{"id":837008,"date":"2025-09-08T10:46:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T08:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=837008"},"modified":"2025-09-08T10:46:25","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T08:46:25","slug":"the-trust-gap-in-energy-transitions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/industry-news\/837008\/the-trust-gap-in-energy-transitions\/","title":{"rendered":"The\u00a0trust gap\u00a0in\u00a0energy transitions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>As the race to renewables speeds up, a trust gap is emerging. Businesses have been burned by botched installs and fly-by-night providers \u2013 while others simply don\u2019t know enough to ask the right questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brandon Horn, Head of Commercial at SolarAfrica, says that while South Africa\u2019s energy transition is gaining momentum, so too are project delays, failures and broken promises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/solarafrica.com\/?utm_source=BusinessTech&amp;utm_medium=Article&amp;utm_term=September+2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Click here for more info about SolarAfrica<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cA trust gap has emerged due to the industry\u2019s superficial growth during loadshedding. As demand for energy alternatives soared, new players entered the market without the necessary expertise, track record or internal capability to effectively deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many companies are unfamiliar with how Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) work or how systems are engineered and regulated, and thus were left vulnerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs loadshedding peaked, the market was flooded with new players offering quick-fix solar solutions, without the necessary in-house expertise or experience.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Critical services \u2013 such as engineering and compliance \u2013 were outsourced, resulting in poor integration and inconsistency.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSolar is a 20-year asset \u2013 if you get the design or engineering wrong, you\u2019re stuck with those mistakes for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What to look for in an energy partner<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Horn says that by contrast, providers with end-to-end in-house teams, such as SolarAfrica, offer a single point of accountability and consistent quality across the project lifecycle. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLook for a reputable energy partner that has a proven track record of projects, in-house expertise and local presence. Ask about their future plans \u2013 your energy needs will evolve; don\u2019t be locked into a PPA with a company that cannot meet your changing requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>End-to-end reduces risk<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Amid this noise and confusion, SolarAfrica stands out as an illuminating example of how integrated in-house expertise can deliver real value to customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With over a decade of experience, the company has built a solid track record across a range of complex projects \u2013 from rooftop and ground-mounted systems to large-scale battery and wheeling solutions for commercial and industrial companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhere many providers outsource key functions, we manage everything in-house \u2013 from legal and environmental to compliance, asset management and customer experience.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis integrated model ensures every team shares the same standards, timelines and accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the company\u2019s key differentiators is its utility project development division. These experts are dedicated to developing and operating large-scale renewable energy projects that supply clean power to the national grid and commercial off-takers via wheeling agreements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This includes projects such as the company\u2019s flagship solar farm SunCentral, with a total 1GW capacity.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Running parallel to this function is SolarAfrica\u2019s legal, environmental and compliance teams, which focus on key aspects of both utility-sized projects and the traditional on-site solar and battery systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SolarAfrica\u2019s business development team is focused on innovation, constantly analysing customer pain points and the energy landscape to stay ahead of the curve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWith energy regulations changing constantly, you need a partner who\u2019s not just responding, but proactively anticipating what\u2019s next.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another common execution risk is poor system design. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen systems that look good on paper but are oversized, non-compliant or underperforming.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;That\u2019s usually because the design was rushed or outsourced.\u201d At SolarAfrica, every project begins with in-house technical and engineering teams conducting site visits, modelling data, and tailoring the solution to the client\u2019s energy profile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Horn says that it\u2019s important to SolarAfrica that it owns every stage of the project lifecycle. \u201cWe don\u2019t walk away once the panels are up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We stay accountable for the system\u2019s performance over its full lifespan,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With additional expertise stretching across sales, finance, marketing, operations, IT and people operations, to name a few, the company has a solid base of professionals to support all aspects of the business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen everyone has the same heartbeat, you get consistency in delivery and quality.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s about the right people, not just the right panels, says SolarAfrica\u2019s Head of Commercial Brandon Horn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":837010,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10459],"tags":[23557],"class_list":["post-837008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-news","tag-solarafrica"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=837008"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837008\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":837051,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837008\/revisions\/837051"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/837010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=837008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=837008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=837008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}