Audi Centre Centurion Goes Solar as They Embrace E-Mobility
Audi Centre Centurion has embraced solar power as they transition to greener energy and e-Mobility.
Electric cars, or “e-Mobility” in PR speak, are here to stay whether you like it or not, but one of the biggest arguments against electric cars has always been:
- They derive their electricity from fossil fuel power stations, so are they really that “green”?
- This is specific to South Africa; how do you recharge your car while the threat of load shedding lingers indefinitely?
Well, Audi Centre Centurion has found a solution to both of those stumbling blocks with a very simple and elegant solution, solar power. The dealership, together with SMA and ANH Technologies has entered into a sustainable and innovative partnership that focuses on the transformation (and evolution) of power production and usage at their facility in Pretoria.
Their solar panel installation allows both the dealership and their customers to use solar power to charge their electric cars while also powering the dealership’s retail and servicing operations.
To achieve this level of sustainability, 112 solar power panels were installed across the dealership's roof and generate 53kWp. This drastically reduces Audi Centre Centurion’s reliance on the national grid and off-sets their usage. Speaking about the installation, Peter Preusse, the Investor at Audi Centre Centurion said, “In addition to providing energy support during peak loads and for consistent e-tron charging, this one-of-a-kind initiative underscores our commitment to driving energy transition and sustainability. It is an intelligent charging solution that uses smart systems and technology to provide the dealership with reliable and resilient power, reducing operational costs while accelerating the energy transition conversation in a relevant way.”
Before choosing the solar route, AHN Technologies conducted a thorough energy audit of premises before installing a range of SMA products and solutions to monitor the solar power provision and status. That monitoring ability offers Load Management functionality which ensures cost savings are measurable and allows for the charging of four Audi e-tron vehicles, using both AC and DC power, at the same time.
This is an extremely impressive feat and initiative by Audi Centre Centurion, but you must be wondering how this could relate to homes and businesses given that we don’t all hang out in dealerships all day. Well, similar solutions can and should be replicated on residential and commercial properties. If you think about it, it kills three birds with one stone, you can transition to cleaner energy, avoid load shedding and the most important aspect for us car lovers; recharge your electric car.
The only downfall I do see however is the cost, solar power systems AND electric cars are still extremely expensive, and I doubt the average person on the street would be able to adopt this kind of solution in a single leap.
Nonetheless, this investment by Audi Centre Centurion is impressive and as we see more electric cars hit the market, it’s a simple, albeit expensive way to take pressure off our already questionable power.
Hopefully, as history has shown us with most consumer goods (remember how exclusive cell phones used to be?) the prices of both solar solutions and electric cars should drop as mainstream adoption increases.
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