Supermarket chain RB Patel Group will save 100,800kwh of energy and $43,300 in dollar terms a year from its RB Patel Southpoint branch in Nakasi following the completion of its on-grid solar power system project.
This was revealed by its service contractor Goldhold Solar Energy Pte Ltd in its Facebook post.
Goldhold director Richard Du told this newspaper the project was completed last year and is the final in a series of solar installations the company was involved in for RB Patel Group.
“Solar is a good option for companies, especially industrial operations,” Mr Du said.
“We have so far completed installations for two supermarkets and two factories. One of these factories is my company Goldhold Seafood Pte Ltd in Labasa. The solar has been running there for five years now. Before that, I was paying $15,000 a year on electricity bills. Now, we are only paying about half, so, a savings of around $8,000 a year because of solar.”
Altogether, Goldhold has installed solar systems for RB Supermarket in Labasa, RB Patel Southpoint in Nakasi, Golden Ocean Suva and Goldhold Seafood in Labasa.
RB Patel’s Nakasi project will contribute to a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by 80 tonnes a year, “equivalent to planting 5000 trees a year, reflecting the company’s social responsibility to reduce carbon emissions and contributing to Fiji’s efforts to achieve 100 per cent clean energy by 2030”.
RB Patel, a public company listed on the South Pacific Stock Exchange, was the first supermarket to move into renewable energy through the installation of a 125kW photovoltaic (PV) system on the rooftop of its JetPoint Supermarket in Nadi in 2013.
Since then, it has annually increased its solar energy production through the installation of more PV systems in other branches in Fiji.
