R44 billion South African property giant steps away from Eskom
Redefine Property has launched a R106 million solar project in Cape Town, reducing its reliance on the national grid.
The project involves installing over 11,000 solar panels on the roof of the Massmart distribution centre in Brackengate, before “wheeling” the energy to other Redefine properties.
Wheeling involves private renewable energy companies using established infrastructure to move and sell electricity to private clients.
“Wheeling enables renewable energy generated at one site to be fed into the grid and allocated to other properties, with the municipality managing the balancing between supply and demand,” Redefine explained.
The process has been welcomed in Cape Town with the launch of the city’s wheeling pilot programme, which Redefine will participate in.
Instead of purchasing energy from a private company, the group will produce its own renewable energy and transfer it to its other assets on the city’s grid.
“Redefine’s diversified portfolio creates the opportunity to match energy generation with demand across different asset classes,” the company said.
“At Brackengate, the scale of the industrial facility enables large-scale solar generation, while wheeling distributes this energy to retail and office assets.”
The solar installation is expected to produce nearly 10,000 MWh of renewable energy per year, powering three of the company’s properties.
The project will power the Kenilworth Centre, Blue Route Mall, and The Towers Office precinct, using municipal infrastructure to deliver the energy.
Redefine’s Chief Operating Officer, Leon Kok, said the wheeling project is not just impressive for its scale, but for the control it gives the company over its energy usage.
“The significance of this project lies not only in the scale of the installation, but in the way it allows us to manage energy across our portfolio,” he said.
“By using the capacity of one asset to support others, we’re creating a more efficient and resilient portfolio.”
“It is a more sophisticated approach to asset management, and one that reduces our reliance on traditional energy sources while supporting long-term value creation.”
Impressive engineering
Redefine said the project was not as simple as installing solar panels on a roof, but rather required specialised infrastructure.
The group constructed a dedicated mini-substation to enable electricity to flow into the municipal grid, along with roughly 300 kilometres of cabling.
Redefine said the mini-substation “would house the required switchgear and meters, as well as a purpose-built inverter station and transformer yard.”
“Across the installation, approximately 300km of cabling has been used, supported by 2km of rooftop walkways to allow for access, maintenance and long-term operational reliability.”
“The project goes well beyond a conventional rooftop solar installation,” Kok said.
“It reflects the level of engineering and coordination required to make wheeling viable at scale and our commitment to investing in solutions that deliver measurable impact.”
Redefine said the project was also a demonstration of the strength in partnerships between businesses and local government.
Cape Town mayoral committee member for energy, Xanthea Limberg, echoed this, saying the wheeling programme would strengthen the city’s business sector.
“These reforms have not only liberalised the local energy market but are also unlocking renewable energy opportunities that will power communities and businesses for decades to come,” she said.
“We extend our appreciation to our private sector partner, Redefine Properties, whose collaboration and shared vision have been instrumental in bringing this pioneering initiative to fruition.”
Redefine said the wheeling project was a model for how different businesses can operate amid South Africa’s changing energy landscape.
The company described it as “a practical model for the sector, showing how industrial, retail and office assets operate as an integrated system to support South Africa’s energy transition while building more resilient spaces for the people and businesses that use them.”
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