AGRICULTURE NEWS - A fruit farm and wedding venue, Marlenique Estate, near Franschhoek, has introduced the first commercially operated floating solar system on the African continent.
The system will be used to power 90% of the energy-intensive cold storage facilities and irrigation, as well as the wedding venue, in conjunction with a land-based solar power plant on the farm.
According to a statement by the estate, the system was installed by New South Energy on the farm’s dam, and can produce up to 60kW of power.
The next phase of the project would involve the installation of battery packs, which would result in the farm going off the grid completely.
The system did not only generate renewable power for the farm, but also minimised evaporation from the farm’s dam while saving valuable agricultural land, the statement said.
