Mollyn Nakabea 
[Photo: SUPPLIED/Grace Road Group]
Amidst the surge in fuel prices and supply uncertainty, Grace Road Group is taking steps to fuel their operations with solar energy.
Across Fiji, the company has installed its shopping centers with rooftop solar panels, using renewable energy to subsidize its daytime energy needs and reduce reliance on the national electricity grid.
President of the Grace Road group Daniel Kim says the solar system has reduced their electricity costs by up to 40 percent.
“Supply is an issue, the cost of the energy is high, you know, cost of the diesel, you know, mobility, transportation is high. What we need, we have to, there’s no other choice. We have to use renewable energy. Whatever the source is, it can be wind power, it can be solar, it can be geothermal, whatever, we have to adopt, we have to adapt and adopt the renewable energy.”
The company intends move on to stage 2 of the project next year, which includes the installation of a battery system to store solar power for night use.
“Renewable energy, especially solar, obviously, we can only harness the solar in the daytime. But if you’re using the storage system, you can actually store and use in the night time.”
Kim adds Grace Road expects to unveil what could be Fiji’s largest solar battery storage system within the next two months, adding that now is the right time for the country to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy.
