Steven Brown
Fortress
CEO
Fortress continues to invest significantly in renewable energy and green technologies to achieve its ambitious energy security strategy and decarbonisation targets.
Data released in the company’s financial report for the year ended 30 June 2024 (FY2024) shows that Fortress has invested a total of R337.9 million in its solar roll-out programme to date, which has enabled it to generate 22,180-megawatt hours (MWh) of the 246,141 MWh the company consumes annually.
“Our renewable energy penetration rate increased from 5% on 30 June 2023 to 9% by 30 June 2024. We anticipate this will increase to 18% by 30 June 2025, and we are looking to raise that to 23% by 2026,” explains Steven Brown, CEO of Fortress.
In line with these targets, the company’s renewable energy strategy rollout accelerated significantly in the last financial year, helping Fortress remain on track to achieve its 2030 decarbonisation goal of reducing its scope 1, 2, and 3 carbon footprint by 45% compared to its 2018 baseline.
The number of solar photovoltaic (PV) plants in operation more than doubled, from 25 as of 30 June 2023 to 59 by 30 June 2024. Fortress has since completed an additional 18 plants, with a further 3 expected to be completed by December 2024.
“Our installed capacity increased by 130%, from 9.63 megawatts alternating current (MWac) to 22.17 MWac in the last financial year, which we aim to increase to 34 MWac by June 2025,” continues Brown.
This installed capacity enabled Fortress to generate 22,180 MWh from its solar PV plants during FY2024, compared to 11,970 MWh generated in the previous comparable period.
The company has an additional R119 million committed to projects and will spend an estimated R174 million to complete its solar project rollout in addition to currently approved projects. This will bring 96 operational plants online by June 2025.
Discovery Green agreement
Concluding a 10-year wheeling agreement with Discovery Green was another critical component in achieving the company’s 2030 decarbonisation targets.
Discovery Green’s Renewable Energy Platform combines scale, expertise, actuarial modelling, and sophisticated systems. It simplifies the administrative management of renewable energy wheeling to help businesses meet their decarbonisation goals while providing savings and certainty regarding electricity costs.
“This wheeling agreement will provide renewable energy to 14 of our Eskom-supplied properties, increasing our renewable penetration levels to 100% in these specific buildings,” continues Brown.
As a net consumer from the Eskom grid, the Discovery Green Renewable Energy Platform allows Fortress to purchase electricity generated from a mix of utility-scale wind and solar sources. This ensures a more consistent and cost-efficient supply of renewable energy while achieving higher renewable penetration levels.
The platform connects businesses and their consumption profiles with leading international and local large-scale private sector renewable energy providers, benefiting from diversification and economies of scale.
“Under this agreement, Discovery Green will supply at least 70%, but potentially up to 100%, of the electricity consumption we cannot provide from our own on-site solar PV plants,” adds Brown.
According to Brown, Fortress selected the Discovery Green Renewable Energy Platform because it provides the flexibility many other power purchase agreements lack.
“It allows us to buy a mix of renewable power for our retail operations, which we cannot supply on our own, and at a competitive price. Importantly, by being part of this platform, we can benefit from the diversification of generation and consumption. This platform effect reduces the risk of purchasing energy that cannot be consumed. Furthermore, it does not compromise our current strategy of installing our own embedded solar systems.”
In this regard, Fortress continues to make significant strides with its energy security strategy, which includes installing generators and rooftop solar plants and integrating solar with generators to reduce diesel consumption, wheeling, and smart meters. Once financially viable, Fortress plans to add batteries to the solution.
This programme is anticipated to become operational in 2026.
Currently, 31 retail centres equating to 91% of the Fortress retail portfolio by gross lettable area (GLA) is connected to backup generators.
The Evaton Mall solar system installation was completed in October 2024. At over 2MWp, it is the largest system in the Fortress portfolio.
The Fortress team had to work through many issues to complete this challenging project:
• The system was initially designed below the 1MWac restriction on embedded solar systems
• There was extensive structural remedial work that had to be done on the building to accommodate the weight of the panels
• The entire roof had to be painted before installation
• The Eskom infrastructure needed to be upgraded at the mall’s point of supply
• The solar installation was staggered in two phases with the structural and painting work so we could switch on half the system in the last financial year. The remainder of the system was switched on at the end of October. The system is forecast to produce 3200MWh per annum, which amounts to a CO2 saving of more than 3000 tons of CO2e. This is a significant contribution to Fortress’s decarbonisation targets.
Fortress has also installed smart electrical and water meters at 54% of properties in the Fortress Retail portfolio, which will increase to 82% by December 2024. This includes 20 retail centres, with another 12 nearing completion and two more due by December 2024.
“These meters, along with IoT devices, form the backbone of a portfolio-wide utility management system, providing near real-time data on energy and water consumption and the complete energy supply mix, including grid-supplied, solar PV, and diesel-generated electricity,” explains Brown.
“As a data-driven company, this is how we approach energy security and water management. Our systems are interconnected through technology and data to help us improve our efficiency.
Investments like these form a critical element in the private sector’s efforts to address utility cost management and alleviate the energy security crisis in South Africa. Commercial solar PV installations are emerging as a major contributor to the reduced demand on Eskom’s generation capacity.
“Private sector initiatives, coupled with the stabilisation in Eskom’s Energy Availability Factor (EAF) through improved maintenance, have helped to alleviate load-shedding and its devastating impact on the local economy,” adds Brown.
“In this regard, Fortress remains committed to delivering value to our shareholders, clients, the environment, and our communities. We are encouraged by the positive strides made towards achieving our energy security and decarbonisation strategies in the last financial year. We remain committed to realising our ambitious targets,” Brown concluded.