Fast food chain KFC has unveiled four of its very first solar energy restaurants in South African city of Port Elizabeth, its franchisee, AKM Foods which currently owns 34 restaurants across the Eastern Cape has announced.
The project has been powered by Solar Africa a firm that specialise in providing clean energy solutions.
Nishid Dosa, Principle Operator of AKM Foods said that while only four restaurants have been piloted, the plan is to extend the plan to other stores.
“We are excited about the introduction of solar and green energy in our stores and are satisfied with the results thus far. Currently only four stores are being piloted, and the plan is to roll out to other stores”, said Mr Dosa.
AKM Foods has implemented a few other energy saving initiatives which include wind turbine energy in 12 of its restaurants, as well as heat pumps – which has seen a 30-40% reduction in the cost of water heating – and LED lights in all stores.
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Dosa said that they decided to switch to Solar power because majority of the stores have a large square meterage in roof space which is ideal for the introduction of solar.
“Heat pumps were the first layer of energy saving initiatives that we implemented to combat the high cost of energy used to heat water to the standard required in KFC stores. The installation of solar did not disrupt the stores operations and was simple to implement,” he explains.
On his part, KFC Africa chief executive Doug Smart said that the move to go solar shows the company’s commitment to lessen their carbon footprint within the communities in which they operate.
“As one of the country’s most loved food brands, Fast food chain KFC remains committed to supporting our franchise partners uphold environmental standards. We are very excited about the implementation of this renewable energy solution in our restaurants,” said Mr Smart.