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Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) has announced a new solar power project for its Silverton assembly plant that aims to make the plant completely ‘green’ and energy self-sufficient by 2024.
This will make it one of the first Ford plants in the world to achieve this status, the group said in a statement on Friday (November 13).
The ‘Blue Oval Project’, a partnership between Ford and SolarAfrica will provide a 13.5 MW solar facility for the facility, valued at R135 million, which will deliver approximately 30% of the Silverton plant’s annual power requirements.
This involves the installation of specially developed and locally manufactured solar photovoltaic (PV) garages throughout the facility, using more than 31,000 solar panels.
With parking spaces for around 4,200 vehicles, it will be one of the largest solar garages in the world.
Aiming for island mode
Ockert Berry, FMCSA vice president of operations, said the solar project is the first step to achieving “island mode” in the next four years.
At this point, the Silverton assembly plant, which produces the Ford Ranger, Ranger Raptor and Everest for domestic sales and more than 100 global export markets, will no longer be dependent on the national power grid or municipal services, said.
“Our goal for 2024 is for the Silverton plant to be completely energy self-sufficient and 100% carbon neutral, using a combination of renewable energy and integrated cogeneration comprising solar photovoltaic, biomass, biogas and biogas for all of our electricity needs. , gas and heating. ,” he said.
“We will also introduce 100% water recycling, and all non-fermentable waste will be reused through a pyrolysis system to produce syngas.”
Berry said the developments will also make the group’s Silverton assembly plant more efficient and more cost competitive.
In addition to the environmental and cost benefits, the Blue Oval Project will also begin domestically manufactured solar garages by SolarAfrica, which will create 100 jobs locally.
“During the next phases that are currently being investigated, the introduction of biomass as a source of renewable energy and the subcontracted cultivation of fermentable biomass plants in rural areas that would support this project, will be fundamental to promote this vision: job creation . for another 2,400 people, ”said FMCSA.
Power challenges
David Sonnenberg, Technical Director for SolarAfrica and Project Blue Oval, said the solar project is the first step in addressing South Africa’s energy and environmental challenges.
“As we all know, South Africa is currently facing a crippling energy crisis, along with the constant threat of load outages, ever-increasing electricity rates, municipal capacity shortages, energy demand charges and the erratic quality of this power delivery. with regard to spikes and falls, ”he said.
Sonnenberg said these challenges make operating a facility of this scale efficiently exceptionally difficult, both in terms of reliable power availability and escalating costs.
“An additional challenge is that most of South Africa’s electricity is generated from fossil fuels, and specifically from coal-fired power plants,” he said.
The high level of greenhouse gases generated exacerbates the environmental damage and the resulting climate change, ”he said. “Water is also a very precious and scarce resource in South Africa.
“It’s too valuable for one-time use, so we have to fundamentally change the way we use and consume water, particularly for the manufacturing sector.”
Read: South Africa’s Poor Public Services Deters Investment
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