Real estate investment company Fortress Real Estate Investments continues to invest significantly in renewable energy and green technologies to achieve its energy security strategy and decarbonisation targets.

Data released in the company’s financial report for the year ended June 30, 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 MWh of the 246 141 MWh it consumes each year.

“Our renewable-energy penetration rate increased from 5% on June 30, 2023, to 9% by June 30, 2024. We anticipate this will increase to 18% by June 30, 2025, and we are looking to raise that to 23% by 2026,” explains Fortress CEO Steven Brown.

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 emissions by 45% compared to its 2018 baseline.

The number of solar PV plants in operation more than doubled, from 25 as of June 30, 2023, to 59 by June 30, 2024. Fortress has since completed an additional ten plants, with a further 12 expected to be completed by December 2024.

“Our installed capacity increased by 130%, from 9.63 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 the 2024 financial year, 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 roll-out, in addition to currently approved projects. This will bring 96 operational plants online by June 2025.

Discovery Green Agreement

Concluding a ten-year wheeling agreement with renewable-energy platform Discovery Green was another critical component in achieving the company’s 2030 decarbonisation targets.

Discovery Green’s 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, which will increase our renewable penetration levels to up 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, ensuring 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 are unable to provide from our own onsite solar PV plants,” adds Brown, who says Fortress selected Discovery Green because it provides the flexibility that 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, at a competitive price. Importantly, by being part of this platform, we can benefit from the diversification of generation and consumption. This platform effectively reduces the risk of purchasing energy that cannot be consumed. Further, 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, 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, 82% of the Fortress retail portfolio by gross lettable area is connected to backup generators, which is expected to reach 97% by December 2024. This includes 20 retail centres, with another ten nearing completion and four more due by December 2024.

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 expected by December 2024.

“These meters, along with Internet-of-Things 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 such as 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, with commercial solar PV installations 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 through improved maintenance, have helped to alleviate loadshedding and its devastating impact on the local economy,” Brown adds.

“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 and remain committed to realising our ambitious targets,” Brown concludes.