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- A solar PV and battery storage project for a Karoo farm will see it reduce its diesel consumption by an estimated 90 000 litres annually.
- A successful crowd sale for the project saw a massive purchase of 16 000 solar cells by Cars.co.za, valued at R2.5 million.
- The project includes solar PV and battery storage and is the first off-grid offering by solar leasing platform Sun Exchange.
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A solar PV and battery storage project will help a Karoo farm cut its diesel consumption by about 90 000 litres annually.
Karoo Fresh, which produces saffron and brassica such as cabbages, broccoli and cauliflower, collaborated with global solar leasing platform Sun Exchange to establish an off-grid solar PV and battery storage project to power its irrigation system.
Sun Exchange offers solar cells for sale. These cells are then leased for a project that will be used by a company like Karoo Fresh to produce energy. The income from the lease is the investment return for the buyer.
A total of 88 560 solar cells were up for grabs. The automotive platform Cars.co.za, which facilitates car sales, bought nearly a fifth (18%) or 16 000 of the available cells to R2.5 million. There were 1 238 buyers in total, from across 85 countries. Cars.co.za purchased the largest number of cells.
The project will create an alternative income stream for Cars.co.za for 20 years. The price of each cell is R157, but the monthly income earned from leasing each cell - after insurance and service fees are deducted - is R1.06. The earnings increase at the consumer inflation rate (CPI) +2% annually for the remaining lifespan of the project.
The solar-powered irrigation system will enable Karoo Fresh to become less reliant on costly and polluting diesel power, Sun Exchange said in a statement.
READ | 'Crowd sale' solar will soon power SA's oldest wine estate, and cells are being snapped up fast
"The project is expected to replace approximately 90 000 litres of diesel annually, avoiding more than an estimated 240 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, equivalent to approximately 960 000km driven in an average passenger vehicle," the statement read.
The project's next phase aims to end the farm's reliance on diesel completely.
"Having access to continuous, reliable, affordable clean energy is a game-changer that will enable us to sustainably expand the reach and impact of our agriculture business," said Eric Brown, owner of Karoo Fresh. Brown noted that the Karoo is known for its harsh climate, which has prompted an innovative and adaptive mindset in the business.
For Cars.co.za, the investment would also help it achieve environmental goals, according to co-founder Alastair MacMurray. "Longer term, we would like to continue offsetting our carbon footprint more aggressively and promote more sustainable initiatives within the automotive retailing sector," said MacMurray. These sustainable initiatives include promoting electric vehicles and charging infrastructure as well as equipping car dealers to become more environmentally friendly, he added.
Abe Cambridge, chief executive of Sun Exchange, noted that the transaction demonstrates the important role the private sector can play in addressing sustainability challenges.
Sun Exchange has helped support solar projects for more than 65 businesses, farms, schools and other organisations in southern Africa since it was launched in 2015.
This includes a solar project at South Africa's oldest wine estate Groot Constantia.
Its projects have helped eliminate more than 13 000 tonnes of carbon emissions that otherwise would have contributed to the climate crisis.
*This article was updated at 10:35 on 6 October 2022 to clarify that the return rate on each solar cell investment increases at CPI+2% and that the value of Cars.co.za's purchase is R2.5 million.
