Shopping centre Sandton City, in Gauteng, has announced its interest in procuring renewable energy over the Independent Energy Pool (IEP) platform through the development and deployment of wheeled renewable-energy solutions for the centre.

This initiative is part of Sandton City’s commitment to sustainable electricity procurement, the owners of Sandton City, financial services firm Liberty Group and retail investment firm Pareto Limited, say.

The companies invite interested generators and electricity traders to register without cost on the IEP platform and to attend one of their generator information-sharing sessions prior to the release of the request for proposals documentation to the market, says Pareto Group CEO Malose Kekana.

IEP is a business-to-business energy pool that allows for the transacting of electricity in a balanced, secure and standardised environment by electricity consumers, generators and electricity traders.

IEP will host an information-sharing session for generators, which will introduce generators and electricity traders to the procurement processes on IEP’s online platform. Generators and electricity traders will be able to register on this platform for the next information-sharing session, he says.

The IEP ecosystem incorporates the ability to trade Renewable Energy Certificates, as well as tracking and reporting environmental, social and governance criteria.

Sandton City has implemented various initiatives to enhance energy efficiency, including a 1 MW solar PV roof structure and smart-metering systems to gain insights into energy-consumption patterns.

The retail centre has set a target of achieving carbon neutrality for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2030. This wheeling initiative is part of achieving this goal and lowering the related costs of electricity consumption.

“We are purposeful in our endeavours to manage and diminish Sandton City’s carbon footprint. We aim to achieve energy efficiencies and other opportunities through further initiatives, which include wheeling,” says Liberty Two Degrees chief commercial officer Josè Snyders.

“We will ensure that the mall continues to operate responsibly, considerate of the environment and the needs of all our stakeholders.

“The long-term sustainability of Sandton City hinges on environmental protection. Our commitment to responsible environmental stewardship aims to minimise our impact on the environment and address climate change,” he says.