• Growthpoint Properties has entered a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Etana Energy for 195GWh of renewable energy a year.
• Etana will cover 70 percent of the power consumed by Growthpoint’s participating buildings.
• Growthpoint will also be able to provide its tenants with the ability to purchase 100 percent renewable energy.

There was a time when an office space needed to have a diesel-powered generator on the premises to serve as its backup power solution. Nowadays, with loadshedding a daily concern, renewable energy has become an imperative, which is why Growthpoint Properties has been making significant investments to better position itself locally.

To that end it has entered what it calls a “milestone” Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Etana Energy for 195GWh of renewable energy a year. This would represent 32 percent of its total current annual electricity consumption, which is roughly 612GWh according to the 2023 financial year.

“The deal has set in motion the country’s first multi-jurisdiction, multi-building, multi-source renewable energy wheeling arrangement, and will enable Growthpoint’s tenants to access green energy and reduce their carbon footprint,” the company highlighted in a release shared with Hypertext.

It added that through this agreement, Etana will cover 70 percent of the power consumed by Growthpoint’s participating buildings. Furthermore, in some buildings, Growthpoint will be able to provide its tenants with the ability to purchase 100 percent renewable energy and actively drive down their carbon emissions.

This is a point we recently raised during the latest episode of our podcast Mass Debate, where property owners are more effectively placed to swallow up the cost of retrofitting an office block for renewable energy compared to employees working from home, serving as an argument for a return to the office instead of the current remote setup that many businesses are employing.

The company explained that the wheeled renewable energy will mainly consist of wind, with a smaller component of hydro and large-scale solar electricity being added to the mix.

It also noted that the combination of generation sources allows for a high coverage of Growthpoint’s energy use, as electricity is generated throughout the day and night.

“As a result of the agreement with Etana Energy, Growthpoint has exclusive rights to purchase all of the roughly 30GWh that will be generated annually by a 5MW hydroelectric power plant developed, owned and operated by Serengeti Energy,” the release pointed out.

“This initiative significantly advances Growthpoint’s progress towards our climate commitment of being carbon neutral by 2050. We are extremely pleased to collaborate with energy innovators like Etana and Serengeti to support our tenants to reach their own environmental goals by giving them access to renewable energy,” added Estienne de Klerk (pictured in header), SA CEO of Growthpoint Properties.