Wernhil Shopping Centre, a property of Ohlthaver & List (O&L) Group subsidiary, Broll Namibia, officially put their newly installed carport solar photovoltaic (PV) system to use on 5 September 2022. Capable of producing over two million kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually, this solar system forms part of the second phase of Wernhil’s solar installations, with Phase I being its 1.13 Megawatts-peak (MWp) rooftop solar PV plant installed in 2019. 

 Both Phase I and II were engineered and installed by O&L Nexentury, Phase II with Kraatz Engineering as sub-contractor. 

 Bernd Walbaum, O&L Nexentury Managing Director (MD), expressed his excitement about the launch of this special carport PV system which is now the 11th solar PV plant that O&L Nexentury developed and built within the O&L Group. 

“The advanced bifacial solar PV panel technology of the system enables the capturing of sunlight on both sides of the panels, unlike their mono facial counterparts. The system consists of 1,517 Canadian Solar modules and nine high-tech inverters, creating a PV capacity of 990-kilowatt peak (kWp). Besides these projects, there are further interesting renewable energy projects in Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, West Africa and Germany,” Walbaum said. 

Terence Makari, Broll Namibia MD, shared his approval of the completion of Phase II: “We recognise our collective responsibility to urgently address climate change and this plant will greatly support us as we continue to reduce our carbon footprint by shifting to sustainable energy sources. Thanks to this installation, we can expect a reduction in our carbon dioxide emissions of about 2100 tons per year as well as savings of an estimated N$1.28 million in the plant’s first year. I thank our technical teams at O&L Nexentury and Kraatz Engineering for their expertise and quality construction. I am also grateful to my colleagues at Broll Namibia and O&L Group leadership for their commitment to a greener future, as part of our greater Group Purpose of ‘Creating a future, enhancing life’.”