Green interventions at Engen service stations in Africa

In subsequent projects, the group will focus on greening more of its retail sites in its 19 territories across sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands and, after that, turn to its depots and offices across the group.

Greening pilot

Cecil van Niekerk, construction and engineering manager, says the pilot project began in 2008, at the Noordoewer service station franchise on the Namibian side of the border with South Africa.

Engen included its retail partners - Wimpy and Corner Bakery - in the project, securing buy-in and identifying a number of 'quick-win' interventions upfront with easily demonstrable, significant benefits.

"Some worked very well, while others proved ineffective in very hot climates - for instance waterless urinals," he says.

Next, it took the winning technologies into a similar project in Botswana, and, having learnt more lessons there, refined its portfolio a second time.

With two green sites under his belt, Van Niekerk was armed with a series of state-of-the-art interventions that he felt could bring other sites in line with international environmental standards.

The company decided to put this to the test at the Rundu1-Stop, situated in the Caprivi Strip in the far northeast of Namibia. "Rundu is today the emerald in the crown of environmental achievements. It is Africa's greenest service station," he says. It consumes 58% of the power of comparable sites and its PV system is generating 630kWh of electricity per month resulting in CO² avoidance of 630 kg per month and savings of 504 Namibian Dollars per month.

Technological interventions

The site features the following technologies:

• Lighting - a sunlight harvester has been installed, which projects sunlight into the retail areas of the site. In turn, lux sensors on the internal lights automatically dim as the sunlight increases. LED lights with motion sensors illuminate the forecourt canopy. This enables the lights to self-dim at periods when there is no traffic on the forecourt. LED lighting is also used on all signage and other lighting, while motion sensors in storerooms, change rooms and cold-rooms have been installed and all light switches removed in rooms with low human traffic and usage.
  
• Cooling - in an area where average temperatures are upwards of 30 degrees Celsius, cooling and refrigeration are paramount. The Rundu 1-Stop is protected from the searing heat, via thermal reflective roof paint and window film, which reduces temperature build-up. Solar-powered roof fans extract hot air from the roof void, while CO² and humidity sensors, which are built into the Wimpy extract hoods, activate the extract fans when smoke is detected.The site also boasts an indirect evaporative cooling system instead of refrigerated air-conditioning, which is driven by solar power.
  
• Water - With water being such a precious commodity in much of Namibia, the emphasis on effective water management is vital. The Engen 1-Stop in Rundu has mechanisms in place that allow for water harvesting and solar water heating. Water wise taps, showerheads and waterless urinals are also installed across the site.
  
• Energy management - A voltage power optimiser has been fitted to flatten the incoming supply into a range of 216 to 222 volts and reduce maximum demand. The site also has remote power measurement installed. This can be viewed online in real time to see what power is being drawn to which areas. Training to change employee behaviour has also been implemented. Remote measuring can now monitor staff behaviour. For example, while staff is trained to switch off appliances during off-peak periods, remote monitoring ensures that this actually happens. Furthermore, the remote power measurement also provides the dealer with bill verification.
  
• Monitoring and measurement tools - These and a range of other interventions have led Van Niekerk's team to devise an energy savings calculator for dealers to determine return on energy-saving investments.

"The average payback period of these interventions is no more than two years," says Van Niekerk. "We believe it is well worth our dealers' investing in a few solutions that offer quick payback and to take it from there."