In a first for the City of Cape Town, in South Africa’s Western Cape, privately generated, solar-powered energy has been wheeled from one part of the city to another over the city’s grid.

Wheeling involves electricity being bought and sold between private parties and being transported from where it is generated to end-users over long distances, according to Business Tech.

Facilitated by private electricity trader Etana energy, solar energy produced at the Constantia Village mall was wheeled to another Growthpoint property, on the Foreshore on the other side of the metro.

Growthpoint and Etana are taking part in a six-month wheeling pilot project, which involves 15 wheeling participants representing 25 generators and 40 customers.

‘The pilot will lay the groundwork for future wheeling in Cape Town and enable businesses to use energy from rooftop solar panels across multiple locations, encouraging them to optimise solar capacity instead of limiting it to individual building use,’ Growthpoint said.

19 September 2023
Image: Freepik