing a automotive from a doubtful dealership. “On paper, it seems to be good: shiny, inexpensive, will get you from A to B. However 5 to 10 years down the road, when it wants servicing or spares, the corporate is nowhere to be discovered.”
“Photo voltaic is a 20-year asset, not a short-term consumable. For those who get the design, engineering or upkeep fallacious, you’re caught with these errors for many years.”
What to search for in an vitality associate
Horn says that against this, suppliers with end-to-end in-house groups – who’ve lower their enamel by expertise – provide a single level of accountability and constant high quality throughout the venture lifecycle. “It’s about extra than simply panels; it’s in regards to the folks behind them,” he says.
Horn says it’s necessary to search for a good vitality associate to make sure you’re getting efficiency and never simply empty guarantees. “They need to have a confirmed monitor document of initiatives, in-house experience and native presence. Ask about their future plans – your vitality wants as a enterprise will evolve, and also you don’t need to be locked right into a PPA with an organization that solely does photo voltaic, and can’t meet your altering necessities.”
Finish-to-end reduces danger
Amid this noise and confusion, SolarAfrica stands out as an illuminating instance of how built-in in-house experience can ship actual worth to clients. With over a decade of expertise, the corporate has constructed a strong monitor document throughout a variety of complicated initiatives – from rooftop and ground-mounted methods to large-scale battery and wheeling options for quite a few industrial and industrial sectors.
Horn says that the place many suppliers outsource key features, the key to SolarAfrica’s success is that it manages every little thing in-house – from authorized and environmental to compliance, asset administration and buyer expertise. “This built-in mannequin ensures each staff shares the identical requirements, timelines and accountability,” he explains. The corporate was additionally named ‘African Photo voltaic Firm of the Yr’ by the Africa Photo voltaic Business Affiliation in each 2021 and 2023 – proof that this mannequin is recognised for the constructive outcomes it delivers.
Horn says that one of many firm’s key differentiators is its utility venture growth division. These consultants are devoted to growing and working large-scale renewable vitality initiatives that provide clear energy to the nationwide grid and industrial off-takers by way of wheeling agreements. This consists of initiatives resembling the corporate’s flagship photo voltaic farm SunCentral, which lately reached monetary shut on the primary 114 MW of the venture’s whole 1GW capability. Operating parallel to this perform is SolarAfrica’s authorized, environmental and compliance groups, which deal with these key elements of each utility-sized initiatives and the normal on-site photo voltaic and battery methods the corporate supplies to companies.
SolarAfrica’s enterprise growth staff, which focuses on innovation, continually analyses buyer ache factors and the vitality panorama to make sure the corporate stays forward of the curve. “With vitality laws altering continually, you want a associate who’s not simply responding, however proactively anticipating what’s subsequent. Our enterprise growth staff additionally tracks future regulatory shifts and builds options upfront.”
One other frequent execution danger out there is poor system design – typically resulting from an absence of engineering experience. “We’ve seen methods that look good on paper however are outsized, non-compliant or underperforming. That’s often as a result of the design was rushed or outsourced.” At SolarAfrica, each venture begins with in-house technical and engineering groups conducting web site visits, modelling knowledge, and tailoring the answer to the shopper’s vitality profile.
Horn says that it’s necessary to SolarAfrica that it owns each stage of the venture lifecycle. “We don’t stroll away as soon as the panels are up. We keep accountable for the system’s efficiency over its full lifespan,” he says. This consists of in-house asset administration, upkeep and buyer expertise groups that monitor, keep and optimise methods month by month. It’s an strategy that retains purchasers knowledgeable, protected, and assured that what was promised will really be delivered.
With extra experience stretching throughout gross sales, finance, advertising, operations, IT and folks operations, to call a couple of, the corporate is constructing a strong base of pros to assist all elements of the enterprise. “When everybody has the identical heartbeat, you get consistency in supply and high quality. There’s one set of values, one level of contact, one service tradition, and one normal – and that makes all of the distinction whenever you’re investing in a 20-year vitality asset,” he concludes.
