County Ford has set the bar exceptionally high when it comes to green building, and Renu was integral in ensuring that their first green dealership project was a huge success. County Ford was looking for a partner that could offer them a turnkey solution covering their Solar PV, hot water, LED lighting, water harvesting and recycling requirements across all of their dealerships.  George Baikie (CEO) says, “We wanted a single point of contact that would handle the consulting, design, supply, installation and maintenance. Renu’s track record and expertise in all of these areas was a good fit for what we needed.”

The first dealership to undergo their green building rollout plan was County Ford, Kuilsriver. The project was no small feat. Limited roof space along with having to haul PV panels onto the roof using a 35tonne crane and rigging specialists, were challenges that required innovative thinking and a unique set of skills. Renu’s turnkey offerings, however, proved to be a huge benefit in helping them to negate many typical hurdles experienced when retrofitting solar PV on such a large scale.

This new green dealership not only boasts Solar PV panels that supply all their electricity needs but also has a water harvesting system that allows them to recycle the water used for the car wash, as well as heat pumps and LED lighting throughout the building. All of Renu’s hard work and careful planning, together with the County Fords eco-friendly mission, will result in impressive monthly savings of up to 16000kwh in electricity and 27500L of water. And if the grid-tied solar PV system produces more power than they require, it will be sold back to the municipality.

County Ford is able to boast that the Kuilsriver dealership is the greenest Ford dealership in South Africa, and with the Ford SA endorsement it has set the standard for their numerous other dealerships around the country. Renu is excited to have been chosen to partner with them on this massive rollout project and can only hope that it will inspire many more dealerships across SA to follow their example.

County Ford’s decision to go solar and recycle water was influenced by a long term goal to move toward zero based emissions by 2050. County Ford is taking the bull by the horns and is beginning to make these targets materialise, one green dealership at a time.