Solar Power for Paarl – 300 kW Industrial Rooftop Solar Installation

First Energy Solar Installers completed a 300 kW rooftop solar installation on an industrial facility in Paarl, in the Drakenstein municipality of the Cape Winelands, in 2025. The array of 720 × 620 W glass-on-glass panels – about 446 kWp – feeds two 150 kW grid-tied inverters and is expected to generate around 755,000 kWh a year, cutting the facility’s carbon emissions by more than 309 tons annually. It is one of the largest rooftop arrays we have built.

The brief: cover an industrial plant’s daytime production load

Paarl’s industrial area is home to manufacturing and agri-processing plants that run through the working day on commercial tariffs supplied by Drakenstein Municipality. The brief was to spread an array across the plant’s roofs to cover its daytime production load, register the system as SSEG with the municipality, and build it to last the 30-year life of the panels.

The solution: 720 high-output panels on two 150 kW inverters

• 720 × 620 W glass-on-glass solar panels (446 kWp)
• 2 × 150 kW three-phase grid-tied inverters
• Roof-mounted on aluminium rails with SSEG-compliant DC and AC protection and surge protection
• Online monitoring of generation and consumption
• Electrical Certificate of Compliance and SSEG registration with Drakenstein Municipality handled by First Energy

A 446 kWp array on 300 kW of inverters is a deliberate over-size: the plant gets near-full inverter output for most of the day and far stronger winter generation than a 300 kWp array would give, which matters for a site that runs year-round.

The results

• Estimated annual generation: around 755,000 kWh – roughly 63,000 kWh a month
• Carbon avoided: over 309 tons of CO₂ per year
• Daytime production load largely supplied by solar

Commercial savings depend on the tariff, the share of consumption that falls in daylight hours and the demand profile, which is why we log the load before we design. See how we model payback, NPV and IRR for commercial solar.

Industrial solar installers in Paarl, Wellington and the Winelands

We install industrial, agricultural and residential systems across Paarl, Wellington, Franschhoek, Stellenbosch and the Cape Winelands from our Somerset West technical department. See our Paarl solar installation page, our 430 kW industrial installation and our commercial solar page.

Frequently asked questions

Why are there 446 kWp of panels on 300 kW of inverters?
Over-sizing the array lifts generation in winter and at the start and end of the day, when the site still has load. The inverters simply cap output in the middle of a summer day.

Who registers a solar system in Paarl?
Paarl and Wellington are supplied by Drakenstein Municipality, which has its own SSEG application and approved-inverter requirements. First Energy prepares and submits the application and handles commissioning.

Can the business claim the Section 12B tax allowance?
Yes. Solar PV generating under 1 MW can be written off in full against taxable income in the year it is brought into use (the enhanced 125% allowance ended on 28 February 2025). Confirm the treatment with your accountant.

Commercial solar for your business in Paarl and the Winelands

Send us 12 months of electricity bills and we will come back with a preliminary design, system size, cost and payback for your premises – request a free commercial solar assessment. Call 087 148 2012 or WhatsApp 084 597 1279. See our commercial solar installations in Cape Town and the Western Cape page for spend brackets, finance options and more case studies.