JSE-listed real estate investment trust (Reit) Growthpoint Properties has embarked on its two largest rooftop solar installations, each with a capacity of nearly 1.2 MW, on the rooftops of the Northgate Mall, in Johannesburg, and the Brooklyn Mall, in Pretoria.

“Growthpoint has already passed the halfway mark in achieving its goal to install rooftop solar farms capable of generating an impressive 6 MW . . . in other words, enough solar energy to power nearly 2 500 average South African homes,” Growthpoint Properties head of sustainability Werner van Antwerpen said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Reit had another four projects under way, which were expected to generate some 2.7 MW of renewable energy. In addition to its Northgate and Brooklyn Mall installations, it was also establishing solar farms at the Kolonnade shopping centre, in Pretoria, and at its office property at 33 Bree and De Waterkant, in Cape Town.

Growthpoint had already completed the installation of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels with the capacity to generate more than 3.2 MW at seven of its office, retail and industrial properties across the country.

These solar farms were at its landmark assets, including Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront, Constantia Village, Bayside Mall and Airport Industria.

The company’s InfoTech building, in Pretoria, the Waterfall Mall, in Rustenburg, and the Lincoln on the Lake office building, in Umhlanga, also benefited from solar power generating installations.

Growthpoint had further identified more than 70 buildings across its portfolio for possible future solar PV installations.

Growthpoint office sector divisional director  Rudolf Pienaar noted that the solar farms were one way in which the Reit was creating a more sustainable built environment for South Africa.

It also delivered on the company’s commitment to sustainability, energy efficiency and green building, made on Buildings Day at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as the Conference of the Parties, which took place in Paris, France, in December.

Pienaar added that the Reit was committed to increasing solar energy generation, making all its 185 office buildings energy and water efficient, and ensuring all its long-term office investments and new developments were certified green buildings.

Growthpoint, a platinum founding member of the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA), owned or co-owned the largest portfolio of certified green buildings of any company in South Africa.

While a goal of Growthpoint was to develop office buildings that would achieve at least a 4-Star Green Star SA rating from the GBCSA, it had now broadened its focus to include green performance of all office buildings in its portfolio.

Growthpoint had committed that, by 2020, all its office investments would be above the GBCSA Energy and Water Performance Rating Tool benchmark. It had also set a goal for all long-term office investments to achieve at least a 4-Star Green Star SA GBCSA Existing Building Performance certification.

Growthpoint owned and managed a diversified portfolio of 474 properties in South Africa, 57 properties in Australia through its investment in Growthpoint Properties Australia and a 50% interest in the properties at V&A Waterfront, Cape Town.

The company’s consolidated property assets were valued at more than R110-billion.