Poor maintenance is the biggest reason solar investments in South Africa fall short, according to Rogan Davies. Davies is Group CEO of Rhino Energy Solutions (RES), a Sandton-based solar company operating since 2007.
Davies estimated that one unmonitored fault can cost a mid-sized commercial plant 10% to 15% of a month’s yield. He said one unnoticed breaker trip can cost about R20,000 a day. That covers lost generation and emergency backup costs.
“The faults we see all have the same shape: something small and catchable that nobody was looking for, sitting for months before it becomes an outage or a safety risk,” Davies said.
RES sells operations and maintenance services itself. It said South Africa has installed solar and battery systems faster than almost anywhere else on the continent. It said this growth came over the past three years, and the industry focused on the wrong problem.
“Everyone competes on the installation,” Davies said. “The panels, the price per watt, the time to energise. But a solar asset is a 20-to-25-year commitment, and almost every commercial failure we see happens after commissioning, not during it.”
Davies said most feasibility studies treat a plant’s output as a smooth curve with small yearly losses. He said this depends on disciplined maintenance that many installed systems do not get.
RES said its call-out records show the same pattern at industrial, commercial and agricultural sites. One example was cable insulation worn down by uncontrolled rooftop access. Another was a breaker tripped by grid disturbances and left unnoticed over a long weekend.
The company also named battery banks whose cells drift apart for months. It said such faults can go undetected for weeks or months. They then appear as a generation shortfall or an unplanned outage. In more serious cases, they become a fire or safety risk.
Davies estimated that preventative maintenance typically costs between 1% and 2% of a plant’s capital cost each year. He said reactive repairs usually run three to four times higher than catching the same problem early. These costs include emergency labour rates, expedited parts and lost yield.
He also raised concern about coordination between batteries, energy management software and older backup generators. He said more sites now combine solar, batteries and standby generators to manage tariffs and grid instability.
Davies said mismatches between these systems are causing more nuisance trips and rejected power. He said he expects this problem to become more common as hybrid systems become the default.
RES said installation capacity in South Africa grew quickly while maintenance discipline lagged. Davies said maintenance needs the same standards and professional recognition as engineering and installation.
Davies said he planned to take this message to industry talks ahead of a SAPVIA panel in October.
Source: this article is based on reporting by Lifestyle & Tech. Image: Lifestyle & Tech. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Technology desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Werner Jacobs covers technology for Tzaneen Voice. Werner reports on mobile networks, data prices, internet access, smartphones, apps, AI, cybersecurity and South African tech companies. Each story explains what a new product, price change or policy means for ordinary users in South Africa.