Photo by: Duane Daws
Black-empowered residential project developer Calgro M3 is set to launch a subsidiary that will operate completely off the national electricity grid, generating its own renewable energy to power all aspects of the business, including its administration office.
Calgro M3 Memorial Parks would focus on the development of private park-like environments at memorial sites, enabling people to buy burial sites for themselves and family members prior to their passing.
The business’ first development, the Nasrec Private Memorial Park, would be launched in May and would be located just off the Nasrec offramp on the Western Bypass. The development would be the first in a suite of parks that would initially be able to accommodate 25 000 grave sites and eventually be expanded to offer a further 14 500 sites.
The subsidiary’s head office, which would be located at the Nasrec site, was designed to use various forms of renewable energy with generator backup.
In addition, all of the memorial parks and facilities associated with the company would be entirely self-sufficient in terms of energy generation and use, explained company spokesperson Wikus Lategan.
“We believe that, in this era of tight electricity supply, any move to generate one’s own power, to be independent of Eskom, is an important element of sustainability.
“Lessons learned in this field of alternative energy will be applied to the group’s integrated developments once teething problems have been resolved. This initiative will assist the metros within which they operate, by alleviating pressure on an already stretched electricity supply grid,” he commented, adding that the group’s investment in the subsidiary had exceeded R75-million.