South Africa’s most famous holiday resort, Sun City in the North West Province, has generated over 5.8 million kWh of clean energy since the completion of its latest solar panel installations in August 2024, which equates to a saving of more than R8 million in electricity costs. These results follow an approximate R17-million solar plant installation designed to reduce electricity consumption from the national grid. With all available space on the roof of Sun Central covered by solar panels, the resort extended the initiative to the roofs of The Palace and the Sun City Hotel in the third phase of the project.
Sun City is one of the few resorts of its kind in South Africa, certified under ISO14001:2015, and is committed to aligning with global best practices for environmental leadership. ISO 14001 sets the international standard for an Environmental Management System (EMS) to enhance the resort’s ability to manage its environmental impact efficiently, leading to reduced waste, energy consumption, and pollution. As the largest unit within the Sun International group, Sun City’s certification and strong environmental performance play a pivotal role in elevating the group’s overall sustainability profile which aligns its operations with sustainable practices, ensuring long-term ecological, economic, and social benefits.
Sun City Resort operates across a dynamic environmental scope, integrating key sustainability pillars such as waste management, energy efficiency, water conservation, and biodiversity protection.
Balancing these environmental responsibilities with the demands of a hospitality operation requires innovation, strategic planning, and continuous improvement. By embedding sustainability into every aspect of its operations, Sun City strives to maintain a responsible, forward-thinking business model that ensures long-term environmental and economic resilience.
Following the installation of solar panels at Sun Central in 2023 (phases 1 and 2), which saw the entire roof covered with photovoltaic panels, phase 3 extended the initiative to The Palace and Sun City Hotel, completed in August 2024.
“Our sustainability promise is based on people, planet and profits, in that order. Solar is beneficial to our broader community as the less power we draw from the grid the more is available to others, it works for our guests – especially those travelling from overseas – as they want to know that they are not increasing their own environmental footprint when they stay at Sun City, and it works for our own bottom line,” says GM Brett Hoppé.
Solar Panel Installation Overview
· Sun Central: 2 793 panels
· The Palace: 585 panels
· Sun City Hotel: 606 panels
· Total: 3 984 solar panels
Estimated Energy Savings Off the National Grid
· Sun Central: 1.56 MW
· The Palace and Sun City Hotel: 0.68 MW
· Total: 2.24 MW
Approximate Environmental Impact
· Reduction in annual CO₂ emissions: 5 286 tonnes
· Percentage reduction in Sun City’s electricity demand from Eskom: 5% annually
Financial Impact
· Total spend on solar installations and maintenance: more than R17 million
· Approximate savings to date based only on the generation: R8 305 600,27
Sun City continues to explore opportunities to expand the solar coverage to other resort facilities and integrating battery storage solutions to enhance energy resilience and reduce peak demand.
Additionally, the future may include feeding the energy back into the national grid. Discussions with relevant stakeholders are ongoing to ensure regulatory alignment and infrastructure readiness.
