SAPVIA launches Solar PV Data Portal for members

PRETORIA, South Africa - Oct. 9, 2023 - PRLog -- GTI leveraged years of expertise in satellite image interpretation and analysis to develop advanced machine learning methods and artificial intelligence to efficiently extract solar PV panel data from satellite images. The extracted solar PV panel data is linked to individual cadastral parcels, delivering detailed insights into solar PV panel area, kWp capacity, solar PV uptake, and land use for each parcel.

SAPVIA members will have access to provincial-level datasets, while members of the public will have access to a high-level, summarised dataset. The platform is hosted online and will provide access to a wealth of data on the current and potential use of solar energy in South Africa, across multiple industries including the private sector, public sector, and financial institutions, amongst others.

Technical Specialist at SAPVIA, De Wet Taljaard is excited about this collaboration.

"Our goal is to break down the data by market segment, covering residential, commercial, industrial, and utility-scale installations. By doing so, we aim to offer a comprehensive view of the solar PV landscape in South Africa. The first release of data includes the period to the end of Q1 of 2023.

Taljaard says this data reveals interesting insights:

• The total installed solar PV capacity as of the end of Q1 2023 was 5.5GW made up of 2.2GW of public procurement, primarily through the renewable energy independent power producer programme (REIPPP), and 3.3GW of private procurement.
• The residential market makes up 11% of the installed capacity, the rest of the SSEG market, systems smaller than 1MVA including residential and commercial and industrial (C&I), make up 33% of the installed capacity. Systems in the range of 1MW to 50MW make up 34% of the installed capacity and utility scale systems, larger than 50MW, make up 32% of the installed capacity.
• The City of Tshwane boasts the largest number of residential installations at 22 956, closely followed by the City of Cape Town at 21 342. eThekwini has the largest average residential systems at 10.8kWp per system, followed by the City of Cape town at 7kWp.

This collaboration goes further than just data dissemination. It is about establishing SAPVIA as a trusted authority in the field of solar PV data. Through this data portal, SAPVIA hopes to showcase the diverse applications of the collected information.

For more information, visit https://sapvia.co.za/dataportal/dataportal-public