The V&A Waterfront community is benefiting from a new source of clean, renewable energy, thanks to the recent successful completion of Red Rocket’s Cruise Terminal Solar PV Project. The 669kWp installation, which is fully operational at our headquarters, marks the culmination of an initiative underscoring Red Rocket’s ongoing commitment to sustainable energy solutions.
Featuring 1100 solar modules, this is a unique project developed and used by a renewable energy company in the area. It not only powers the Mothership’s daily operations, but its surroundings, and is backed by a Battery Energy Storage System with a capacity of 458kWh.
Red Rocket Project Manager, Jamie Pothier, and Project Coordinator, Michael Layman, both from the Project and Construction Management Solar team, headlined the project that not only sees the company running on renewable energy, but has the energy fed into the V&A Waterfront as part of an ambitious Power Purchase Agreement.
“This has been in the pipeline and has been a project that required innovative thinking and planning. Once the project was greenlit, it took three months to build,” said Layman, citing the favourable collaboration behind the project, including Red Rocket, Transnet, the City of Cape Town, and the V&A Waterfront.
In 2024, Red Rocket moved into the new state-of-the-art offices, and one of the reasons the offices were chosen was for their open roof surface area to develop a rooftop solar facility. This has been a huge highlight and an opportunity to diversify portfolios for Pothier. The company has celebrated a string of wins on the solar and wind energy front in 2025, to which our Cruise Terminal Rooftop Solar marks a progressive addition.
This was in part thanks to the collaboration between Red Rocket and Emergent Energy, which helped deliver the project to success. “The partnership between us was instrumental in the success of the project,” said Pothier, crediting a working relationship marked by a shared vision and trusted expertise.
Justin Franke, Emergent Energy’s Project Manager, said: “Working with Red Rocket on this project was the measure of true collaboration. Both our teams benefited from a great flow of communication and a hands-on approach that took off as soon as everything was set in motion.”
From ideas to solutions, the project relied on professional agility that kept the team adaptable, focused, and ready to overcome every challenge. “Challenges ranged from equipment, the nature of the site, and aligning stakeholders to reach the finish line,” said Franke.
On the installation side, the project featured technical innovation that involved design simulations and prior calculations that gave insights into all levels of the project’s success potential. Variables such as wind, the weight of the solar array, and the type of walls around the building all contributed not only to the success of the project, but also its uniqueness.
For Layman, the milestone stands on record as the first solar project of his to reach commercial operations, but he looks forward to forthcoming Red Rocket projects such as Virginia Solar Park and Tournee Solar Park, which are under construction and expected to reach commercial operations in 2026 and 2027, respectively.
“This is a groundbreaking project that gives further reason as to why Red Rocket is the leading Independent Power Producer. Currently, very few companies in our sector can count this among their list of achievements,” said Layman.
Complete with a Battery Energy Storage System, Pothier said the mission was to supply as much energy as possible to the building without exceeding the building’s draw. In this way, two tie-in points were connected to maximise energy penetration.
“This was a particularly difficult rooftop project, due to both the complexity of the existing electrical network in the building, and the number of stakeholders involved in the planning and permitting of the project. These factors were why a solar system had not been installed at the Cruise Terminal prior to Red Rocket taking occupancy.
“A big thank you to all the project partners, including V&A Waterfront, Transnet and Emergent Energy, for the high degree of collaboration at every step. This project stands as a testament to Red Rocket’s vision of and commitment to a clean energy future. We are now fuelling our operations directly from renewable energy,” said Pothier.
As Red Rocket reflects on this achievement, the Cruise Terminal Solar PV project stands as more than a technical success; it is a symbol of what determined teamwork, visionary leadership, and innovative partnerships can deliver. With more transformative projects already underway, Red Rocket continues to drive progress that will shape a more sustainable, resilient future for the communities and industries it serves.
