Wheeling of energy. Explained
Installing solar panels at your business premises will only take you so far to meet your renewable energy goals. Wheeling of energy is a process where renewable energy is generated at the most efficient locations in the country and delivered to your business through the national grid. This gives businesses access to large-scale renewable energy plants, allowing them to run on more affordable, cleaner energy. Instead of having only one provider of electricity, you now have the option to choose who to buy your electricity from.
Wheeled renewable energy is not the same as utility-supplied electricity.
Unlike utility-supplied electricity, where businesses pay for the quantity of electricity they consume, payment for renewable energy occurs at the point of generation. This is termed 'take-or-pay' and requires a business's commitment to procure a minimum number of kilowatt-hours each month, regardless of whether the business consumes such energy. The business faces the risk of incurring wasted energy costs, eroding its financial savings and detracting from the financial benefits that come with independence from utility prices. Because of this, businesses often settle for a low take-up of renewable energy.
A market-first approach with Discovery Green
Rather than a single renewable energy generator supplying a single business, the Discovery Green renewable energy platform brings together a wide variety of businesses and their consumption profiles and connects them with leading international and local renewable energy providers. The platform uses traditional insurance principles like risk pooling and diversification to supply as much as 100% of a business's energy needs with renewable energy while protecting businesses from paying for wasted energy costs. This is achieved by reallocating excess energy across the platform, which allows businesses to meet their financial and decarbonisation goals in a single, simple transaction.
Discovery Green expertly manages the platform to unlock the full benefits of renewable energy for businesses in South Africa. The platform is backed by Discovery's 30 years of experience in bringing innovation and actuarial expertise to market for positive change.
Our products benefit from an actuarial layer, which ensures certainty of coverage through a diverse range of energy providers and clear cost savings by matching energy generation profiles in different locations with a business's energy-use profile.
A technical layer ensures businesses have access to the best-in-class engineering, legal and financial expertise in the industry, enabling sophisticated due diligence and connection to the grid.
The latest technology supports these pillars and provides the foundation for sophisticated systems that ensure ample operational capability, quick and efficient contracting and accuracy in energy use and cost savings
Benefits of joining the Discovery Green platform
Save on electricity costs and lock-in future price security
We partner with the largest and most cost-effective solar and wind projects across the country to offer businesses significant savings to utility prices and protection against future price hikes.
Reduce scope 2 emissions and improve ESG ratings
Scope 2 emissions from electricity consumption typically account for 80% of a non-industrial company's total greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2). Discovery Green provides an authentic and cost-effective mechanism to significantly reduce business emissions.
Actively contribute to energy security in South Africa
It is estimated that South Africa requires 60 GW of renewable energy generation to be fully operational by 2030 just to maintain current levels of economic growth. Discovery Green is actively contributing to this demand.
Getting technical
Wheeling renewable energy can be a complex process. Because the sun and wind are not always predictable, renewable energy suppliers are often hesitant to commit to supplying a certain amount of renewable energy each month. This means that businesses take the risk of receiving too little energy and losing out on financial savings, or receiving too much energy and incurring wasted energy costs. Discovery Green is uniquely able to offer businesses high levels of renewable energy coverage without the added financial risk. This is achieved through the diversification of generation and consumption.