To safeguard against rising energy costs, and to play a part in the worldwide pivot towards renewable energy, many institutions are switching to solar.
In light of the looming recession settings like hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities, can ill-afford any increase to their operating costs. Increased energy costs directly translate to increased costs of healthcare, for clients and patients. where an unreliable power supply could potentially put human lives at stake, the need for energy security is even more critical.
A recent judgment handed down by the North Gauteng High Court stated that all hospitals, clinics, schools, and police stations should be exempt from load shedding. In practice, however, alternative power solutions for these institutions have been difficult, and costly to implement across the board.
In recent years we’ve seen the early stages of an ‘unbundling’; where generation, transmission, and distribution are treated as separate entities, and an ensuing acceleration of private-sector participation in the energy space.
Now, a visionary group of investors and specialist doctors has teamed up with one of the country’s leading solar solutions providers, to bring affordable power to a space where South Africans need it most: the realm of healthcare.
In addition to the world-class solar energy system, the brand-new R700 million state-of-the-art surgical hospital, which opened late last year in Johannesburg, sports 13 theatres and even boasts a cutting-edge surgical robot – one of only a handful of such devices currently operating in the country.
The facility focuses on advanced, minimally invasive, image-guided, robotic, and tele-surgery procedures, performed by a plethora of field-leading specialists including neurosurgeons, cardiologists, vascular surgeons, orthopaedic surgeons, plastic surgeons, radiologists, and many others.
The innovative 405.9 kW solar system lets the hospital deliver best-in-class healthcare, without contributing to global carbon emissions, or the local energy crisis. The ground-breaking partnership allows the specialists to perform potentially life-saving procedures, while reducing the pressure on the national and municipal power grids.
The project is similarly on-brand for IMPOWER, who have previously proven their mettle over an extensive portfolio of innovative, individually tailored solar solutions spanning factories, shopping centres, supermarkets, schools, and senior care centres.
“The IMPOWER team worked closely with the hospital to install the state-of-the-art solar system that powers the facility,” says IMPOWER’s Head of Engineering, Gabriel Kroes.
“A lot hinges on the success of the project, and so far, it’s off to a fantastic start! The collaboration – one of the first of its kind in SA – paves the way for cross-sector partnerships that allow renewable, clean, affordable energy to power the vital services that are the lifeblood of South African society.”
