Energy-as-a-service company Solarise Africa has commissioned a 1 MW ground-mounted solar installation at the Zuurgat Farm, near Hopetown, in the Northern Cape, for farming enterprise Genade Boerdery.

The newly commissioned solar system comprises 1 976 Longi 550 W solar modules and 8 Huawei 115 kW inverters, and forms a robust grid-tied setup that has been designed to maximise reliability and efficiency.

Over the course of the 15-year contract, the system is projected to deliver an estimated saving of R82.2-million and avoid about 24 171 t of CO₂ emissions, while ensuring long-term energy security for the farm’s irrigation and production operations, the company says.

Energy-as-a-service solutions can meet the specific needs of farming operations, without requiring upfront capital outlay. This project utilised the Section 12B tax incentive, which is a high-impact, incentivised solution that supports large-scale agricultural sustainability, Solarise Africa notes.

As one of the largest single-site agricultural solar systems in the region installed at a flagship farming operation, the system supports critical energy loads through a reliable and environment-friendly setup, demonstrating the significant role renewable energy can play in food security, rural economic resilience and carbon reduction, it says.

Large-scale farms are critical to South Africa’s food security and rural economies and their energy needs are complex and continuous. By adopting renewable-energy solutions tailored to their operational demands, farms can significantly reduce costs, minimise environmental impact and improve resilience against energy volatility, the company says.

As agriculture continues to evolve, large-scale farming operations are embracing precision agriculture, which leverages data, technology and sustainability to drive productivity and resource efficiency.

The project also highlights the importance of smart policy frameworks, such as Section 12B incentives, in accelerating the shift towards a greener agricultural sector, it adds.

“We take great pride in partnering with large-scale farming operations that demand the highest standards of quality and precision,” says construction and solar energy solutions company Broad Sky co-owner Cor Wessels.

Broad Sky led the origination and construction of the large-scale solar installation.

“Working alongside Solarise Africa, we were able to deliver a tailored solar solution that supports the principles of precision farming, leveraging advanced technologies and data-driven systems to enhance productivity and operational efficiency,” he says.

This project for Genade Boerdery was also the catalyst for the Idstone irrigation solar variable speed drive project, which is the second successful collaboration between Solarise Africa and Broad Sky that was also recently commissioned in the Northern Cape, says Solarise Africa co-founder and COO Sakkie van Wijk.