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Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in Municipal Facilities

<div class="ExternalClass90D6CE50C40541B6BE2121A990883AE3"><p>The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in Municipal Facilities programme aims to reduce our operating costs, grow our energy security and contribute to our goal of carbon neutrality and climate resilience by 2050.</p></div>

<span> <h2 class="sectHeading">About</h2></span> <p> Buildings across the commercial, municipal and residential sectors currently represent the largest contribution to greenhouse gas emissions in Cape Town. Therefore, implementing energy efficiency measures and installing renewable energy in buildings across the city is key to achieving our goal of <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20strategies%2c%20plans%20and%20frameworks/Carbon_Neutral_2050_Commitment.pdf" target="_blank">carbon neutrality and climate resilience by 2050</a>. </p><p>Cape Town is also a signatory to <a href="https://www.c40.org/" target="_blank">C40<i class="icon link-external"></i></a>; a global network of large cities that are committed to developing and implementing policies to address <a href="https://www.capetown.gov.za/Family%20and%20home/greener-living/why-go-green/lets-act-against-climate-change">climate change</a>.</p><p>The City is committed to three significant targets related to energy use in buildings across Cape Town:</p><ul><li>All new buildings city-wide are net zero carbon in operation by 2030 </li><li> All municipal buildings are net zero carbon in operation by 2030 </li><li>All existing buildings to be net zero carbon in operation by 2050</li></ul><p>These targets are reflected in our <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20strategies%2c%20plans%20and%20frameworks/CCT_Climate_Change_Action_Plan.pdf" target="_blank">Climate Action Plan </a>and <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/City%20strategies%2c%20plans%20and%20frameworks/Energy_Strategy.pdf" target="_blank">Energy Strategy</a>. </p><p> For more information on the City’s commitments and how we can achieve net zero buildings, visit our <a href="https://www.capetown.gov.za/Work%20and%20business/Greener-business/Saving-electricity-in-the-workplace/Make-your-building-smarter">Make your building smarter page</a>.</p> <span> <h2 class="sectHeading">City-owned Small-scale Embedded Generation (SSEG) Programme</h2></span><p>The Sustainable Energy Markets Department plans to take a phased approach in delivering projects identified under the City-Owned SSEG programme. </p><p>The first phase of the rollout of this programme has been completed with the installation of the following facilities: </p><ul><li>Rooftop solar PV system at the Gugulethu Electricity Depot </li><li>The ground-mounted solar PV system at the Kraaifontein Wastewater Treatment Plant </li><li>The rooftop solar PV system at the Transport Management Centre (TMC), Goodwood </li></ul><p>The second phase of the programme is currently being rolled out: </p><ul><li> Bloemhof Electricity Headquarters </li><li>Water and Sanitation Headquarters </li><li>Prestwich MyCiti Depot </li><li>Ndabeni Stores Depot </li><li>Athlone Waste Water Treatment Works </li><li>Wesfleur Waste Water Treatment Works </li><li>Fisantekraal Waste Water Treatment Works </li></ul><p>For details about the private sector SSEG programme, which allows customers to install their own PV system, visit the <a href="https://www.capetown.gov.za/Family%20and%20home/greener-living/saving-electricity-at-home/going-solar">Going solar </a>page. </p> <span> <h2 class="sectHeading">SmartFacility Programme</h2></span> <p>Monitoring the resources that a building uses, such as energy and water, is key to measuring how much is saved through efficiency-enhancing projects, and how to best support these projects with behaviour changes.</p><p>The City developed the SmartFacility online application for City staff in order to monitor and manage resource consumption in municipal facilities. </p><p>The application uses smart metering devices to measure the onsite consumption of water and electricity, solar generation and electric vehicle charging station usage in municipal facilities. City staff can view the real-time data via easy-to-use dashboards and published reports.</p> <span> <div class="notification with-heading dark-copy light-blue bg-light-grey"><div class="graphic with-border"> <i class="info fastfact"></i></div><div class="desc"><h4>Fast fact</h4><p> By the end of the 2023/24 financial year, 912 of the 1499 municipal facilities have been electricity metered, with further installations planned.</p></div></div></span> <p>We display the live dashboards on digital screens at the following facilities for the public and users to view:</p><ul><li>Bloemhof Energy HQ </li><li>Bellville Water and Sanitation HQ </li><li>Brackenfell Electricity Training Centre </li><li>Bellville Civic Centre </li><li>Parow Municipal facility </li><li>Civic Centre, Second floor Podium Block, IS&T section </li></ul><p>Over 180 trained facility and building staff use the platform to effectively monitor and manage their buildings’ resource use. The application continues to serve as an important part of managing our assets for optimal performance.</p> <span> <h2 class="sectHeading">Energy efficiency in municipal operations</h2></span> <p>The City has been investing in energy efficiency measures in its own operations and municipal facilities since 2009. Increasing the energy efficiency of a building is the most cost-effective way to meet net-zero carbon targets and lower operating costs by consuming less electricity. </p><h4>In municipal buildings, energy efficiency interventions include:</h4><ul><li>retrofitting of lighting with more energy-efficient bulbs, </li><li> installation of motion sensors and timers to control lighting and HVAC systems, and </li><li> installation of rooftop solar PV systems.</li></ul><p>Traffic lights and streetlights have also been retrofitted with more energy-efficient technology, and the programme plans to expand to wastewater treatment plants in the near future.</p><p>Energy efficiency interventions across municipal facilities and operations have saved the City more than 1 600 MWh in the 2023/2024 financial year. This amounts to a financial saving of more than R3 million. </p><p>Since the project launched in 2009/10, we have saved over 383 GWh of electricity, in turn, we were able to avoid 379 839 tonnes of CO2 equivalent and save approximately R478 million.</p><h4>Some highlights of the programme include:</h4><ul><li>168 municipal buildings retrofitted with energy-efficient lighting </li><li>101 facilities are generating a capacity of 2,636 kWp through rooftop and ground mount PV systems </li><li> All traffic lights retrofitted and maintained with LED lamps</li></ul> <span> <h2 class="sectHeading">Energy Performance Certificates</h2></span> <p>National regulations were introduced in 2020, which stipulate that certain types of buildings are required to display Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs). The EPCs grade the buildings according to energy usage, and measure the total usage against a nationally regulated benchmark. This allows building owners to track how much energy their building uses, and compare their performance against other buildings of a similar type.</p><p>As of 2025, 69 municipal buildings across five departments have been granted EPCs, and work continues to ensure the City’s buildings are fully compliant with the national regulations. Almost 90% of the buildings with an EPC received a D-grade or better indicating that the buildings’ energy use is at the same level or better than the benchmark.</p><p>The SmartFacility application is a crucial tool to measure and monitor energy use, and the EPC programme aligns with our energy security and net zero carbon goals. </p><h2 class="sectHeading">Contact us</h2><p>If you have any queries or need more information about the programmes, contact: </p><h4>Sustainable Energy Markets </h4><p> <em>Email: </em> <br> <a href="mailto:sustainableenergymarkets.enquiries@capetown.gov.za"> <em>sustainableenergymarkets.enquiries@capetown.gov.za</em></a></p>

Learn more about how you can contribute to and get involved in, the Energy Efficiency in City Buildings project.